Tuck this advice somewhere in the back of your brain, because if you're planning to have multiple children, you will probably have a fussy baby at some point. Note I say fussy, not colicky. There's a difference. Ruby doesn't have colic, because she can be soothed, and she doesn't cry "3 hours a day, 3x a week, for 3 weeks or more" (that's the definition of colic).
I've finally figured out what's wrong with her, now that she's nearly 10 weeks old. Here it is: 1) thrush and 2) overstimulation.
Thrush. My kids have never had it before, so I didn't know what it looked like. Before we left the hospital, the nurse came in and said, "Her tongue's a little white. It may be thrush, but we think it's just breast milk." I took her word that it was probably breast milk, not really thinking about it again. But then Ruby started pulling off all the time when nursing. I thought she was already entering the distracted nurser phase of life, which comes later when your hyperactive infant wants to look at everything around them. So I asked at the doctor 2 week appt., "Do you think she has thrush?" Same answer: "No, it's just breastmilk." Again, I took her word for it. By the way, being at a military facility, I almost never see the same physician twice. Finally, at 7 weeks, I took her in for a cold. I wasn't even going to ask the doctor, but this doctor, when examining her, said, "Her tongue is coated white. She has thrush!" I couldn't believe that she had gone 7 weeks with thrush, all because two previous doctors had misdiagnosed her!
Once on Nystatin, her behavior improved. She was nursing better, she was happy. This was the week of the Happy Ruby post. We did two cycles of Nystatin. Two days after it was done, Ruby became worse. She only took 20 minute naps, she had to be practically asleep to nurse, and I spent all of my days trying to get her to nurse or sleep. I was going insane.
This past Wednesday, I took her in to the doctor again, because now I was starting to feel itchy from thrush. They treated Ruby with Gentian Violet (remember?), but they wouldn't treat me. I had to set up a separate OB appointment, and they gave me cream Nystatin, which you have to wash off and reapply every time you breastfeed! Yes, a nightmare! I really didn't want to use it, because it says boldly on the box, "do not ingest." What if I poisoned my baby?
So. What's a girl to do? I was literally going insane from the thrush! Oh, I forgot to mention, the one treatment of Gentian Violet that they gave Ruby didn't work. She still has thrush. She was happy the one day she had the treatment, but her tongue was still slightly white. I heard from a few women that the only thing that works is doing Gentian Violet on yourself and your baby for 3-4 days. This means purple baby and purple breasts. But I was desperate. I sent Joe to Walgreen's, he bought the Gentian Violet, and we began treatments last night. I already feel better, and I think Ruby does too. Let's pray this is the end.
So, my point. If you see a white coating on your baby's tongue, that's thrush. Don't listen to your doctor if they say, "It's not thrush, because it's only on the tongue." And don't do Nystatin as a treatment. It ultimately does not work. You must use Gentian Violet. It's cheaper and more effective. Doctors don't really know what to do with thrush; I've heard of lots of women who go for months with thrush before finally getting better. So don't let yourself get to this point; do Gentian Violet right away.
2) Overstimulation. Can you tell from this post that I have been crazy? So in addition to the thrush, Ruby has only been taking 20 minute naps. My other children I could nurse, and they would go to sleep. Well, Ruby hasn't been wanting to nurse because of the thrush, and when she would nurse, as soon as she was done, her little eyes would pop open. She's hyperactive.
I think part of it is me going too many places during the day (mostly the doctor's office, thanks to thrush), and me having multiple children. She just wants to be awake and playing with them, and she wants to be part of the action when we're out and about. But she gets too tired, and then she fusses all of the time.
So on Tuesday, I lost it. I called Joe, crying, because I couldn't even feed myself lunch because I was trying in vain to get my child to sleep. He came home, gave me a salad, and a blessing, and took Ruby. I immediately felt inspired to read this book that I had checked out from the library a few weeks ago that my friend Becca had suggested called Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Baby. This book was an answer to my prayers. It may not be an answer to yours, but it gave me what I needed to get my baby into good sleeping habits. The premise is that your baby needs to sleep at least every two hours a day or they get overly tired. And that is so true! So, for me, to get Ruby to sleep was to let her cry. I comfort her every fifteen minutes, but she has already learned how to put herself to sleep. I have never been opposed to "crying it out," and I have done it for my other kids, but I never thought it was appropriate for a child under 3 months of age. But if your kid isn't sleeping and is crying anyway, what other alternative is there?
So my point with this: Get a sleep strategy for your baby at birth. Even if you're not planning on using it right away, have a plan, whether it be from Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happiest Baby on the Block, or Babywise, come up with a plan. I have never read any parenting books before, because I like to go with my instincts, but in Ruby's case, this really helped me.
Okay. I'm done. Hopefully I helped someone. I certainly helped myself. I'm grateful the worst is over, and I can just enjoy my adorable little girl. I do love her so.
This was the original treatment of Gentian Violet, done at the doctor's. Note the slightly purple lips.
Sad face. We get to take her to church tomorrow like this.
This was a rapid mood swing. She gets it from her brother.
Purple tongue! Did I mention this stuff dyes everything? So don't put your child or yourself in anything you care about.
With big sister!
I've finally figured out what's wrong with her, now that she's nearly 10 weeks old. Here it is: 1) thrush and 2) overstimulation.
Thrush. My kids have never had it before, so I didn't know what it looked like. Before we left the hospital, the nurse came in and said, "Her tongue's a little white. It may be thrush, but we think it's just breast milk." I took her word that it was probably breast milk, not really thinking about it again. But then Ruby started pulling off all the time when nursing. I thought she was already entering the distracted nurser phase of life, which comes later when your hyperactive infant wants to look at everything around them. So I asked at the doctor 2 week appt., "Do you think she has thrush?" Same answer: "No, it's just breastmilk." Again, I took her word for it. By the way, being at a military facility, I almost never see the same physician twice. Finally, at 7 weeks, I took her in for a cold. I wasn't even going to ask the doctor, but this doctor, when examining her, said, "Her tongue is coated white. She has thrush!" I couldn't believe that she had gone 7 weeks with thrush, all because two previous doctors had misdiagnosed her!
Once on Nystatin, her behavior improved. She was nursing better, she was happy. This was the week of the Happy Ruby post. We did two cycles of Nystatin. Two days after it was done, Ruby became worse. She only took 20 minute naps, she had to be practically asleep to nurse, and I spent all of my days trying to get her to nurse or sleep. I was going insane.
This past Wednesday, I took her in to the doctor again, because now I was starting to feel itchy from thrush. They treated Ruby with Gentian Violet (remember?), but they wouldn't treat me. I had to set up a separate OB appointment, and they gave me cream Nystatin, which you have to wash off and reapply every time you breastfeed! Yes, a nightmare! I really didn't want to use it, because it says boldly on the box, "do not ingest." What if I poisoned my baby?
So. What's a girl to do? I was literally going insane from the thrush! Oh, I forgot to mention, the one treatment of Gentian Violet that they gave Ruby didn't work. She still has thrush. She was happy the one day she had the treatment, but her tongue was still slightly white. I heard from a few women that the only thing that works is doing Gentian Violet on yourself and your baby for 3-4 days. This means purple baby and purple breasts. But I was desperate. I sent Joe to Walgreen's, he bought the Gentian Violet, and we began treatments last night. I already feel better, and I think Ruby does too. Let's pray this is the end.
So, my point. If you see a white coating on your baby's tongue, that's thrush. Don't listen to your doctor if they say, "It's not thrush, because it's only on the tongue." And don't do Nystatin as a treatment. It ultimately does not work. You must use Gentian Violet. It's cheaper and more effective. Doctors don't really know what to do with thrush; I've heard of lots of women who go for months with thrush before finally getting better. So don't let yourself get to this point; do Gentian Violet right away.
2) Overstimulation. Can you tell from this post that I have been crazy? So in addition to the thrush, Ruby has only been taking 20 minute naps. My other children I could nurse, and they would go to sleep. Well, Ruby hasn't been wanting to nurse because of the thrush, and when she would nurse, as soon as she was done, her little eyes would pop open. She's hyperactive.
I think part of it is me going too many places during the day (mostly the doctor's office, thanks to thrush), and me having multiple children. She just wants to be awake and playing with them, and she wants to be part of the action when we're out and about. But she gets too tired, and then she fusses all of the time.
So on Tuesday, I lost it. I called Joe, crying, because I couldn't even feed myself lunch because I was trying in vain to get my child to sleep. He came home, gave me a salad, and a blessing, and took Ruby. I immediately felt inspired to read this book that I had checked out from the library a few weeks ago that my friend Becca had suggested called Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Baby. This book was an answer to my prayers. It may not be an answer to yours, but it gave me what I needed to get my baby into good sleeping habits. The premise is that your baby needs to sleep at least every two hours a day or they get overly tired. And that is so true! So, for me, to get Ruby to sleep was to let her cry. I comfort her every fifteen minutes, but she has already learned how to put herself to sleep. I have never been opposed to "crying it out," and I have done it for my other kids, but I never thought it was appropriate for a child under 3 months of age. But if your kid isn't sleeping and is crying anyway, what other alternative is there?
So my point with this: Get a sleep strategy for your baby at birth. Even if you're not planning on using it right away, have a plan, whether it be from Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happiest Baby on the Block, or Babywise, come up with a plan. I have never read any parenting books before, because I like to go with my instincts, but in Ruby's case, this really helped me.
Okay. I'm done. Hopefully I helped someone. I certainly helped myself. I'm grateful the worst is over, and I can just enjoy my adorable little girl. I do love her so.
This was the original treatment of Gentian Violet, done at the doctor's. Note the slightly purple lips.
Sad face. We get to take her to church tomorrow like this.
This was a rapid mood swing. She gets it from her brother.
Purple tongue! Did I mention this stuff dyes everything? So don't put your child or yourself in anything you care about.
With big sister!
10 comments:
Oh Charlotte! I'm sorry you had to go through so much with Ruby and the thrush! What a pain and how brave and determined you and Joe both are! Ruby look adorable despite the purple. We will continue to pray for your all to stay well and thrush-free! Lots of love, Lynne and Laurie
I think Ruby is adorable in purple!! I love all the cute little pictures of her and Elliot and Dottie. You are always in our prayers. I love you and you are a wonderful mother!
As Elder Cook said, you are incredible. Leave it to a Mom to diagnose and treat her children properly. Ruby is so cute. You could sing "My Blue Heaven" while nursing Ruby !
Hahaha! I just love the purple mouth! But I am more sorry for you and Ruby. We'll pray for you. I'm glad you are good at finding solutions! Lurvs.
WOW Charlotte you have been very busy! You are such a good Mommy and I am sure that someone who reads this will be glad they know what to do in a similar situation. Hope you and Ruby get better and then maybe she will sleep better for you. Love you and keep an eternal perspective and "this too shall pass".
Charlotte you are doing an awesome job! And you have learned another lesson, which is to be a persistent pain in the butt when dealing with WHMC. And PLEASE let me do something to help!!! I have to kill time on base on the days my Elliott is at school and I would be glad to come stay with your Elliot, or hold Ruby, or whatever. I don't even mind if she gets me purple or if Elliot wants to watch Monsters Inc. I mean it!
Whoa what a post! Thanks for the info - duly noted. Man, I'm getting nervous! There's so much to learn!
The kids are so cute! We wish we were closer to them so we can see them grow (not to mention meet Ruby for the first time!). I especially like that first picture of Elliot and Ruby.
Oh goodness, purple is a lovely color for Ruby! I'm sorry you've had such a rough time but I too loved the Happy Baby, Healthy Sleep habits book. Saved me lots of stress with Peter.
Oh Charlotte! What great parents you and Joe are! Purple is really Ruby's color! You'd like the book Instinctive Parenting by Ada Calhoun..she says to trust our guts! Hugs to all! Jannette says hi too!
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