March 23, 2012
Breastfeeding, redux
Now that A officially has teeth, I’m noticing that breastfeeding has become much less comfortable.
Understatement of the century.
So now I’m starting to seriously consider whether I might start weaning him sooner rather than later…
I had hoped to get to a year and switch straight to milk, but I’m pretty certain that I’m going to want to make some changes when his top teeth come in. At the point where he can actually bite down, I think I’m going to choose my nipple over his breastfeeding. I’m just hoping they’re a few months away. 😉
I’m also headed away next weekend – my first time away from A overnight, and for two nights no less! I’m going to NYC to see my best friend from college and celebrate her 30th birthday, and I’m just not really in the mood to pump every three hours while I’m there.
A is already using some formula – when I lost my milk after my gall bladder surgery, I never got enough back that I could pump for his cereal or for the occasional times we went out, so he’s been getting formula and does pretty well with it. If he’s not hungry, he tends to not really be interested, and we had an issue with excema with one of the brands, but in general, I know that he can get what he needs with formula.
Now I just have to decide whether pushing through these next two months is more for his benefit or for me just to be able to say that I did it for a year. I truly feel like he’s getting a large portion of his nutrition through solids now – my boy can EAT! – and that the BM/formula is more of a top off. With the exception of the early morning, I guess.
So maybe I’ll wean him down to morning and evening BF and give him formula with his meals? Thinking out loud here… Any thoughts?
March 21, 2012
Wordless Wednesday
Celebrating his uncle's 21st birthday...doesn't he look like he's the one that's drunk? 😉
Outside on the porch, enjoying the fresh air
...and some blueberries!
March 19, 2012
Baby sign
I have been debating whether or not I was going to do baby sign with A – partly because I question whether it helps or actually delays speech, and also because I’m not sure if we’ll be able to be consistent…it’s not really S’s thing. But recently A has gotten a lot more “talkative”, like he’s really trying to tell us something, so I figured it was worth a shot.
I had just started looking up a few signs last week, and then a friend guilted me into committing to it over the weekend. So we’re going to start in earnest. For my record, our first few signs are going to be more, all done, eat, water, and dog. 😉
Does anybody have any experiences with baby sign? Positive or negative!
March 12, 2012
Jeans and genetics
A has changed SO much in the past what, two weeks since I’ve posted?
He can now go from his belly to sitting, which is his new favorite thing to do when he’s supposed to be lying down going to sleep. ;-P Naptime now starts with 30-45 minutes of playtime in his crib (which we need to move down to the lowest setting before he figures out how to stand up!) before he actually falls asleep. Any time I think he has finally fallen asleep and check his monitor, he’s there looking at me (and the light on his monitor), just playing with his teddy bear.
He also has been doing two things that freak me out because they are EXACTLY what I used to do when I was a baby. The first is probably pretty common to babies in general, but A is a FREAK for specks of dirt and dust on the floor. Which with a dog and a cat is a pretty frequent occurrence! He’ll be crawling around, holding or heading towards a toy, and will stop dead in his tracks to pick up and play with a piece of dirt. Even just a mark on the floor is fascinating. 😉 We finally got a gate to put across his playroom area…half to keep him in and half to keep the dog (and the dirt) out! Apparently I used to be the same way – but instead of eating the dirt like my little guy, would pick it up and hand it to my mother. Maybe that’s a gender difference, lol!
Another thing that he has started is playing with and twirling the hair on the back of his head while he’s falling asleep. He’ll be lying on his belly with his pacifier in his mouth, his teddy blanket (those ones with the teddy head on top of a small blanket) in one arm right up against his face, and the other hand playing with his hair. The back of his head is all crazy and fuzzy because he’s playing with it so much! I used to sleep with one thumb in my mouth and the other hand twirling my hair. My parents actually had to stop the car on multiple occasions because I would have my hair twirled so tightly around my finger that it would start to go numb, lol!
It’s just CRAZY to me that he is starting to have some of the same mannerisms, even despite being a boy (and not looking at all like me, lol)! The nature vs. nurture debate has always fascinated me, even more so after we started considering adoption and the challenges I had in connecting to A initially. I love collecting these data points 😉 and starting to imagine what A is going to be like as a “real person.”
Oh, and the jean reference? Trying to promote some accountability considering the fact that my jeans still, 9 months later, do not fit! Two weeks ago I worked out for 7 days straight, and then last week I think it was only twice. My goal is 10 pounds and one pant size by the time A is a year old. Wish me luck!
Update – can’t believe I forgot to mention…A finally has teeth! The two bottom ones have just poked through, one yesterday and one today, so hopefully our sleep is on the upswing again. 😉
Life by the Day 