Hopefully we have an answer

For those of you who see my posts on Facebook or the blog about Allie not sleeping well, continue reading. 

What's the deal?
November and December 2010 were like heaven for us around here.  Allie was on an actual "schedule" and it was N-I-C-E.  She would come home from school, eat, play, take a bath, then bed time by 7:30 pm.  We wouldn't hear a peep out of her until 7:30 or 8 the next morning.  We went home for Christmas and her great sleep habits went down the hill....FAST.

I have traveled every week since January 1st with the exception of this week.  Her lack of sleep has to be due to the fact that she's not taking in as many ounces of formula as she needs at this point.  She refuses her bottles at school and barely consumes 10 ounces per day.  Her teachers are so sweet and worry about her just as Ben and I do so they make up for the lack of formula by spoon feeding her 3 meals per day.  Yes, we have lucked out with Mrs. Crystal and Ms. Annie.  :)

Now her sleep habits are terrible BUT I've realized from talking to friends that it's not as bad as I make it out to be.  Allie still goes to bed at 7:30 pm, but she wakes up between 12:30 and 4 am to EAT!  UGH!  I feel like I have a newborn all over again.  And not only does the little turkey eat, she DEVOURS a 7-8 ounce oatmeal bottle in like 2 minutes. 

Now I'm not a rocket scientist but this all tells me she's starving and not getting enough calories during the day.

So now what?
Yes, don't you love how I've set up titles for my post?  I'm in a weird mood!

I called our pediatrician yesterday.  She's a total saint, LOVE that woman.  She called me back around 5:15 pm and we talked for 10-15 minutes about Allie's eating, sleeping, etc.  To be honest, the sleep doesn't bother Ben and me as much as the fact that we KNOW she isn't getting enough food.  As a parent it is hard to stomach the fact that your child is hungry and it makes it even worse when you can't figure out why they won't eat when it is presented to them. 

Dr. Franz always has the answers...again, I love her.  I have been doing this whole "mommy" thing SO wrong.  For my friends with new babies, take note:

Rather than feeding Allie oatmeal mixed with formula and fruit to taste, I thought I was being "super mommy" by giving her the pricey Gerber containers with ground up filet mignon and potatoes.  (Not really, I'm just using this as an example of why I thought I was being super mom.)  At school she would get a Level 2 mixed veggie in the morning followed by a Level 2 oatmeal with blended fruits then a Level 2 vegetables with whole wheat pasta.  Sounds good, right? 

Well Dr. Franz crushed my "super mommy" tag.  Apparently the foods I was giving her are merely "empty calories" so even though it seemed like Allie was getting quite a bit of food, it wasn't enough to really sustain her, especially since she was not taking her bottles.

Dr. Franz suggested we feed Allie three oatmeal/formula/fruit to taste meals per day to coat her little tummy.  If she denies a bottle during he day, but has her three spoon feeds in, it's not the end of the world like it was before when she was eating "empty calories."  To END the 12:30 to 4 am feeding, she suggested we give her 5 ounces of water and 1 ounce of  formula so she didn't get "full" and try to survive on that single bottle during the day.  We tried this last night and sure enough, she was a Starvin' Marvin this morning and made a happy bottle before school.

The past month has been very stressful.  It is amazing how much you can love "something."  I am not a very patient person, but with Allie it's amazing how I have an automatic "patience increase" when dealing with her eating issues. 

So what have I learned?
Point blank...she's smarter than me and Ben but Dr. Franz trumps her 110%...I think her theory is working.  :)