I didn't give Avonlea solids until 6 months. It wasn't some kind of weird stance or anything--it was mostly because I was (let's face it) lazy. It was just easier to cart Avonlea around without a bunch of other food and equipment, and with how my brain is working lately, I would forget half the time, anyways.
At 6 months, we started giving her solids. Purees, mostly--apples, peaches, pears, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes (of which she is now allergic). I would also give her slices of apples and carrots to gnaw on, which worked well.
She took to purees pretty well. She wouldn't eat a lot at one sitting, but she was still being breastfed, so I wasn't worried about the calories.
She figured out how to use the pouches at 9 months, sucking the food out on her own, which was nice and helpful. Again, she still wasn't eating a lot, but she was trying out new foods, and seemed to enjoy whatever we would give her (well, except peas. She hated eating peas by themselves.). She did show signs of stubbornness--if I gave her a spoonful of something she didn't like, she wasn't eager to try anything else from a spoon that meal. It was like she didn't trust me or something.
About a month ago, she really hit her stride. She figured out how to hold the pouches, and could eat everything in it (or almost everything). I was excited because we were finally to the point where we weren't throwing food away! She would be quirky, and one week not eat from a spoon at all, and only eat from a pouch, and the following week, it would reverse--but she was still eating. I continued to give her bits of "real" food, too--a stalk of steamed broccoli, apples, some rice puffs, a bit of pancake, a cracker, some goldfish, some Cheerios. She would gnaw on them, but she wouldn't swallow anything solid. If it was too big, she would just work it with her tongue until she could spit it back out.
Well, about 3 weeks ago, she decided she no longer wanted food. Nothing. No purees, no solids, no finger foods. She won't let me feed her, and she won't take purees from a pouch herself. I will put some "real" food in front of her, and she will play with it, but next to nothing goes in her mouth (the dogs have learned to sit by her high chair, because she will often drop the food off the side). If I try to put something in her mouth, she turns her head away quickly, or spits it out immediately--she doesn't even taste it.
Around 9 months, when she got on the food kick, I slowed down her breastfeeding during the day--but as a result, she was waking up every couple of hours at night to eat. Since she's been on the food strike, I am breastfeeding her more during the day, and she's letting me sleep 5 hour stretches at night. Yes, I know she should be sleeping all night. I KNOW. I was hoping that by bumping up her calories during the day, she would sleep better--but that is blowing up in my face.
I am just really frustrated. I try new foods, she won't eat them. I try "favorite" foods, and nothing. I try purees from a spoon and from a pouch, and I may get her to eat one bite or one sip from the pouch, then she won't eat any more. She won't eat ANYTHING chunky. I have been a successful getting her to eat Greek yogurt--but if she gets any fruit bits, she works and spits them out.
We're on a strict budget, so I HATE buying food that she ends up not eating, and then I have to throw out.
Did any of you experience this problem? Should I just ride it out, or should I worry that I'll be serving my baby a pureed 1-year cake?
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Before I had a kid, I was an idiot.
Before I had a kid, I was an idiot.
I wasn't stupid. After all, I got a decent score on my ACTs. I graduated with an acceptable GPA from my high school and college. I graduated from grad school with a 4.0. I have fun impressing people with my Jeopardy! knowledge. I'm a smart girl.
But I was an idiot.
That's the only way I can figure how I would think I had any reasonable idea as to what to expect when I had my own living, breathing human being to take care of day in and day out. "I'm not going to do that." "My kid won't do that." "My baby will be doing this." Blah, blah, blah, fishcakes.
I wrote recently about how I don't feel like I will ever really have the parenting thing down. I get one thing together, and something else inevitably falls apart.
But these days, I feel like every. single. thing. I am doing is screwed up in some way...and it is my fault.
See, I thought that in order to be a "good mom", I had to do it all. Well, maybe not do it all, but try to do it all right. Keep the house clean, keep the kid clean, breastfeed exclusively, get her on a schedule, make sure she sleeps in her own bed, don't worry about giving her solid foods until she's 6 months, get dinner on the table every night, yadda, yadda, yadda. Every single thing I was doing I was doing it as well as I could, but also simultaneously feeling like I was doing it wrong.
We have 2 dogs, and one saying that we tried to maintain throughout the puppy years was, "If you don't want the dog doing _____ when they're 150 pounds, don't let them do it when they're 15 pounds." So, Waldo and Gus don't get on the couch. They get in and out of the car and the bathtub without help. They sit when they come in the house if it's raining, so that I can wipe off their paws.
I feel like with Avonlea, I've screwed up so much, and I've made things so hard on myself. She's a figurative 150lb dog that I didn't train right when she was 15lbs.
I worked so hard on breastfeeding that now, she will only eat from me. She spits out anything with texture, so she doesn't get any nutrients from "real food", and I am wasting tons of money on baby food that she eats one or two bites from. I also feed her before putting her down for a nap, or down for bed at night, so now she will scream if she doesn't get fed before bed. Know who that messes up? Definitely not the little munchkin happily fed and sleeping in her bed.
I was lazy in the beginning, and once I found out she wasn't going to take a bottle anymore, I didn't press the issue. I didn't work with her to take a bottle. So now she doesn't take one. She does do a sippy cup and a cup with a straw, but I have never tried feeding her with that before putting her to bed. I never tried to have Nick feed her before putting her to bed. So now I am the one who has to put her to bed every night.
Avonlea still only sleeps in 2-3 hour stretches at night. I know I should sleep train her. I do. I have all of this guilt that she's keeping Nick up and he has to work and I get mad because I just want to stinking sleep already, but my boobs hurt if she goes really long between feedings because she eats every 2 hours at night that I just get up and feed her and she goes right back to sleep. And if I don't feed her then she screams for 1.5 hours, or maybe more but I don't know because by that time I lose my mind and just get up and feed her. So now I have a 10.5 month old who gets up at least 3 times every night and so I can't go do anything past 10pm because my kid will wake up and want to eat. Nick and I have tickets to see my favorite musical group on Sunday, and it's going to be a train wreck (pretty sure I can't convince them to only have the concert between 7 and 10pm).
My baby is a sweet, adorable, snuggly pair of handcuffs, and it is all my fault.
I'm already saying, "Oh, I'm going to do things so differently with the next kid," and then I stop myself and think, "Next kid? Oh, #*#& no!"
I wasn't stupid. After all, I got a decent score on my ACTs. I graduated with an acceptable GPA from my high school and college. I graduated from grad school with a 4.0. I have fun impressing people with my Jeopardy! knowledge. I'm a smart girl.
But I was an idiot.
That's the only way I can figure how I would think I had any reasonable idea as to what to expect when I had my own living, breathing human being to take care of day in and day out. "I'm not going to do that." "My kid won't do that." "My baby will be doing this." Blah, blah, blah, fishcakes.
I wrote recently about how I don't feel like I will ever really have the parenting thing down. I get one thing together, and something else inevitably falls apart.
But these days, I feel like every. single. thing. I am doing is screwed up in some way...and it is my fault.
See, I thought that in order to be a "good mom", I had to do it all. Well, maybe not do it all, but try to do it all right. Keep the house clean, keep the kid clean, breastfeed exclusively, get her on a schedule, make sure she sleeps in her own bed, don't worry about giving her solid foods until she's 6 months, get dinner on the table every night, yadda, yadda, yadda. Every single thing I was doing I was doing it as well as I could, but also simultaneously feeling like I was doing it wrong.
We have 2 dogs, and one saying that we tried to maintain throughout the puppy years was, "If you don't want the dog doing _____ when they're 150 pounds, don't let them do it when they're 15 pounds." So, Waldo and Gus don't get on the couch. They get in and out of the car and the bathtub without help. They sit when they come in the house if it's raining, so that I can wipe off their paws.
I feel like with Avonlea, I've screwed up so much, and I've made things so hard on myself. She's a figurative 150lb dog that I didn't train right when she was 15lbs.
I worked so hard on breastfeeding that now, she will only eat from me. She spits out anything with texture, so she doesn't get any nutrients from "real food", and I am wasting tons of money on baby food that she eats one or two bites from. I also feed her before putting her down for a nap, or down for bed at night, so now she will scream if she doesn't get fed before bed. Know who that messes up? Definitely not the little munchkin happily fed and sleeping in her bed.
I was lazy in the beginning, and once I found out she wasn't going to take a bottle anymore, I didn't press the issue. I didn't work with her to take a bottle. So now she doesn't take one. She does do a sippy cup and a cup with a straw, but I have never tried feeding her with that before putting her to bed. I never tried to have Nick feed her before putting her to bed. So now I am the one who has to put her to bed every night.
Avonlea still only sleeps in 2-3 hour stretches at night. I know I should sleep train her. I do. I have all of this guilt that she's keeping Nick up and he has to work and I get mad because I just want to stinking sleep already, but my boobs hurt if she goes really long between feedings because she eats every 2 hours at night that I just get up and feed her and she goes right back to sleep. And if I don't feed her then she screams for 1.5 hours, or maybe more but I don't know because by that time I lose my mind and just get up and feed her. So now I have a 10.5 month old who gets up at least 3 times every night and so I can't go do anything past 10pm because my kid will wake up and want to eat. Nick and I have tickets to see my favorite musical group on Sunday, and it's going to be a train wreck (pretty sure I can't convince them to only have the concert between 7 and 10pm).
My baby is a sweet, adorable, snuggly pair of handcuffs, and it is all my fault.
I'm already saying, "Oh, I'm going to do things so differently with the next kid," and then I stop myself and think, "Next kid? Oh, #*#& no!"
Saturday, February 8, 2014
A Typical Day
My New Year's Resolution was to write more often, and here it is the beginning of February, and I think I have written less.
Part of the reason is that I am enjoying my girl. This week she has napped much less than normal, so I have been spending more time with her during the day. This is great, because with as much as she usually naps, I don't feel like I get enough time with her. Isn't that crazy? I see her all day, but I still feel like I don't see her enough.
Another reason is that to be honest, a lot of our days are kind of similar. Here's a typical day:
7:30am - Avonlea is up for the day. I bring her into our bed with a couple of toys (or a box of tissues or a water bottle will suffice, too). She'll hang out in bed with us while I either read my Facebook feed or Instagram for a few minutes, or try to catch a few more zz's.
8:15am - By this time (at the latest), I am up for the day, making breakfast for she and I. I have also started making lunches for Nick, since we're on a budget and he can't go out to eat every day anymore. Avonlea eats solids at her high chair in the doorway to the kitchen while I make food.
9:00am - Avonlea is usually ready for her morning nap. I breastfeed her, then she goes down for anywhere between an hour and two-and-a-half hours (if I'm lucky).
While Avonlea is napping - do laundry, dishes, clean family room, check emails/FB, watch a couple of YouTube vids. I am trying not to be on the phone or on the computer while Avonlea is awake.
Whenever she gets up (usually 11:00am) - Playtime! She has a basket of toys that we get out, and she sits on the floor playing with me. These days, it is a little bit of playing, and a whole lot of crawling around the living room, exploring new areas she has only been able to look at for 9.5 months.
12:00pm - Usually in the afternoon we'll go to the park, or go to the library and the park. I pack a lunch while Avonlea is napping, and we'll go sit there for an hour or so. Avonlea loves the library already, which makes me so happy. On non-library days, we'll run errands during the afternoon. I feed Avonlea solids at the park, or while we're out.
1:30 or 2:00pm - Avonlea is ready for her afternoon nap. I breastfeed her, then she goes down again for an hour or two. Though, this week, she has taken either the morning OR the afternoon nap, not both. Hopefully this is just temporary--I'm not ready for her to give up her two nap schedule yet!!
Whenever she gets up (usually 4:00pm) - Playtime! Usually at this point of the day, she is tired of her toys, so we play games together. She LOVES to dance and sing, so we'll do that for a while. She also loves to be tickled and she loves to play with my face, so we'll sit eye-to-eye for a while and just chat. After a little while, we're just in survive-until-Daddy-gets-home mode. :) I'll feed Avonlea solids again around 5 while I'm getting dinner ready.
6:00pm - Bathtime when Daddy gets home, or just hang out with Daddy while Mommy finishes dinner.
6:30pm - Depending on how her afternoon nap went, she'll either be ready for bed now or at 7, so I do bedtime routine. I breastfeed her before she goes to sleep.
10 or 11pm - Avonlea gets up to breastfeed.
2:00am - Breastfeed
5:30am - Breastfeed
7:30am - Start the next day!
Pretty much this is what every day looks like, which is why blogging is kind of a last-on-my-mind thing. Other than detailing her developmental changes (of which there are a lot), I don't have a lot to say. Or, I do have a lot to say, but I don't think about writing it down. *sigh* New mommy problems.
Scheduling note: Yes, she is still getting up several times at night to eat (last night, it was every 2 hours). I think I need to breastfeed her more during the day, so she's getting more daytime calories, but if I feed her more during the day, I feel like I'm feeding her all. the. time (either solids or breast milk). Hmm...
Part of the reason is that I am enjoying my girl. This week she has napped much less than normal, so I have been spending more time with her during the day. This is great, because with as much as she usually naps, I don't feel like I get enough time with her. Isn't that crazy? I see her all day, but I still feel like I don't see her enough.
Another reason is that to be honest, a lot of our days are kind of similar. Here's a typical day:
7:30am - Avonlea is up for the day. I bring her into our bed with a couple of toys (or a box of tissues or a water bottle will suffice, too). She'll hang out in bed with us while I either read my Facebook feed or Instagram for a few minutes, or try to catch a few more zz's.
8:15am - By this time (at the latest), I am up for the day, making breakfast for she and I. I have also started making lunches for Nick, since we're on a budget and he can't go out to eat every day anymore. Avonlea eats solids at her high chair in the doorway to the kitchen while I make food.
9:00am - Avonlea is usually ready for her morning nap. I breastfeed her, then she goes down for anywhere between an hour and two-and-a-half hours (if I'm lucky).
While Avonlea is napping - do laundry, dishes, clean family room, check emails/FB, watch a couple of YouTube vids. I am trying not to be on the phone or on the computer while Avonlea is awake.
Whenever she gets up (usually 11:00am) - Playtime! She has a basket of toys that we get out, and she sits on the floor playing with me. These days, it is a little bit of playing, and a whole lot of crawling around the living room, exploring new areas she has only been able to look at for 9.5 months.
12:00pm - Usually in the afternoon we'll go to the park, or go to the library and the park. I pack a lunch while Avonlea is napping, and we'll go sit there for an hour or so. Avonlea loves the library already, which makes me so happy. On non-library days, we'll run errands during the afternoon. I feed Avonlea solids at the park, or while we're out.
1:30 or 2:00pm - Avonlea is ready for her afternoon nap. I breastfeed her, then she goes down again for an hour or two. Though, this week, she has taken either the morning OR the afternoon nap, not both. Hopefully this is just temporary--I'm not ready for her to give up her two nap schedule yet!!
Whenever she gets up (usually 4:00pm) - Playtime! Usually at this point of the day, she is tired of her toys, so we play games together. She LOVES to dance and sing, so we'll do that for a while. She also loves to be tickled and she loves to play with my face, so we'll sit eye-to-eye for a while and just chat. After a little while, we're just in survive-until-Daddy-gets-home mode. :) I'll feed Avonlea solids again around 5 while I'm getting dinner ready.
6:00pm - Bathtime when Daddy gets home, or just hang out with Daddy while Mommy finishes dinner.
6:30pm - Depending on how her afternoon nap went, she'll either be ready for bed now or at 7, so I do bedtime routine. I breastfeed her before she goes to sleep.
10 or 11pm - Avonlea gets up to breastfeed.
2:00am - Breastfeed
5:30am - Breastfeed
7:30am - Start the next day!
Pretty much this is what every day looks like, which is why blogging is kind of a last-on-my-mind thing. Other than detailing her developmental changes (of which there are a lot), I don't have a lot to say. Or, I do have a lot to say, but I don't think about writing it down. *sigh* New mommy problems.
Scheduling note: Yes, she is still getting up several times at night to eat (last night, it was every 2 hours). I think I need to breastfeed her more during the day, so she's getting more daytime calories, but if I feed her more during the day, I feel like I'm feeding her all. the. time (either solids or breast milk). Hmm...
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