News from the House of Gwen

Gwen did the coolest thing yesterday. She was on her blanket and had rolled over onto her tummy, as is her wont. I placed her tummy time mirror in front of her and sat back down on the coffee table behind her.

She caught sight of me in the mirror, made eye contact, and grinned. It was the coolest thing! That's the first time she has shown any sign of understanding or appreciating mirror reflections.

Also yesterday, we took her to a doctor. The good news is, I am completely in love with this doctor as he gave her the most thorough examination she's had since birth, and spent 45 minutes with us talking about what exactly is going on with her. The bad news is, this guy is not accepting patients. Anyway, his theory is that Gwen's continued unhappiness is due to being fed formula, which regrettably she still needs to have as my milk supply is not adequate (more on that in a minute). He says that in his experience breastfed babies don't get colic. In any case, he assured us that she will grow out of it, that we are doing all the right things, and that we should continue to monitor her weight and bring her in once a month for a checkup. What a breath of fresh air.

So, in the past couple weeks as I tried to get Gwen off the formula, she started to lose weight. In a week and a half she lost over three ounces. Which didn't exactly fill me with optimism. But at the same time, I started to feel way more confident about continuing to give her formula. I guess when I began this quest what I really wanted was to assure myself that I had done everything I could. I've now reached that point. When KG asked me to set up a daily schedule with 12 feedings per day, and I realized this would mean feeding Gwen every 45 minutes, I put my foot down. Maybe this makes me a selfish woman, but I don't think so. I think I will be a better mother to Gwen if I am not crazy. I might try again to get Gwen off formula once we are starting solids, but at this point I'm just working on improving breastfeeding (positions, latch, seal, etc).

I also just received my Motherlove herbal tincture which is supposed to help increase my supply. Man, this stuff is nasty. It tastes like Satan's old underwear. It's like someone took every stinky herb in existence and mixed them together. To make matters even more fun, I have to avoid other liquids for 20 minutes before and after, lest the herbs get too diluted and become ineffective. So I can't even wash it down. Actually, last night I washed it down with pudding. Today I discovered that two pieces of gum work just as well, which is a slightly more healthy option! Anyway it will be worth it if it works. I am curious to see how long it will take before we can judge that.