5 WEEK UPDATE

WEIGHT / STATS
At 5 weeks old, Kelsey Faith weighed in at 11 lbs. 4 oz. She continues to grow like a weed! Suddenly, even some of her 1-3 month clothes aren't long enough for her!

REFLUX
We started off the week great, but then slowly her reflux got worse to the point that she was crying and screaming all the time and not sleeping well. She wasn't taking her bottles well and would cry during and after feedings. She also projectile vomitted all over me again on Thursday, so that was not fun. I called the doctor and they upped her Prevacid to a whole 15 mg tablet (already!) since she is gaining weight so fast, and we are now putting rice cereal in her bottles to thicken it. We had to do it with Morgan, too, and I just don't like doing it for some reason. I feel like they gain extra weight due to it (and she is already gaining weight at a fast pace!), and it makes it hard to find a nipple that allows it to go through without going too fast. Plus, it kinda has made her a bit constipated. With Morgan it was fine, because we WANTED her to stop having so much diarrhea, but Kelsey has no issues like that. I may also switch her formula to Nutramigen or Good Start, as I've heard those tend to be a bit better for reflux babies. We'll see. She's had a couple good days here now, so maybe we won't have to do anything more.

SLEEPING
Kelsey is a good little napper as long as her reflux is under control. She takes 3 for sure naps about 2 hours each and then in the evening, she may or not take more of a catnap. (This time of day is her fussy time, so she doesn't always catnap during this time.) She continues to be a noisy sleeper, though, grunting and kicking about....it drives me crazy! But, that's just how she is. At night, she continues to go from her 10:30 dreamfeed (which she still sleeps through) to about 3:30. I usually hear her about 2:30 every night on the dot grunting and making noise, but she is not awake, so I just reswaddle her if needed and pat her tummy a few times and give her the paci, and she then resettles again until about 3:30 or so. Then, she does the same thing at 6:00 a.m. every morning, but is still basically sleeping, so I don't get her up until 7:00 or 7:15.

FEEDING
She still eats anywhere from 3-4 oz. per bottle. This varies a lot right now since we are putting rice cereal in her bottles, which fills her up more. Most of the time right now she'll eat only about 3 to 3.5 ounces. She was gagging / choking on it when her reflux was bad, and would sometimes cry while eating, but that seems to have been taken care of now with the up in meds and addition of the cereal. I still have trouble getting her to burp.

SCHEDULE
This is basically how a normal day plays out. Things can vary by a half hour or so, but this is at least the routine we follow. Her total waketime between naps (including feeding) is typically about an hour, give or take 5 or 10 minutes. She still gives distinct sleep cues, like yawning and staring, so it makes it relatively easy knowing when to put her down. I often have to wake her from her naps to eat. Yes, I wake a sleeping baby. GASP! :) I know a lot of people question that, but that is the Babywise philosophy, and it keeps our days on a similar routine from day to day so not every day is different. Also, I do wake her in the mornings so that we have the same start time every day. (When Morgan started eating three basic meals a day and had one afternoon nap, I stopped waking her in the mornings.)

7:00 or 7:15 - Wake and get Prevacid. Change diaper and get dressed.
7:30 - Eat
7:45 - Waketime ("play")
8:00 or 8:15 (depending on her sleep cues) - Nap
10:30 - Wake and Eat
11:00 - Waketime ("play")
11:30 - Nap
1:30 - Wake and Eat
2:00 - Waketime ("play")
2:30 - Nap
4:30 - Wake and Eat
5:00 - Waketime ("play")
5:30 - Catnap
6:45 or 7:00 - Wake and Eat
7:30 - Bath
8:00 - Bedtime
10:30 - Dreamfeed (literally in her sleep)
3:30ish - Middle of the Night feeding