The Sun Rose Again This Morning

Well, it is a new day and John is having a better day. Really, I think it is that Dad and Mom are learning more about him and his needs. If you remember, yesterday was a rough day for us as he was a little more lethargic and slept most of the day after sleeping for 6 hours straight the night before.

Last night was a return to his normal waking up to feed every 3 to 4 hours. He woke up this morning really active and wanting to play. We spent some time on the floor just looking around listening to music. One thing that is different is his need for body stimulation using a variety of textures. This brings him alive and energizes him. It seems as if he has an on/off button that we need to push to get him going. I will post some pictures of our morning playtime that hopefully give you more of an idea of what I mean. One thing that was encouraging is his private time on his Boppy pillow. I put him down on the pillow with the music going and then left the room to go wash some dishes. When I heard him crying and came back in to check on him, he had squirmed off the pillow and onto the floor. So right now, movement doesn't appear to be as much of a problem as does providing him with the proper motivation to get him going.

As far as breastfeeding goes, Joy is still having to work with him on it. Sometimes he feeds great and other times he has trouble. We are still providing him with tongue exercises prior to putting him to the breast which seems to help him. Also, he will perform better on one side than he will the other which may just be a problem with positioning. But when he latches on, he will usually nurse until the breast is empty.

Tools of the trade - I thought I would share some of the tools that have been a help to us. The Hazelbaker FingerFeeder by Medela was used early in the breast feeding process when he was having more difficulty getting latched on. Now that he has learned how to latch on and suck, we don't use it as much. The goal here is to let him use those facial muscles as much as he can. Another tool that we use is different brushing him with different textures whether it be our warm hands, a plastic ball or the bristles of a soft paint brush. The tongue exercises helped him to learn how to curl his tongue around the nipple and to elongate it so that he is better able to nurse. The need for performing these exercises has decreased over time but is still used.