Quick update on life with Jocelyn. First of all, she is 7 weeks old and is hanging right in there at the 50th percentile, weighing in at 10 pounds 5.5 ounces. It seems like a crazy amount of weight gain for me, but she isn't growing in the percentiles, just maintaining. Crazy that that amount of chub is required to just be "average."
We are still doing Zantac doses with her; we think they are helping. Also, I have cut most obvious dairy out of my diet; started on November 1st. I don't read labels of baked goods, but other than that I am avoiding dairy. Again, it seems to be helping, but it really is just a giant guessing game.
Nighttime is going better. We had just been pretty laid back about any form of nighttime routine. She would hang out in the living room with her daddy and I until her late night feeding. I didn't mind this, but it really wasn't working well. She wasn't getting the "night memo." After all of her night feedings (which haven't stretched out past three or four hours apart), she would expect wake time like she usually had during the day. It is difficult to love and appreciate a wide awake baby at 3 am. So for about the last 6 nights, we have been purposefully trying to create a nighttime aura around our house.
Either while or just after the twins go to bed, so sometime between 8 and 9, Jocelyn gets a bath (we have started using her baby bathtub in the kitchen sink). She then gets lubed up with baby oil and put into her jammies back in our room (on my antique dresser turned changing table). The lights get turned down, and I nurse her. While nursing, I play a lullaby pandora station on my phone. After nursing, I will rock her for a bit, singing our traditional trio of songs (Jesus Loves Me, Oh How He Loves You and Me, and Oh How I Love Jocelyn) and praying for her (usually working her name tribute into the prayer - finding her joy in the Lord and joyfully giving thanks to the Father for his work in her life). She is usually awake still at this point, but hopefully relaxed. We then swaddle her and lay her in her pack-n-play bassinet, either in our bedroom, the bathroom, or the darkened living room (depending on where we need to be for the next few hours). We do have sound on for her - either her white noise machine or the humidifier (she caught the kids' cold - bummer). I would say that of the 6 nights we have done this, she has probably put herself to sleep with no extra rocking or bouncing for 3 of the nights. This is progress for us. The greater progress has come in the fact that after her nighttime feedings, she has gone back to sleep after being laid down for probably 80% of them - major hallelujiah. (Her first night of 100% going back to sleep after feedings came Sunday night - the night that she was the sickest with her cough - weird and precious child.)
I would say she is waking up happier in the morning and has generally been less fussy (even though she is wheezing and sick). Not sure if this is the medicine, diet, or sleep routine, but we'll take it.
So, for a variety of reasons, we still aren't on a "schedule" - but our current "normal" looks something like this: Feeding every 3ish hours during the day (sometimes less), with about an hour of wake time and then two hours of nap (on belly...shhh....in her bassinet), "bedtime" around 9, feedings around 12, 3, 6, 9 AM.
Oh, and she may be warming up to the idea of having siblings.
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