We are sitting here, watching the opening ceremonies and eating delicious, chocolate cupcakes from our neighbors. Todd and Lisa came over for a pizza dinner tonight with their beautiful, baby girl. It is so great to have friends with babies that live just a few houses down. We really enjoyed their company and seeing baby Anna.
Ryan is on cloud 9 today. He took the day off and planned to go to a bike shop to look at some Mountain Bikes. I told him last summer that he deserved a new bike and he has been carefully researching and budgeting ever since. His current bike is below his ability level and way below his potential, but he is a good husband and father and didn't want to spend to much right now- considering our current financial situation. Anyhow, he randomly looked on Craigslist this morning and found an awesome posting for a Specialized Stumpjumper with all of the components he hoped for, and at a total bargain price. So, he went to the bike shop to check out some bikes and check on the size of the one posted on Craigslist and at 4pm, he came home with an awesome new bike. It is a 2008 and the previous owner used it just a few times. We ended up spending nowhere near what we budgeted, so that was awesome! He is so excited and I am so happy for him. He also got asked to be in my brother's wedding and we were both so happy, I almost cried. I told him that it seems like God was trying to boost his spirits a bit and reward him for all of his hard work- both at home and in the office. He said he decided today, that God must care about the small things- even mountain bikes for a new daddy.
On his way home from picking up his new bike, he brought me a nice bouquet of Valentines flowers. That was fun! My mom came down today and we went to World Market and Ryan also got me a pretty new scarf and earrings. World Market is SO fun and affordable. It was fun to have lunch with mom, have Ryan home for the day, and do some shopping.
It was a great "pick-me-up" after a long a rough week. I think I was in a bit of a funk this week. Not only did we not feel well, it seemed like a quiet, lonely week and Coranelle was really fussy. (still is). Many of my mom friends were out of town or busy with family and it just felt like the days were long without people to meet up with. Plus, Coranelle cried for hours the last few days and it was just so draining. I have no idea what is going on and I am worried and frustrated, and tired! Yesterday, every time I put her down for a nap, she screamed and wailed like crazy. She kept spitting out her pacifier once I put her in the crib. She cried for almost 2 hours before we left for our walk and was only happy yesterday if I held her. She slept less than an hour all day and she keeps waking up earlier and earlier in the mornings. I don't know why. She doesn't have a temperature and she is not pulling on her ears. We can guess that she is teething, but we have thought that since October, so I don't want to assume that. Especially since Ryan didn't get his first tooth until he was 13 months old. I don't know if she doesn't want to sleep because she is so excited about crawling, pulling herself up, waving, talking, etc. that she just wants to practice. Or, she doesn't want to be in the swaddle... or...? So, it was a wonderful relief to get away for a bit last night and go to Power Yoga with Jenny and Amy last night.
I thought today might be a different story... and it was on some fronts. She took naps today, but refused to nurse twice. Man, that is the most frustrating thing ever! Especially when she only nurses every 4 hours, and I know she needs to eat. She would nurse on one side, and then when I switched her over to the other, she would scream- scream to the point of her face turning purple. When I stopped trying to get her to nurse, she'd be okay. So, I decided both times I needed to pump. When I pumped, I got less than an ounce. :-( I don't know if that is because it was my silly hand pump, or because I am not making enough milk anymore. I hate not knowing how much Coranelle is getting. When we weighed her this morning at the gym, she was only 15 pounds, at 9 months. Not quite enough to put her on track to triple her birth weight by a year. She was 13 pounds, 5 ounces at 5 months. I am glad that she is gaining weight, but she is still so skinny! When she wouldn't nurse today, I let her drink the milk I pumped out of a cup(because of course she still won't take a bottle). She took that, so I tried to make her some formula. She spit it out, pushed it away, made faces, totally rejects it. So, what am I supposed to do to help her get enough and gain weight? Really, I am asking. Please don't tell me not to worry.... Because I am going to worry! The other crazy thing is that she'll drink whole milk. Not tons of it, but she'll drink it. I know... I know... you're not supposed to give it to babies until they're 1 year old. But, if she won't nurse and she won't take formula, what am I supposed to do? Should I wean her? Is she weaning herself? I know this sounds bad, but I wouldn't be crushed if she was done nursing at 9 months. I am very thankful that I was able to nurse her until now, but I don't LOVE nursing. I would relish the freedom of having her take milk from a sippy cup- wherever we might be. Right now, I truly have to be home every 3-4 hours to nurse because she won't nurse elsewhere and I am not comfortable doing it either. I just don't know what to do. I will make a call to the pediatrician next week. But, in the meantime, I would love advice from any of you out there that have suggestions.
Next week, I am looking forward to starting my online class- Spanish for Educators II. I also have heard from two different families this week interested in me taking their kiddos for child care next year, so I have that opportunity to ponder on right now. Not much else to report at the moment. So, have a wonderful Valentines Day and a great long weekend (if you get one).
7 comments:
oh, kari, my heart goes out to you. first of all, big ((HUGS)) of course. now, i have to say that in my experience, when a baby is teething, they:
a) can't stand to suck on the pacifier and continually spit it out
b) are basically uninterested in nursing, or even eating in general
and
c) have much more difficulty falling asleep for bedtimes, naptimes and tend to wake earlier in the morning.
i know you said you're not holding your breath that she's teething, BUT she could still be experiencing a lot of discomfort whether or not they're about to break through the surface. i would highly suggest just giving her a dose of infant motrin one evening about an hour before bedtime and see if it makes a difference. i don't know how you feel about giving your baby medicine, but if you just try it you can figure out whether she's in pain or not. then you can work from there to help her. samuel is in the process of cutting THREE top teeth at the SAME TIME!!! usually teething tablets work great, but tonight i gave him the good stuff (motrin, not tylenol) and so far i haven't heard a peep from him, whereas the past few nights he's been crying every hour it seems.
in terms of weaning her, i would suggest adding a little bit of formula to her solids so she gets used to the taste. then add a little bit of formula to your breastmilk, slowly increasing the quantity until eventually all she is getting is formula. you could also try adding formula to whole milk and doing the same thing. its not that whole milk is bad for babies, the regulations are in place so that moms don't simply go from breastmilk straight to whole milk in the first year. babies under a year need all of the extras that breastmilk and formula have, which whole milk doesn't have. so don't feel guilty for giving her whole milk, but definitely try to get at least some formula or breastmilk into her. hey, when my mom had babies, she weaned us all at 9 months and went straight to whole milk and look how well i turned out!!! ;)
i'm sure you know this already, but there are some great foods that have a high fat content such as avocados, full fat yogurt, etc. that you could also feed her to try and boost her weight a bit.
you are doing a great job, kari. i so wish that we lived closer so we could just sit and chill while coranelle shows samuel how to crawl. things WILL get easier, i promise.
p.s. i am SO SORRY that i just posted a comment as long as a novel!
"she weaned us all at 9 months and we went right to whole milk and look how well I turned out"!!! Kari, I read your blog and totally love the fact that Heidi comments. She has great suggestions and I think that means alot, considering she has 2 kids and has obviously been through everything you are going through...and then some!!!!! I also wish she lived closer so that you could visit and talk....if Coranelle pops a tooth or 2 anytime soon, I will NOT be one bit surprised!!!!
Thanks for letting me come hang out yesterday....again!!!! Looking forward to seeing you guys tomorrow. Hope the weather cooperates!
PS...you are an aswesome mom....."don't worry"....
hey kari,
just noticed on facebook that you have a bog and thought i'd check it out. :)
from my experience working with infants in child care and foster care and seeing dozens of them go through teething, i agree with everything that your friend heidi said. some kids take a long time to teeth, the teeth come up a bit and it hurts them and then they hang out there for a while before they come up more and push through. sometimes it helps if you rub their gums before they nurse with pretty hard pressure (their gums kind of squeak) for some this can numb the pain for a bit.
another thing to keep in mind, i had a little one that had an ear infection and her mom didn't know about it until they ruptured and she saw the drainage, because she never had a fever and wasn't pulling at her ears. not to worry you, but just that it might be worth a dr. visit to check, if she is not herself for a long time and you don't see other teething signs.
hopefully it's just teeth and she'll be back to herself soon! good luck kari
Hi Kari,
I agree with the teething comments. Noah drooled for a good five months and acted like he was teething for a very long time before his finally cut.
And I agree, I think it was Heidi that suggested the baby advil at bedtime one night. If you try it and it helps her then you know that might be what's bothering her.
Regarding the nursing, Noah went down to only nursing on one side. Have you tried a different hold? Around nine months, I had to go back to nursing him football style on the left side because that's the only way he would take it. And with pumping, if you're using a hand pump it is harder to get a high quantity of milk out. Also, if you're anxious and worried about her (which is to be expected) that will affect your milk supply. Anytime you have any type of stress or anxiety it makes it harder to produce. I remember pumping one time at school and Jose (the custodian) almost walked in on me. I tried to continue pumping but I couldn't produce as much since I was scared he would walk in again.
Regarding the whole milk, moms did it for years before formula was made. Of course, the formula and breast milk have more vitamins and nutrients and are preferred, but some calories from whole milk are better than no calories. I agree with whoever suggested mixing the formula and breast milk.
I know as a mom it's so hard not to worry, so I'm not going to tell you not to worry. Just try to make sure you're taking some time for yourself as well (be it a nap, working out, etc). That will help your energy, mood and overall health.
Hang in there!!! Miss seeing you!
Love, Amy
opps, I meant formula and whole milk. :-)
p.s. one more thing to add: if you haven't already, try taking "fenugreek". its an herbal supplement and it really helps increase your milk supply. i've been taking it since i started weight watchers and it works wonders!
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