After what seemed to be a breeze of a delivery of my baby BOY, I thought i had done it!! No more troubles, just cuddles and snuggles. The first night went by as I thought, insecure newborn, wants to be held, nurses often and sleepless. But what came after and still happening is something I never dreamt of. I was told about the ‘Fourth Trimester’ in my antenatal class but it’s much beyond what I had imagined. The second night at the hospital, my mum and I were in for a treat. The wailing that started at 11 at night didn’t end till 7 in the morning. When I was not trying to nurse him (which was for almost 5 hours) my mum would try hard to pacify him. He would sleep the minute he started to nurse and so it happened that I sat for 5 hours trying to keep my newborn calm. His screams were anything but that of a newborn. What I wasn’t aware of was that newborn can cry through the day as well, not only nights🤯! Then the ‘not sufficient milk’ drama started and everyone else decided that my day old so needed top feed. I tried to put off formula as long as I could and tried a pacifier which he spat right out (too much swag for a one day old).
A day went by with a lot of people wanting to know if he’s latching, nursing, sleeping, pooping( yellow or black!?) and peeing enough. Whatever my answer be, the only response they had was that it’ll be that way till 3 months (then why ask the question in the first place?) amidst all the chaos my son didn’t forget to cry like he was being tattooed forcefully. Then I heard that if he keeps crying like this, his navel will get swollen or worse, he may develop a hernia! They had me at that. The big blue tin was brought and my mum and I gave him formula the third night( without the doctor’s consent). What came next proved that he wasn’t crying for hunger because he wailed through the night. We shushed, swayed, walked, galloped and nothing seemed to work. The next experiment was to check if he was gassy, infant antacid was given which seemed to quiet him a little coz he took a good 20 mins to lick the medicine around his mouth. But he started crying after 👻. So not gassy, maybe colicky was the conclusion.
The fourth day, mum and I gave him his first bath at home and he absolutely enjoyed it. Then the miracle happened! My dear son slept for 4.5 hours straight without flinching an eyelid after his bath. I was thanking all the gods for thr first 2 hours and slept for the next two. In between all the chaos and calm, i started exclusively breastfeeding my tiny heart. It took a lot of time to convince my family that breastmilk works on demand and supply and that my son is getting enough. I knew he was getting enough because he had about 6 wet nappies in less than two hours when he was just 5 days old. Though he hasn’t been very troublesome after that day, he still doesn’t have much of a pattern at 2.5 months. My nights have gotten much easier but the days are still unpredictable with him sleeping well one day, wanting to be held all day the other and just not sleeping the other. Since the 3 month mark is supposed to clear the air for most babies, I am eagerly waiting to see if it makes a difference. Till then I will continue to bask in the innocence of my munchkin and enjoy my pregnancy hair.
A day went by with a lot of people wanting to know if he’s latching, nursing, sleeping, pooping( yellow or black!?) and peeing enough. Whatever my answer be, the only response they had was that it’ll be that way till 3 months (then why ask the question in the first place?) amidst all the chaos my son didn’t forget to cry like he was being tattooed forcefully. Then I heard that if he keeps crying like this, his navel will get swollen or worse, he may develop a hernia! They had me at that. The big blue tin was brought and my mum and I gave him formula the third night( without the doctor’s consent). What came next proved that he wasn’t crying for hunger because he wailed through the night. We shushed, swayed, walked, galloped and nothing seemed to work. The next experiment was to check if he was gassy, infant antacid was given which seemed to quiet him a little coz he took a good 20 mins to lick the medicine around his mouth. But he started crying after 👻. So not gassy, maybe colicky was the conclusion.
The fourth day, mum and I gave him his first bath at home and he absolutely enjoyed it. Then the miracle happened! My dear son slept for 4.5 hours straight without flinching an eyelid after his bath. I was thanking all the gods for thr first 2 hours and slept for the next two. In between all the chaos and calm, i started exclusively breastfeeding my tiny heart. It took a lot of time to convince my family that breastmilk works on demand and supply and that my son is getting enough. I knew he was getting enough because he had about 6 wet nappies in less than two hours when he was just 5 days old. Though he hasn’t been very troublesome after that day, he still doesn’t have much of a pattern at 2.5 months. My nights have gotten much easier but the days are still unpredictable with him sleeping well one day, wanting to be held all day the other and just not sleeping the other. Since the 3 month mark is supposed to clear the air for most babies, I am eagerly waiting to see if it makes a difference. Till then I will continue to bask in the innocence of my munchkin and enjoy my pregnancy hair.
