Growth Spurts

Isaac is in another growth spurt right now. I can tell, because he's been mainly eating and sleeping for the last few days. I told Wes that, and he said, "Isn't that what he does all the time?" I resisted the urge to (playfully) throw a pillow at him. My response was yes, but he's doing that more than usual. Isaac has been sleeping anywhere from 7 to 8 1/2 hours at night on a regular basis. That's been wonderful, but it's also meant that he's staying awake more during the day. So I've really traded one type of exhaustion for another. I'm no longer tired from being up half the night. I'm just tired from tending to the baby all day.

We've been spending our days reading stories and singing songs. I also make sure that Isaac has time in the bouncy chair and swing, although he doesn't like the swing as much anymore. Every day, I also make sure that he has tummy time, as well as time to play with his toys. Every other day, I give him a bath. (Until he's crawling, he's really not doing much to be dirty to need a bath every day.) Sometimes we walk around the house and talk about everything we see. Other times, I put him in the sling rider so I can get some chores done. We take walks at the park, visit the grandparents, and go to the gym once or twice a week. So my days are full. And he is definitely not eating and sleeping all the time. Until this past week...

It seems like Isaac has wanted to nurse and sleep much of the day for this past week. Yesterday, he ate for about five hours out of the day. He napped for nearly three, and then he still got a full night's sleep. Yes, he is definitely in a growth spurt.

It's getting easier to handle them though. At four weeks and six weeks, the growth spurts totally stressed me out. I was still getting the hang of breastfeeding then, and a mere fraction of a second would pass before Isaac was crying if he didn't have his food right away. So between trying to figure out breastfeeding and worrying that I didn't have enough milk, I was frazzled during those times. At eight weeks, it was easier to deal with, but it really wore me out physically. I still fretted over my milk supply too, until my pediatrician told me that it was not unusual for Isaac to nurse every 1 1/2 hours during those times. So this week, when I realized that another growth spurt is coming on, I knew what to expect. I've also just accepted the fact that I'm not going to get much done this week besides feed the baby. And that's ok.

I'm glad that I decided to stick it out and not give up on breastfeeding. I came very, very close to throwing in the towel at six weeks. I kept thinking that things were going to get better, that my milk supply would build up and that Isaac's eating would even out soon enough. When we went through that growth spurt, though, I was convinced that my milk supply would never be what it should. I was aggravated and tired. My visit with Janice is what kept me going that time though. She helped me see how far we'd come, and how positive the outlook really was. I came close to giving up at eight weeks too. After realizing that Isaac's eating habits were perfectly normal, I just wasn't sure that I could keep going. It was totally exhausting. That time, my medicine is what kept me going. I'd been taking some medicine that was supposed to stimulate milk production, and I couldn't see wasting all that money. And now, I'm so glad that I endured. Breastfeeding is so much more convenient and less stressful than bottle feeding. And even though Isaac seems to be eating all the time, I will miss it when this season of life has passed. Feeding time is a bonding time. I can't quite explain the love and closeness I feel when I'm feeding him. Out of all the times I think, "He's so precious to me," or "He looks so angelic," the times it happens the most is when he's doing one of two things: eating or sleeping.

Now that Isaac is napping and I finally have a few minutes to myself, here are the pictures I've been promising to post!