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Shirale
03-09-2003, 02:09 PM
I am wondering how to deal with the fact that Amira is back on bottles, waking up every 2 hours at night, and refusing to eat real food again...I feel like I have a newborn in some ways! She is thank G-d healthy now, but I am worried about her gaining back the weight she lost (down to 16 lbs from 19) when she is still refusing to eat or drink more than a tiny bit...she is back to walking, but is still very shaky...anyone have any suggestions? She will not take her sippys (she was totally off bottles starting a couple of days before she got sick) and she wakes up screaming and is so hungry...we will be moving from an apt to a house in a week and we are already exhasted from last weeks hospital stays, I am not sure how I will manage packing, moving, running around etc with her waking up every 2 hrs....thanks all, and thanks for the support!

twins r fun
03-09-2003, 02:47 PM
Hi Shira,

I'm glad Amira is healthy again. I didn't post under your other thread, but I sure was thinking about you. Since you have so much going on with the move, I would say do not worry at all about trying to get her off bottles until you guys are settled in your new place. She obviously finds them comforting so don't take that away from her as she recovers and gets used to living somewhere new. My boys still get a bedtime bottle and I end up resorting back to a bottle or two during the day when they are sick. But it definitely is important to get her eating again to regain the weight (I can't believe how much she lost!) and so she can sleep again. If the bottles are inhibiting her intake, maybe try to limit them somewhat during the day. As for food, I would say just feed her her favorites even if it isn't a nutritionally balanced diet. I know when Jacob and Caleb are sick (even with just a cold) they pretty much resort to cereal and fruit and that is it! I don't know how much babies associate things, but I wonder if she doesn't want to eat because she associates that with the misery she just went through. It sounds like a pretty severe virus she had, it might take her stomach a week or 2 to feel right again. Is there anyone who can help you out by watching Amira for a few hours in the morning so you can get some good rest to give you the energy to get some packing done? I wish you luck with everything and wish I could be of more help!

Nicole

flagger
03-09-2003, 04:12 PM
There are five major stresses in one's life. Losing or gaining a new job, prolonged sickness of a love one, death of a loved one, marriage and MOVING. IMHO she can sense the anxiety and anticipation you are feeling as you prepare for one of life's major stresses. She is finding comfort in the bottle right now. You will be in a new environment soon and I would be willing to bet she will progress from this mild regression very soon.

My neices and nephews all went through phases where they only ate certain foods for a week or two. Morning noon and night it was one thing and that was it.

Rachels
03-09-2003, 04:37 PM
SIX stressors: having a baby has got to be up there, maybe especially for a woman (whose identity and body are permanently and irrevocably changed).

But Shira, I agree-- don't worry now about the bottles! Remember that little babies wake very often when they're having growth spurts. I'd bet Amira's little body is behaving that way now that she's trying to regain the weight she lost. And I agree with Chuck-- sje's been through a shakeup and is going through another, and she's reaching for comfort in something familiar.

Can you get some help, though? You need some backup, and also a rest.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

Karenn
03-09-2003, 05:14 PM
Hi Shira,
Colin's a lot younger than Amira, and wasn't nearly so sick, but he has been sick for much of the last month, and he regressed in a lot of ways too. He essentially stopped eating solids- even after it seemed like he felt better. He stopped sleeping well too. But, once he really had a chance to recover, he went back to how he was before. He's putting away more solid food than he ever had before, and the sleep's getting better again too. I bet she'll go back to the sippy cup once she starts feeling completely normal again.

Hang in there!

egoldber
03-09-2003, 05:48 PM
Shira, you poor thing! To give yourself a break, I would probably give her a bottle and even snacks at night if she wants them. But I would also probably not give her a bottle during the day, just to keep them limited. Whenever I have backtracked on something like a bottle with Sarah (I gave her one on the airplane when we went to Jamaica a few weeks ago) I have ALWAYS regretted it. If you do give her the bottle full-time, then just be prepared to have a real struggle when you try to take them away again. But it may be worth it in the short term to you, only you can decide that.

Try giving her something she REALLY likes in the sippy like juice. And give her all her favorite foods. She was really sick and it is going to take her a bit to be her old self again. So I would try to make sure she gets lots of light, nutritious foods. Juices, applesauce, infant cereal (if she likes it), bananas, yogurt, tofu, soups, things like that.

Hope she feels better soon!

Annette_C
03-09-2003, 11:17 PM
Shira,
I'm glad Amira is doing better.
Like everyone else said, don't worry too much about what's going on right now....she (and you) have been through a lot. Give her a chance to get back to normal and to gain her weight back. I'm sure she'll be back to her "old" self again very soon.
I really sympathize with you, with moving and being sick....you poor thing!
Hang in there and good luck with everything,

Annette
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02