Monday, September 01, 2008

Clusters



There are many things that come in clusters... grapes for instance.. well around here pacifiers come in clusters and most recently.. feedings. Yesterday the girls started cluster feeding. For those of you who have never heard of this, it means that instead of eating every 2-4 hours, a baby might eat every hour or even more frequently in some cases. In our case, it meant that after the girls 4pm feeding, they did not go to sleep for more than 10 minutes, then awoke screaming for more food and proceeded to eat again at 5, 6, and 7. Since each feeding session last about 30 minutes that means that they ate, stayed awake for a few minutes, slept for a few minutes, then awoke again starving and started the process all over again. Wow. I was nervous that they weren't getting anything after the 2nd feeding but I was assured by my online research that they were, in fact, getting food and I could hear them gulping so that was also reassuring. One site I looked at said that sometimes babies do this as they are gearing up to sleep for a very long time, sometimes all night. Ada and Margot did not sleep through the night, but they did end up sleeping for two 5 hour stretches so.. that's not half bad. Funny thing is, Stephen and I both felt like we had been hit by a truck. You would think that more rest would be refreshing , instead we were more tired.. must have been the past week catching up with us or something. 

I was fully expecting them to do that again tonight but so far so good.. maybe that will change after the next feeding. Right now they are both sleeping soundly. 

This weekend has been super relaxing. The weather today has been so nice and cool that we were able to leave the windows open for most of the day. September is most definitely my favorite month of the year.. and not just because it's my birthday month :) Speaking of which, I keep remembering, at the oddest times, that I am about to turn 30.. the big 3-0. I always thought I would have some huge celebration (of sorts) for my 30th birthday but somehow it seems inconsequential in light of the present goings on in our home. The girls have their next doctor's appointment on my birthday in fact so hopefully they will have put on a pound at least and we will have multiple things to celebrate :) 

2 comments:

Tracy said...

I immediately had to laugh at the passys and nipples.. Wow, you are bringing me back sooo many memories for me... especially feeling like a "truck" hit me! I wasn't even nursing!! These hurricanes need to pass on by so I can come up there! Love you

Anonymous said...

Hi guys! I just thought I would send you a little link. One of my neighbors and friends has a 6 month old, and another friend of mine is expecting and I was asking her for some good helpful gift ideas for the new bundle. She told me that THESE wipes can be used on passy's and nipples etc. because they are sterile enough for the breast pump. So no need to boil. They also have these bags that can be used up to 20 times, and you just put them in the microwave instead of boiling. I know you kids are probably so busy that I thought it might help while they are so young and needy!

They are SO freaking cute btw.