No Wonder I Feel Drained
May 3, 2006 by kate baggott
Filed under Baby Care, Breastfeeding, Nutrition
On Monday, I mentioned that I’d been neglecting my post partum weight loss. I haven’t been getting enough exercise and I haven’t been watching what I eat. Treats. Pudding, cookies, and German chocolate are always around the house and, what do you know, so am I. Working from home has many disadvantages and one of them is being so near the refridgerator.
That said, I am not reaching for sweets just out of boredom. They give me an energy boost when I am feeling drained…which is pretty much all the time. Why do I feel drained? Breastfeeding. OK, not breastfeeding alone. I forget to drink more water that I need due to breastfeeding and so I get dehydrated. Combined with the nightwaking (yes, still), and the lost energy benefits of actually getting exercise, I have caught myself in one vicious cycle of eating for energy and feeling even worse when the sugar burns off.
And it isn’t just effecting me. The baby is fat. Not normal baby fat, but off the growth charts fat. The doctor told us not to worry, that the fat will come off when she learns to walk and crawl, but I can’t stop feeling that I am transferring my own bad habits to her. And when I compare the records of her last check up to those of her brother’s at the same age, baby girl is a pound heavier (I must be making cream inside these mammary glands).
I just realised that one thing is very different. My son had a Jolly Jumper that he just loved. Twenty minutes twice a day and we had a healthy, strong and tired baby. He got so tired that night waking, followed by night nursing, was a lot less frequent.
Unfortunately, our new apartment has doorways that won’t support the clamp. I am researching the model with the stand and I hope I can find it here in Germany. If I can’t do you have any alternative suggestions my baby might enjoy?
If the Jolly Jumper takes care of the baby’s health, then I just have to worry about mine so that I can set a better example.
Breastfed babies actually have a better chance of being a normal weight as adults. My first daughter was always off the charts for weight – she was 29 pounds at a year, a ful 7 pounds more than my second daughter – but now at 4 she’s a perfectly normal weight. So I agree with the doc -no need to worry.
Oh, I know. But there are some other things that give me pause. I’d always heard that breast fed babies can better self-regulate feedings. This one, though, eats until she throws up. Mostly at night. I think she’s just looking to connect with me, but I need to find another way for her to do that other than nursing at night. Something that I don’t have to wake up for completely…