Breast Milk and Caffeine

Up until recently, I had been extremely vigilant about my caffeine intake because my son is still drinking breast milk.  I only had decaf lattes - which were only a once in a while thing, stayed clear of chocolate in all of its forms, and drank only herbal teas that were caffeine free. 

For some reason, when my husband brought home boxes of Halloween chocolates last week, I didn't think twice about eating some "fun-sized" treats.  That is until I noticed my son was acting a bit out of sorts.  If you've been reading my blog, you probably know that I just weaned my son from the pacifier last week.  So I thought that was the reason for his moodiness.  My son has always been active, but a few days ago, he had been more challenging; he woke up from his naps in a very sullen mood, he threw tantrums, and would not stay still for story time.  I know that these are all typical behaviors for toddlers, but it was more than normal. 

Sure enough, I stopped having chocolate and other caffeinated treats two days ago, and my son's behavior seems back to normal.  I remember the days when I had to wait until I had a couple of days' worth of extra breast milk - either frozen or in the fridge - so I could have some caffeinated treats or spicy foods.  Then, to make sure that my son did not get any kind of reaction from my breast milk, I used to "pump and dump" the milk for up to a day following the "binge".  I think my slip-up has come from the fact that I've been doing this for 14 months now and see the end coming near.

So this is just a reminder to mothers out there about caffeine intake – it can affect your child's behavior if he or she is still drinking breast milk.  If it doesn't, that's fine, but if it does, simply reducing or cutting out caffeine altogether may make a difference in keeping your child's mood more steady.

Pacifier Weaning Day 7

Last night my son went to bed without any pacifiers.  I feared that it was going to be a hellish night, but it was not that bad.  He went to sleep.  At 11pm, he cried loudly.  I went to check on him – his temperature was okay, diaper was fine and he quieted down as soon as he saw me.  He just needed some comfort.  I rubbed his back as he laid back down and placed his stuffed animals next to him.  I reminded him that it was time for sleep and turned on soothing music.  I stayed with him for a few minutes and said goodnight.  When I left he cried, but only for a few minutes and then went back to sleep.  Then he woke up at 6:10am.

Overall, I am very happy with this gentle weaning technique and my son seemed to adjust well to it.  Prior to trying this method, I was afraid that it was going to be a repeat of what we went through with weaning from the breast – which was horrible – but this was absolutely a breeze in comparison.

Pacifier Weaning Day 6

Yesterday was Day 6 of weaning.  (Refer to previous posts for Days 1-5 of pacifier weaning).  Prior to putting my son to bed, I collected all of his pacifiers that had been cut and cut a bit more off so that it was down to the stub.  I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After his bedtime routine, my son went to sleep quietly.  He woke up at 6am crying and seemed very upset.  When he saw me, he calmed down and handed me all his pacifiers.  I took him out of his crib and held him and let him play in my bed until it was his normal wake up time.

My son went to sleep easily for his naps during the day, but they are definitely shorter during this weaning period than they had been.  The longest nap he had this week was only 45 minutes compared to the 1-2hour naps he used to have.  I hope things eventually settle back to the naps being longer!

After my son's afternoon nap, while he was playing, I brought the pacifiers and a little gift bag to him and explained that he is a big boy now and does not need his pacifiers anymore.  I explained that we are going put the pacifiers in the bag and the Pacifier Fairy will come to get them and give them to little babies who need them.  I asked him to place the pacifiers in the bag and he did it happily.  I praised him for being such a good boy and asked him to wave goodbye to the pacifiers.  We then took the bag and placed it outside our front door and said goodbye to it.
I will provide an update tomorrow as to how things go tonight…

Pacifier Weaning Day 5

Yesterday was Day 5 of weaning.  (Refer to previous posts for Days 1-4 of pacifier weaning).  I had made no changes to the pacifiers from Day 4 of weaning.  I put my son to bed at 7:20pm.  He went to sleep without a fuss and slept very well.  He cried at 6am non-urgently on and off for 10 minutes and went back to sleep until we woke him up at 6:40am.  The only difference that I've noticed is that his second nap was shorter than usual – only half an hour as opposed to 1-2 hours.

More updates on Day 6 tomorrow…

Pacifier Weaning Day 4

Yesterday was Day 4 of weaning.  (Refer to previous posts for Days 1-3 of pacifier weaning).  Prior to putting my son to bed, I collected all of his pacifiers that had the tips cut off and cut a bit more off.  I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After his bedtime routine, my son went to sleep quietly.  He woke up at 5:50am and began talking in his crib.  This was unusual, but he sounded very calm and cute.  He was in no way upset.  He fell back to sleep after 15 minutes and woke up at 6:30am, which is his usual wake up time.

The naps were very different this time.  When I tucked my son into his crib for his morning nap, he gestured with his arms and said "up".  He's never actually done that before.  I gently reminded him that it was nap time and he stopped gesturing up, but took a pacifier in his hand and then quickly threw it down.  After I left his room, he cried for 30 minutes on and off before falling asleep and only napped for 15 minutes.  It was the same for his afternoon nap; it took him 30 minutes to get to sleep and napped for only 30 minutes.  This was obviously out of the ordinary since his naps tend to be at least an hour long.  

More updates on Day 5 tomorrow…

Pacifier Weaning Day 3

Yesterday was Day 3 of weaning.  (Refer to previous days' posts for Days 1 and 2 of pacifier weaning).  Prior to putting my son to bed, I collected all of his pacifiers that had holes poked into them previously and cut just the tip of each with a pair of sharp scissors.  I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After story time, I tucked my son into his crib at 7:20pm like always and said goodnight.  Prior to leaving his room, I couldn't resist seeing his reaction to the pacifier.  My son took a pacifier, put it into his mouth, took it out, then looked at it, and chucked it to the side.  It was really cute!  He grabbed another pacifier.  I turned off the lights and left the room.  He then went to sleep quietly.

At 8:20pm, he made a small cry for 2 seconds, and went back to sleep. At 4am, he cried non-urgently for 8 minutes and then quieted down.  He cried for 30 seconds at 4:20am and went back to sleep.  At 4:45am, he cried again for 2 minutes and went back to sleep.  He cried at 5:45am for 1 minute and went back to sleep until 6:30am.  This was unusual.  So obviously, the snip to the pacifier made more of an impact than the 7 holes poked in it from days 1 and 2.  Still, it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be.  I'm sure we would have had many hellish nights if I had made him go cold turkey in the first place.  Hopefully by snipping the pacifiers and making them undesirable first, it won't be as difficult to take them away in a few days' time.

There were no noticeable differences in his naps from the previous days.  More updates to come in the upcoming days…

Pacifier Weaning Day 2

Last night was Day 2 of weaning.  I had made no changes to the pacifiers from Day 1 of weaning.  (Refer to blog on October 15, 2011 for Pacifier Weaning Day 1).  I put my son to bed at 7:20pm.  He went to sleep without a fuss.  What was out of the ordinary was that he cried for 2 minutes at 1AM and went back to sleep.  At 6AM he again cried for 2 minutes and went back to sleep until 6:40AM.  There were no noticeable differences during his naps today.

Pacifier Weaning Day 1

Last night, I began the process of weaning my 14 month old son from his pacifier. (Refer to blog on October 14, 2011 for reasons to wean and source for weaning technique).  I took all of his pacifiers and poked seven holes in them with a large pin.  The idea is to for the pacifier to flatten when he sucks on it and make it less enjoyable.  Then, as usual, I placed 5 pacifiers in his crib for night time sleep.

After story time, I tucked my son into his crib at 7:20pm like always and said goodnight.  He took a pacifier in his mouth and lay down.  He was quiet for a while but began crying at 7:30pm.  This was unusual.  He usually either cries right away for a few minutes when I leave the room or just goes down quietly.  My husband's theory is that he tried all the pacifiers and found them to be "defective" and started crying. 

Overall though, my son had a good night's sleep.  He slept until 6am without a peep.  As for his naps, there were no noticeable differences from the previous days.

There will be no changes made to the pacifier tonight.  I will provide updates tomorrow on pacifier weaning day 2.

 As a side note: I have been putting my son in his crib with a small plush bear for three months now in hopes that he would use the bear for comfort before and after he is weaned from the pacifier.

Gentle Pacifier Weaning

Now that my son is 14 months old, my doctor has advised me to wean him from the pacifier.  My son is very attached to his pacifiers and has been using them to help him sleep at nights and during naps.  I usually have 5 pacifiers in his crib so that they are within easy reach whenever one falls out of his mouth while he sleeps.  This has been working beautifully but alas, I agree with my doctor that it is time to say good bye to the pacifier.

I've done a great deal of research and the message is consistent:
1. There might be an increase in the risk of middle ear infections with prolonged use of the pacifier.
2. Toddlers who use pacifiers throughout the day do not have opportunities to talk, laugh, or make sounds and it can affect their language development.
3. Prolonged pacifier use might lead to dental problems such as tooth misalignment.
4. I've also heard from other parents that the longer a baby uses a pacifier, the harder it will be for him to get weaned from it.

During my research, I also stumbled upon a technique that is more gentle on the baby than going cold turkey.  Here's the link so that you can read the technique yourself: http://www.bye-bye-binky.com/Bye-Bye-Binky.pdf  It is based on changing the association with the pacifier from a positive one to a less pleasurable one.  I think this technique makes sense and sure hope it will work!  I will begin the process tonight.  The reason I've chosen to start at night is because my son tends to fall asleep easier at night, so it will probably be less for a struggle than introducing changes to his pacifiers during nap times.  I will provide updates tomorrow as to how things go tonight…

Reflux Remedies for Infants

At around a month old, my son began to show signs of reflux, which is common in most babies.  Every now and then after he ate, he spat up.  At times it was only a little, but sometimes it was quite a gusher!  I wanted to make sure that he got all the nutrients he got and kept it down as much as possible.  So I changed a few things in the way I was feeding him, and the frequency of reflux decreased.  Here's what worked for us:

1. Make sure to burp baby half way through, and after each feeding.  At times a trapped air bubble can come back up the esophagus and bring along large amount of milk.

2.  Hold baby vertically for 20 minutes after each feeding so that the milk has a chance to get digested.

3.  Place a foam wedge under baby's mattress – at the head of the crib – to create an incline to help things keep moving downwards rather than upwards when baby is sleeping.  Note: Do not place foam or pillow on top of the mattress directly under baby's head as that can cause baby's head to tilt forward too much and cause difficulty breathing.

4. If necessary, feed baby less food, more often. For example, 3oz every two hours rather than 4oz every three hours.

Pizza Grilled Cheese Recipe

My son took to pizza from the first time I offered it to him.  Knowing how much he loves pizza, I decided to do a "bait and switch" and offer him something else with a little more substance.  Now he gobbles down my whole wheat grilled cheese sandwiches and it is much easier to make than pizza.  I cut these into small squares for him.  There's no need for ketchup for dipping since there is marinara sauce in the sandwich to give it flavor and keep it moist.  Here's my recipe:


Ingredients:
1 tsp marinara sauce
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 tsp margarine or butter

Directions:
Preheat skillet over medium heat.  Assemble the sandwich by spreading marinara sauce on one slice of bread.  Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.  Top with second slice of bread.  Microwave sandwich for 30 seconds, or until the cheese slightly melts and holds the sandwich together.  The bread should be very moist at this point.  Gently spread butter or margarine on both of the outer sides of the sandwich.  Grill until lightly browned on both sides.