blackmoondog

My last post was the lament about going off dairy to see if it made a difference in Zoe's fuss/gas levels. I managed to make it 6 days before cracking and at first thought it wasn't going to be a problem. Hoo boy, was I wrong. It must have taken a few days to build back up in her system because I started eating dairy on Tuesday (01/23) and by Thursday her fussiness was on the rise and by Saturday it was back to the point where she spent the day eating, sleeping, or screaming. On Sunday (01/28) I gave up dairy indefinitely.

I think I'm handling it better this time because I *know* it is a problem and because we've stocked up on dairy-free foods. We bought some Nucoa margarine for baking (yay, banana bread!), rice milk for cereal (still a bit sweet for my taste but more tolerable than almond milk), and goat cheese and yogurt. Cheese is still difficult though. I decided to try the "Soy-sation" cheese from TJ's and found out it has cow's milk bits (caesin) in it!!! What is the freakin' point in soy cheese if it has milk in it?!? Yesterday I did have real pancakes because a) it had been a full week since I'd consumed anything with milk and b) I wanted to see if I could get by having just a little milk once in a while without affecting Zoe. Results are inconclusive.

Now that she isn't spending so much time with gas pains, Zoe is settling into a vague routine. She'll usually sleep for a couple of 4 hour chunks after her night feedings and I can actually take her to bed. She still won't sleep without fuss unless she's on her side right next to me. Papa still has one session of sleeping with her on his chest on the couch (it's a recliner) with a variable amount of crying (she doesn't want to leave the breast but often I have to hand her off due to soreness). In the morning she is starting to have an active period where she wants to flail around and play. I can actually lay her in the pack & play and grab some breakfast before she fusses to be picked up. The rest of the day is mostly a nurse-nap cycle with the customary evening "happy hour" fuss.

We're still struggling with screaming in the carseat but I have found a couple of things that help. If she is zonked out when she is put in the seat she will often just stay asleep, sometimes for hours. I also was able to quiet her by letting her suck on my pinkie finger yesterday. That doesn't help for me driving alone but will for family trips. Alas, it looks like our first trip isn't gonna happen because Mark is being sent to South Carolina for a week for work the week prior. My mom is coming over to help me take care of Zoe while he's gone.

Hmmm... Other things... Zoe has probably doubled her weight in 8 weeks. I expect she weighs 9lbs by now as she was 8.5lbs last Monday... Her eyebrows have come in and her hairline is filling in from back to front... She may keep the blue eyes, as her pupils are now circled by some gray, much like mine... She's smiled a few times that weren't in her sleep and we've seen Papa's dimples show up a few times... We're not taking nearly enough pictures.