Sleep!

Zach is doing fine at home. we are slowly learning what he needs to be able to sleep. He didn't get enough sleep yesterday, then went down at 5:30 pm. I woke him at 4 hour intervals to eat. He has his fussy times, but not really all that bad. We are trying the 5 S's, swaddling, side lying, shhh'ing, shaking (very, very gently) & sucking. I try wearing him during the day so that he has the contact that he needs. He has been asleep for 3 hours right now, so hopefully when he wakes up to eat he can have some play time.

I have been reading books on baby's sleep (I know I should have been reading them while he was in the NICU), they say do whatever it takes to get them to sleep until they are 2 months old. He will be 7 weeks adjusted on Tues. One of the books also called the first week home "Hell Week". Oh well, just a few more days.

He has started breastfeeding again, but not as well as he was doing in the NICU. We'll keep working at it. My frozen breast milk from July is unusable as it smells soapy. An enzyme in the milk breaks down the fat & changes the taste. It is not bad, he just won't drink it. I tried mixing it with fresh, but had to throw some out. If I freeze anymore, I will probably scald it first & that will stop the enzyme. I am making about the same as what he is taking in a day right now, so I will try to increase my production with him breastfeeding more. It is so hard knowing how hard I worked to get that milk & then have some of it be unusable. Oh, well, at least I can still breast feed him. & use the fresh milk that I make.

He still has to get bottles as we are fortifying the breast milk with extra calories to help his weight gain & also for extra minerals for his bones.