Feeling Puny

Baby E wasn't feeling so well today. She didn't want to be separated from me for a moment, even to go to Daddy. She especially wanted to have both hands and both feet touching my elbow(s) at all times (or as close as she could get anyway). That makes changing diapers a little difficult. :)



She's been really clingy for the past few days, anyway. I think she got a little peopled-out at the family reunion, and also got used to being constantly held (a combination of many willing arms and an inability to put her down much since there were popcorn crumbs on the floor) and sharing our bed.

I'm still having a hard time figuring out exactly what she's reacting to. Today she was very gassy, constipated, clingy, sleepless and fussy, and I have no idea what I or she ate that might have caused this; I thought I'd been so careful.

Earlier this week I had some fudge in which I think the only possibly problematic ingredient was a small amount of iodized salt, and it bothered her. I'm discovering her level of sensitivity mostly by trial and error, but sometimes it's hard to pinpoint what causes a reaction. Hopefully keeping a food journal will help.

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It's hard to tell exactly what she's experiencing when she can't talk much yet, but she gets very uncomfortable, fussy and clingy even with a milder reaction. She seems to have a very low tolerance for any kind of pain or discomfort, whether related to teething, illness or an allergic reaction.

Her teeth are bothering her lately, too, but I've been afraid to give her anything for them since most medications have corn in them. I have been using the Hyland's teething tablets occasionally, and she likes them although it's hard to tell how much they actually help the pain. I'm going to try letting her chew on a frozen washcloth since she loves chewing on cloth anyway.

I found out tonight that the Advil infant drops & Advil children's liquid suspension in grape and fruit flavor are corn-free. That makes so much sense . . . I had noticed that the name-brand Advil worked so much better for Baby E than Tylenol or generic Ibuprofin. The oral Tylenol contains corn, but apparently Tylenol suppositories are corn-free. Now I just have to double-check that with the company and also find out whether they contain soy. :)

I also discovered that many meats (both fresh and frozen) are treated or packaged with undeclared corn-derived substances. Foster Farms plain frozen chicken is corn-free (although the fresh chicken is not), so that will become a staple in our diet.

I am learning so much about dealing with Baby E's allergies. I swing back and forth between feeling totally overwhelmed and discouraged with trying to handle it all, and feeling excited and hopeful because I'm starting to understand it and develop a list of ok foods and recipes she can eat. Doing all this research and learning how to cope is very time- and energy-consuming.

I'm still in the early stages where I feel very deprived at all the things we can't eat and frustrated at how difficult it is, but I think I'm starting to get past that. It was helpful this week talking to my SIL who has a daughter with celiac and kidney diseases and another SIL who has a newborn nephew with cystic fibrosis. It helped to put things in perspective and make me remember that there are a lot of problems out there that are more serious and difficult to manage than simple food allergies.

I'm really glad that food allergies are something that can be treated by just avoiding certain foods, however difficult that may be. Once we really figure out how to completely (or as nearly as possible) avoid soy and corn in Baby E's diet, I expect it will make a big difference.

I really hope it will help her general wellbeing and her sleeping habits. Baby E is a generally happy and extremely social child, personality-wise. She smiles a lot and is very happy when she's close to Mommy and having lots of attention paid to her or when there are interesting things going on.

People always think she's such an easy, happy baby, because when she's around new people who are paying attention to her she just glows. But she gets very clingy and fussy as soon as I try to put her down when she's not feeling well, which is often, and she has a lot of trouble going to sleep and staying asleep.

On a bad night she wakes up whimpering every few minutes, tosses and turns and sometimes cries in her sleep, needs to have my elbows available every moment in order to sleep, and then wakes up tired and grouchy. On the few really good nights she's had she slept peacefully for many hours at a time, was able to settle herself if she woke up, and woke up rested and happy.

Even during the day she tends to be a rather high-maintenace child, needing lots of cuddling and attention--definitely more so when she isn't feeling well than when she is. She can entertain herself quite happily playing with toys, exploring, or practicing new skills for long periods of time on a good day.

I don't blame her for wanting Mommy or needing extra attention and distraction when she doesn't feel good, but I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to get any schooling done with the other girls. Honestly, they end up entertaining themselves a lot while I tend to Baby E, especially on the days she's feeling especially poorly or when she kept us both awake a lot the night before. She's still nursing a lot--usually at least every couple of hours during the day unless there's something really exciting going on, and sometimes more frequently. She tends to nurse more often and longer when not feeling well, also, and I hesitate to try to cut back on feedings since she's not gaining weight and is eating lots of solids also.

The biggest thing I'm hoping for with getting her allergies under control is better sleep. We've had a few weeks of better sleep here and there, but overall she's still not sleeping well or very much. The sleep deprivation over the past year has probably been the single most difficult thing to handle. I'm really hoping getting a handle on her allergies and continuing trying to keep a good schedule will help with that.

The last several nights I've gotten to sleep around 3 a.m., and then Baby E has slept fitfully with frequent wakings for the rest of the night. I can't keep that up much longer. Tonight M&M is waking up every hour or two crying, too, so I'm going to try turning down the temperature in the house and see if that helps at all.

Tomorrow DH has a meeting first thing in the morning, so I won't be able to sleep in as usual on Saturdays. If everyone is feeling up to it I'm going to take the girls to the county fair. That will be fun, and there's even a pretty baby contest going on. I may be biased, but I think Baby E has a pretty decent chance of winning if she's feeling well and in a good mood.

We'll be spending some time with my family tomorrow, too, so it will be a full day, especially after having company today.

Hopefully next week we'll be able to take it easy and get some things done around the house.