Daddy Shift Gets Easier & Harder

Z has been having digestive issues since the weekend. He finds it difficult to burb and even harder to poop. We were learning to manage this with more vigorous burping, bicycles with his legs & Mylicon. Poor guy must not have been dealing as well as he should because he got Colic.

Colic, I've learned, - One learns a lot in a very short time when a baby is born, especially a preemie - is a "catch-all" term for baby becoming extremely fussy due to stuff like digestion issues. And when I say fussy, I mean occasional periods of 20-30 min where he screams at full volume even though he's been changed, fed, burped, held, etc.

The Dr gave us marching orders on Monday. Not only do we need to keep at this gas/constipation issue, we've also got to get him gaining more weight. So, more feeding, more formula, Mylicon as needed, new burping technique, and ways to help him poop.

Which I prefer to avoid sharing.

This all translates into Z being fed as much as 12 times a day right now. Slick and I are, for the time being, doing something of an 80/20 split with responsibilities around here. She's doing 80% of baby time, I'm doing 80% of everything else. We'll do this for as long as we can.

Possibly until she returns to work in 4 weeks.

So, Daddy time is "easier." I get him for my usual 5AM shift. I'll get him for ~2-3 other shifts. I'll feed him formula during this time. I'll put him in the stroller at sunrise and walk the dog. By the time all that's done, Slick will take over. This sounds really simple, right? Wrong.

Poor guy is always fussing. Sleep is a real challenge for him. Sometimes he just needs to scream bloody murder. Comforting him can work, but doing bicycles with his legs actually seems to have a better long-term effect. A couple good farts, some poop & he's able to rest for a bit.

Oh and don't be confused by Daddy time. I'm still helping all the rest of the time. But Daddy time, which lasts for 3-4 hours at a time, is Daddy-only time. Slick uses that time to get extra rest, take a break, do anything on her 20% to-do list. I'm just afforded a full 4-6 hours of sleep at night while Slick can never get more than 4. And 4 is only if she's really lucky.

And of course, through all this, my dog supervises me. He sleeps when I sleep. He monitors the baby when I monitor the baby. He checks the baby regularly, too. He's been better than the monitors at knowing when Z is really needing us. Max runs over to Z's room, then runs back crying for us to go check on him.

Oh well, everyone warned me and I'm not surprised, but today I finally did ask, "What have I gotten myself into?" As hard as it's been with the hospital stay, the reversed nights/days, the digestion problems & the colic, it's still worth it. I love the little guy.

Wow, he just let one rip from the bouncy seat beside me. Never thought I would be so excited by a baby farting.