Marin 6-8 weeks

Growth spurts & the squirts - Oh my!

Week six was a little tough sleep-wise.  Marin had a major growth spurt and as a result, some wacky feeding behavior during late week six and early week seven.  She kept me on my toes by sprinkling in a few normal nights of one four-hour stretch of sleep and eating about every 2.5-3 hours with intermittant days of eating every 1-1.5 hours.  The days she ate more frequently, she also ate less, and she was more fussy (or seemed to be).

It looks like we're back into a rhythm again approaching week eight with 2-3 hours between daytime feedings, a fussy period  for about 2 hours of crying/pain - but she is able to be soothed - between about 8:30pm - midnight, followed by about 4-5 hours of solid sleep, then 2-3 hours of sleep for the next two cycles. I pump after our early-morning feed, following the long sleep stretch. After feeding her, I still pump between 8-16oz. I know this is not typical, and I'm thankful to be able to store some for later, even though that means sacrificing some sleep to do so. I don't think I could sleep being that uncomfortably full anyway, though. It's pretty painful.

The days she cluster-feeds are more difficult, because they are unpredictable, and feel like they may not end. Thankfully, they do & although I don't really ever get to "catch up" on sleep, I at least feel like I'm getting a little more for now. 

She doesn't spit-up too often, and when she does, it's usually not enough to warrant a change of clothes (hers & most definitely not mine).  Though she still does spit up several hours after laying down to sleep. This is a welcome change, because with her big brother, we were both constantly covered in spit-up, due to acid reflux. :(  I have been curious about whether she does have acid reflux too, however. She does seem to have bouts where she is in immense pain, and no amount of burping can give her relief. Then, she'll "spit up", and it will come through her nose. She acts as though it's very painful. I always hate seeing babies in pain.