got milk?

apparently we have lots of milk at our house!

warning: this is about milk and miles' gas. if that is TMI for you, then skip this post!

yesterday miles and i went to the hospital to visit a lactation consultant to help us out. specifically to help me out as i was miserable! miles eats so often and so...enthusiastically?...that i was about to die. she asked me if he had been weighed recently, which he hadn't been weighed in about 10 days, since his 1 month checkup. so she weighed him and he was a whopping 8lbs 13oz...an entire pound heavier than at his checkup. insane! though she did say that she thought miles was a beautiful baby, well proportioned but just can't tell anymore that he was a tiny little 3wks early baby. i just say he's a little fattie.

after doing her lactation consultant thing, she decided we have 2 issues. the 1st is that i have tons of milk! apparently miles is having to drink milk from a water hose turned on full blast. she gave me some tips to help us out and some of them are already working...i think our experience is headed to a more positive place. she did keep making comments like "some women take sudafed and are dismayed that their milk supply lessens...of course that wouldn't be...well, it wouldn't be devasting to you now would it?" and she also mentioned that i could donate milk to the milk bank if i was interested...who knew there was even such a thing!

then 2nd issue we are having is miles is dealing with reflux. the things i am doing for my milk supply issue should help out some, as will time...as he gets a more mature digestive system. in the meantime she suggested 2 over the counter meds that might help, and also notified my doctor that a prescription med might end up being necessary so that miles is more comfortable and we don't all go crazy while waiting for his digestive system to mature. she watched him for over an hour after he ate, and i think it drove her crazy! so you can imagine how we feel when he eats about 10-12 times per day. i was pleased he was in full spit-up mode as i wanted her to get a clear picture of what we are dealing with.

i went to cvs last night and picked up both meds. i had read about them online and was curious to try them, but was hesitant to just give him randonm stuff without some sort of permission from a medical professional caring for miles. when she recommended them, i jumped at the chance! we tried the mylicon drops first (the other is called gripe water) and....well, i don't want to jinx anything here...but so far.....AWESOME. he liked the taste so he immediately stopped crying. and then... he was happy. we were watching a movie and he was just looking around. then he fell asleep.

in fact, this morning, he stayed awake for over 2 hours...the entire time between 2 feedings. he still spit up several times, but he seemed content. he just layed and looked around...no grunting and turning red and starting to scream at random times and suddenly stopping. unfortunately, these 2+ hours occured from 4.45am until just past 7am...somehow i will have to teach him that early rising is just plain unacceptable in this household.

i didn't give him anymore this morning (you can give them to him after every feeding), but after he ate this afternoon he was showing signs of being uncomfortable, even after spitting up several times and me putting him in the sling. within 2 minutes of the mylicon drops touching his lips...he was sleeping peacefully. and has been for awhile now.

therefore this post was made possible by...mylicon drops. my current best friend. along with the lactation consultant (which is free by the way. well unless you consider the cost of delivering the baby at that hospital. i would venture to say the cost is "built in")