The Overlord is Not Amused

I have a 9 lb. 6 oz. overlord. She's demanding, picky, unyielding, and gorgeous. She cannot be rationalized with and she's nocturnal. There have been grumblings of a mutiny among her minions. OK, so maybe that's just coming from me. I've begun to look like Nick Nolte's mugshot.

Still, I've been around the block a few times. I know the drill. And somehow this tiny person has shaken my confidence and I am past weary and confused. It doesn't help that the experts are at odds.

Helena has serious gas issues. Serious. The little one is more often in pain and uncomfortable than not, and its caused by gas in the belly. Lots of gas that has surprised a few people who have held her when her bottom explodes. I know the different positions to hold and burp her. She sleeps with her head elevated. I keep her upright for a while after each feeding. I've given up eating anything that might be somewhat spicy and by suggestion of a lactation consultant - dairy as well.

The experts at the breastfeeding clinic thought she had thrush due to a white spot in her mouth and a touch of diaper rash. Based on this, her ped prescribed Nystatin for baby and Lotrimin for me, even though I had no symptoms. Helena has a great suck - powerful even. But, she loses her seal after a brief time of nursing and I can hear the air she's sucking in. We stop frequently to correct the seal and burp, but I'm sure that's the cause of lots of the gas in her belly. Thrush can cause mouth pain which would have explained her losing her seal and sucking air. We use a nipple shield sometimes, but I don't think that's made a difference on her seal.

However, today her ped gave me a lesson on ph balance in the belly and thousands of years of human development to get the GI tract just right. I heard about the over prescribed meds for infant reflux and resulting polyps in their bellies. He says she doesn't have thrush and to stop the meds. He says that dairy in my diet isn't the cause, nor is my milk causing any problems regardless of what I eat as she's gaining weight quite nicely. He says I'm doing everything right, that he respects the breastfeeding experts, but that I've been given more work to do than I should. He's a great doc, married to another great ped dr. and they have 6 kids. He's no quack.

Bottom line, he says reflux meds are not needed, she's colicy and will outgrow it in weeks or months, Mylicon drops and gripe water is fine if I want to continue to use them, and take her on walks in a baby carrier or drives in the car.

So, I'm back to square one, unsure about the thrush meds and dairy. She's still not sleeping well and prefers to be held upright at ALL times. This is more of a comfort thing than an overlord's demands. She can be in a deep sleep when vertical, but often gets the hiccups or wakes up as soon as she's horizontal.

At least Mark is Superman. We're like 2 single parents in the same home. He's raising the 2 oldest (and feeding me) and I'm at every whim of our tiny overlord. Thank God he's so good at taking care of us all. I hope this faze passes quickly.