Sometimes you have to laugh

Because it's all you can do. You have your good days and your bad days with the little ones. They brighten your life and your days 95% of the time. But sometimes that 5% just takes its tole on you at times.

This week has been one of those weeks for us. After a few months of sickness all of us are pretty tired and worn out, each week seems to be bring us a new virus or another. The past few days Gabby hasn't been getting enough sleep we think as she is waking up pretty defiant. It seems that if things don't go exactly her way she throws a fit. One morning it was because I didn't stack her cereal "right". Right for her is one layer of each of the 3 to 4 cereals, that morning it was because it was more like a  mountain. who knew there was a right way to stack cereal. LOL

Today we had a great day, she cuddled in bed with us while she watched some cartoons, we got to "sleep in"....well for us anyway until about 7:15. We had a good breakfast of pancakes - no stacking involved. Then headed to the Zoo for a family trip. Met up with some friends, had lunch and had a great time.

She napped on the way home and cuddled with Mike for awhile. We had a great afternoon and then dinner happened. We had the audacity to serve Gabby enchiladas. All hell broke loose. All we ask of her is that she eats 3 bites of each item of food on her plate. She just had to eat 3 bites of enchilada to get some corn bread that was it. Well lets just say it didn't happen. After 20 minutes of fighting with her we told her she was done and going to bed. I have never sent her to bed without dinner in 3 years until tonight. She didn't eat, she fought us every step of the way.

During this same time the littlest one also decided that after her few bites of corn, enchiladas and cornbread that she was ALL DONE! and was throwing her food on the floor and screaming her head off. Fun times!!

But I know that tomorrow is a new day and they will be smiling and laughing with me tomorrow. When I went to put Liv down tonight, she was screaming her head off until I started tickling her and then she was all smiles and giggles and it took away all the frustration for the night.

I need to remember these moments when I am in the thick of it and dealing with them trying to exert all the independence they can muster!

Livy Pie is 1!

Weight

20lbs 10oz - she actually lost about 5oz in the past week that the doctor thinks is because she is moving around so much.

Clothing Size

12-18 Month shirts, onesies and pants and some 24 month stuff.

Diaper Size

Size 3 diapers

Feeding

She has really taken off with the solid food in the past few months. She still nurses when she is around mama, but she is down to 4oz of mama's milk during the day + water. She is eating 3 to 4 solid meals a day + snacks. She LOVES meat and veggies. Even just last night she was asking for more beans and veggies! She eats so much! We are starting the transition of her from my milk to whole milk. Day 1 - no go she hated it, so I added a little honey to it today.

Sleep Schedule

We have been struggling with this the past month. With 4 and now 5 teeth coming through + colds it really throws someone off their sleep schedule. She got used to sleeping in my arms in the recliner. We started our version of cry it out (see my next post for more details). Which seems to be working. She is back to only getting up 1 to 2 times a night and sleeping from 6:3pm to 6:00am

Milestones

* You have 7 teeth now. You got your four upper teeth all at once - it was a rough few weeks

*You are signing like crazy, ball, please, thank you, more, all done

* You are talking up a storm too, you can say, dada, please, ball, bubble, hi and even started saying bye

* You are starting to try to walk more, but still not quite there yet, but I have a feeling it will be soon

* You totally love your sister and your puppy and you light up when you see both of them

Dear Sunshine! You are my little girl and this past year has been so amazing. I LOVE watching you grow and learn every day. You love your family and your teachers at school and to see that love come from your smile is truly amazing. You are one special girl and I want you to never forget that!! Your sweet sweet smile makes me laugh every time I see it. You are truly special in my heart.

I love you!
Mama!

Out the other Side

When you are in the thick of something, sometimes it's hard to see the other side and know that you will be okay. Thats where I was Thursday evening.....after a really hard night of clogged ducts and again no nursing I woke up Thursday morning with the full intent of talking to the Lactation Consultant at the peds office and see what she recommended for formula and how to go about it. I was going to pump 2 times during the day and supplement with formula as long as my supply in the freezer would last and my supply daily would last until she was a year and switch her to whole milk.

I had an even rougher day of pumping, massaging and kneeding out those clogs while I worked my brand new job in the office! I came home after checking out Kellymom, Le Leche League forums and was determined one more shot at it - since the LC never called me back.

After dinner of some yummy veggies for Liv I took her into the bedroom and laid down with her on the bed skin to skin like we used to do when she was a newborn. I didn't force her to nurse, in fact I didn't offer it at all, I just laid her head near my breast and she and I took a 20 minute snooze. It was wonderful. It was bath night, so I got both girls in the tub an when It was Liv's turn to get out of the tub I took her instead of our usual routine of my husband taking her. I went into the bedroom again and laid down with her skin to skin again. this time I squirted some milk into her mouth. She tried to nibble a little but actually just started nursing. No pushing or anything. It was glorious! I got her to nurse on both sides which relieved my clogged ducts in a matter of 20 minutes!!

I put her to bed and she slept until around 1am, I nursed her in our spot in her room and she again tried to bite but I took her off and squirted milk into her mouth and it was like she remembered "Oh yeah this is what I am supposed to be doing" and nursed again. She slept until 5:45 and nursed again.

This evening after great pumpings at work, I gave her sophie to chew on while I got ready to nurse her and she chewed on sophie a bit and then nursed beautifully. No biting, nothing. back to our old routine and I am in love all over again!

Like I said in the beginning so many people said it was a phase and clearly she wasn't ready to wean - not that I really thought she was. Clearly I wasn't ready to wean her either....so I am glad I stuck it out and knowing this will help me if it happens when the next set of teeth come in!

Thanks for all those that helped me, listened to me and supported me. I truly could not have done this without you. That's what mom's and friends are for!!

On Strike

I didn't think it could happen but my 9 month old is on strike. You may be asking yourself on strike from what?? The only thing my 9 month old really has control over in her life right now is her eating. Yep that's right she is on strike with nursing. I have heard of it but in the 21 almost 22 months I nursed her sister Gabby and in the 9 months so far that I have nursed Olivia it's never come up until now that is.

Things in our life started to go a little crazy last Thursday. Liv wasn't feeling well I thought she was warm, but the thermometer told me not so much. So I sent her off to school. around 12 or so they called me and said she wasn't feeling well, and had a 102.7 fever. EEK! So off I went. We had a doctors appointment for her 9 month check up the next morning so I wasn't worried. 2 days later fast forward to Saturday and her fever broke over night and she was doing fine. Saturday evening Gabby got sick with the same thing. They decided to trade off getting up in the middle of the night and Mike and I were up every hour it seemed like that night. It was a rought night. Liv was still nursing just fine.

Sunday they were both a bit clingy but doing great, Liv was obviously teething as she was trying to bit everything, the dog, me, her toys, her sister! You name it, she would bite it! We would sternly but nicely tell her no bite - I even started doing the sign for no bite. She would just look at us and giggle.

Fast forward to Monday evening, I get home from work and I go to nurse Olivia. She bites me not once, not twice but three times. Apparently I am a sucker for punishment. She arched her back and refused to eat. I might have scared her a bit since I may or may not have screamed out. It hurt, babies have teeth like puppies, they aren't just teeth, they are razor sharp fangs it seems and it hurts!

I figured okay, she is teething, she did this last time to me and we moved on when she really needed/wanted to eat. At bed time I thought forsure she would eat. No such luck. Fast forward to Wednesday and we haven't nursed since 4am on Monday morning. She has been getting bottles from me, Mike and at school. I have tried every time to nurse her and she either bites me or arches her back, screams her head off and refuses to even try to nurse.

This deeply saddens me more than I can even express. I know some people have a real love/hate relationship with nursing, but I truly enjoyed my time with my daughter. It is our time to bond, have that connection. To be honest it's something I can do and only me in my family. I know thats a bit selfish, but I am proud of the fact that I can offer nourishment to my daughter. I pump 2 times a day just so she can have that nutrition she needs (Do not take this as a post against formula - I know and respect that not everyone can nurse, it's not an easy thing to do and for some it just doesn't work).

I had a emotional breakdown Monday night because she kept biting me and while it hurt physically it hurt more emotionally. Only 1 time in my life of nursing have I thought that I might give it up and just do formula. That was week 2 with Gabby, I was having such a hard time, had no idea what I was doing. Since then however I haven't even considered it until yesterday.

I am now pumping 4 to 5 times a day, with little output, I get maybe 3 or 5 ounces at the most each time. I only have about 300 or so ounces stored up, but Liv is eating about 18oz of milk a day. at this rate, if I stopped pumping we could continue with my milk until september 13th or so.

I have a few options.

1. Give up nursing her and see if she goes back to it after her teeth come in. Keep pumping 4 or 5 times a day and pray that my supply stays.

OR

2. Give up nursing her, use the rest of my supply, stop pumping and switch to formula for the last 3 months or so until she can switch to cows milk.

Right now I am actually leaning towards option number 2. It's stressing me out having to pump so much - I give props to all your women out there that exclusively pumped for your little ones - you know who you are. You are better women then I.

The more I stress out this, the more my supply will tank...So if anyone out there that is reading this has ANY thoughts, other options suggestions please, I am all ears.

The things that I have done to help relieve Olivia's teething are as follows
1. Alternated Pain meds from advil to tylenol

2. Tried the numbing gel - didn't work

3. Tried a cold wash cloth - the only thing she WON'T bite

4. Teething oil - somewhat works at least to start with

5. Amber necklace, we just got this, if it doesn't work it still looks adorable! HA!
6. Teething toys, she bites pretty hard on them but it doesn't work at night.

So let me know your thoughts! and if you made it this far Thank You!

Livy Pie 9 Months

 

Weight

19lbs 8oz

Clothing Size

12 months and now 18 months stuff

Diaper Size

Size 3 diapers

Feeding

You are drinking about 3 - 4oz bottles at daycare and on the weekends you are just nursing on demand.
You are also eating 2 meals a day at daycare and 1 to 2 snacks as well. You LOVE food!!

Sleep Schedule

You take two naps during the day, sometimes one - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. You go to bed around 7:30pm and gets up between 4 and 6am.

Milestones

 *  You started crawling!! You are taking off a ton and getting into everything now.

* You moved up to the Young Toddlers room. 

*You are starting to use a sippy cup
* You are now on the full menu at school and loving every minute of it.
* You love your puppy and squeal every time she comes by.
*You are standing up on furniture and tables
*You are trying to walk.

Livy Pie - 8 Months

  I am a bit late with her 8 month post, but late is better than never!

Weight

18lbs 10oz

Clothing Size

9 Month and some 12 month stuff

Diaper Size

Size 3 diapers

Feeding

Mama's milk all the way.You are drinking about 3 to 4 - 5oz bottles at daycare and on the weekends you are just nursing on demand.
You are also eating 2 meals a day at daycare and 1 to 2 snacks as well. You LOVE food!!

Sleep Schedule

You haven't been sleeping as well the last month, you have been battling a bad ear infection and have been getting up 1 to 2 times a night usually around 2:30 and 5:00am. You are napping 2 times a day.

Milestones

* You are scooting backwards a lot now and moving yourself into the sitting position.

* You are rocking back and forth like you want to crawl, it will be any day now
* You have 2 teeth now!! And you know how to use them.
* You can give a high five and are starting to wave at people

* You are eating like a champ and pretty much eat anything that is put in front of you, I haven't seen a food yet you don't eat.

* You are talking more and more these days and making so many sounds
* You LOVE your dog and your sister and your face lights up when you see them walk into the room!

Livy Pie - 7 Months

 

Weight

17lbs 6oz

Clothing Size

9 Month and some 12 month stuff

Diaper Size

Size 3 diapers

Feeding

Mama's milk all the way.You are drinking about 3 to 4 - 5oz bottles at daycare and on the weekends you are just nursing on demand.

 

Sleep Schedule

You are wake up around 6:30 when we get up. You take about 2 - 40 minute naps at school. And go down for the night at 10 and sleep until 3 to 4am

Milestones

* You are talking more and more

* You are eating solids at almost every meal now. You LOVE LOVE LOVE meat, pulled pork, sausage, cooked ham and chicken.
* Your teachers love how well you are eating

* You got your first tooth breaking through
* You had your first trip to Breezy Point with the family - you loved it

* You went swimming for the first time

* You are starting to scoot backwards
* You are starting to pull yourself up more often too!

You baby girl are getting so big!!

Livy - Pie 6 Months!

Liv and her buddy Conor at school

Weight

16lbs 10oz, 27 inches long

Clothing Size

6-9 Month and some 12 month stuff

Diaper Size

Size 3 diapers

Feeding

Mama's milk all the way.You are drinking about 3 to 4 - 5oz bottles at daycare and on the weekends you are just nursing on demand.

Eating my Baby Mum Mum - YUMMY!

Sleep Schedule

You are wake up around 6:30 when we get up. You take about 2 40 minute naps at school. And go down for the night at 10 and sleep until 2:30am.

Milestones

 * You got a double ear infection & pink eye a few weeks ago - Poor girl, but you were a trooper

*You suck your thumb ALL the time!

*You laugh at your sister and at your puppy. You love watching the both of them.

*You are sitting up by yourself for like 30 seconds at a time. Still a little wobbly

*You tried your first foods - Baby Mum Mums, Rice Puffs & Peas, Pears & Green Bean Puree. You liked the puree but it was a bit tart you kept making faces at us.

* You are scooting in circles and trying to move your feet to get crawling.

* You love the boys at daycare and have lots of frineds

Dreaming about something good

Mama & Liv hanging outside

Stylish Baby!



Just LOVE being outside!



Livy-Pie 4 Months!

My baby girl is 4 months! 

 

 

 

Weight
14lbs 8oz and she is 26" long

Clothing Size
6 Months

Diaper Size
Size 2 diapers

Feeding
Mama's milk all the way.You are drinking about 3 to 4 - 4oz bottles at daycare and on the weekends you are just nursing on demand.

Sleep Schedule
You are wake up around 6:30 when we get up. You take about 3 to 4 20-40 minute naps at school. And go down for the night at 10 and sleep until 4 or 5am. Lately you have been getting up 2 times a night, but sometimes you still sleep until 4.

Milestones

*You suck your thumb ALL the time now it seems

* You have rolled over from your back to your tummy a few times
* You can now sleep on your tummy at daycare
*We have moved you up to your bedroom now and we are starting to have you sleep in your crib
* You laugh and giggle at us ALL the time. They LOVE you at daycare because of your constant smiles
*You are starting to sit up when placed in your bumbo chair, or propped up.
*We are putting you in your excersaucer and you LOVE it!
*You are growing like a weed and we can't believe how big you are getting.

You amaze me each day at how similar and different you are from your sister. We love you with all our heart and I can't imagine life without you.

2 Months

2 Months

Weight

Around 13lbs maybe more

Clothing Size

Newborn to 3 months

Diaper Size

Up and Up & Pampers size 1

Feeding

Mama's milk all the way.You are nursing/feeding about every 2 hours (sometimes every hour) during the day and longer at night

Sleep Schedule

You are wake up around 6:30 when we get up and then take a longer nap around 10ish and 2ish and sleep on and off in between. Bedtime is around 9:30 to 11 at night and you sleep until 3:30 or 4:30.

Milestones

* You are smiling more and more each day.
* You love when your daddy sings "One Elephant went out to Play"
* You love looking at your sister and she loves talking and "playing" with you

* You giggled at us and are cooing and "talking" more and more

* You even laughed at us we think this month. 

* You got your first cold this month as well but handled it great.