Where to start?
My Birdie is three months old now. She's right on target with all of the milestones and she weighs in at 13 lbs. even. Our word, "ah-goo", has evolved into "ah-boo" and "ah-doo." Its great, she says "ah-goo" and if you say it back to her, she gets really excited. The look on her face is priceless. Its like she's saying, "Brilliant! The large ones are capable of communication!"
We have as of late run into a few snags. For one, she WILL NOT take a bottle. I left her for the first time when she was two weeks old (just for a movie) and she's always grudgingly took a bottle when I wasn't around, but in the past two weeks she has flat out refused to have anything to do with it. Once a week DH and I go to the movie, which is the only time she's really exposed to it. Recently, she gets upset when she even sees the bottle. Two weeks in a row now, my grandma had to call me to come home halfway through the movie because Birdie was hungry and wouldn't eat. We've tried every nipple known to man. We've got bottles that look like boobs from Adiri. We've followed the advice of every source I can find. None of it works. I turned down a part-time job as a HeadStart teacher this week because I don't know if I can leave her for more than a couple of hours at a time. This morning, I'm headed to the chiropractor and I'm leaving baby with G.G. (great-grandma) and DH. I'm going to top her off before I go and leave them with a bottle with the newest nipple. She's really happy in the mornings so maybe we can get her to try it again.
This refusal of the bottle has coincided with a change in her sleep patterns. She still goes to bed like she did before, but she's been having troubles going back to sleep after a feeding. Up to this point I've always fed her, burped her, and put her back in the crib which is right next to my side of the bed. She always went right back to sleep. Recently, she's been having trouble. She doesn't fuss, but she's really restless. The crinkly diaper keeps us both awake. If I pull her out of the crib and lay her next to me she goes out like a light. She seems to want to be closer, so thats what we've been doing.
On August 14-16 I'll be headed to Omaha for the launch of Livinity's Blue Revolution. I have to say, joining Livinity has been one of the best decisions I've made recently. The money coming in has taken the edge off our income troubles. Since I can do it in my own time, I don't have to worry about Ms. Birdie. I'll be headed to Omaha with my sponsor. I'll have Birdie and DH in tow to complete the travelling band.
Since I've had Birdie, I've become really interested in getting healthier. I don't want her to have to take care of me when she gets my age like my brother and I have had to do with my mom. I have been overweight since I was 12. I weighed 186 lbs. in the seventh grade. Since I've been an adult I've ranged between 163lbs at my lowest all the way up to 231 during my pregnancy. My pre-pregnancy weight was 212. Most of my problem (like most of America) has been fast food and sugary drinks. Even during pregnancy I wasn't as good as I should have been. But all of that is changing. I have put myself on a healthier eating plan (its not a diet!) I have cut out refined flours and sugars. I have cut back on my dairy and increased my fruits and vegetables. I'm eating more fish and lean chicken and less red meat. I have an exercise plan. I love to dance, but I don't like the skinny girls bopping around to salsa music that seems to be the norm on aerobic dance dvds. So, as a solution, my brother's girlfriend and I have decided to Party Off The Pounds with Richard Simmons. Its just cheesy enough to keep us interested. My goal is to lose 55lbs. total. That would put me in a healthy BMI range. I weighed myself this morning and after a little over two weeks, I've lost 8 lbs. W00t!
So, thats about it for me. However, here are some things I've come across in the past few weeks that caught my eye:
Look Barnaby! It's a breast-feeding doll!
Rixa's slings are on sale. She also had a great post about Litigation and the Obstetric Mindset.
Jennifer Block has actually sat face to face with the infamous Dr. Amy.
Jill has been busy. (I lurve this lady) Even though she lost her URL she's back warning us that pregnant women's rights are being trampled on again and again. And whadduya know, not everyone needs antibiotics for GBS.
And last, but definitely not least, is a post on Shapely Prose. The post is about rape, but I found it particularly relevant to the mindset of women who may not stand up for themselves in an obstetric situation. Be warned: They do use "colorful" language.
Andrew was a bottle refuser too. It's frustratinb because people always say, "oh, he'll take it if he's hungry enough". Um, no he won't. He would cry and cry. He was an "only the boob" man. We tried all different types of bottles and nipples, but nothing worked. Anyway, my workplace allowed me to take an extra break during the day and I'd just run home and feed him (only a 6 minute drive). It was either that or I'd quit my job because he WOULD be breastfed and I would not do formula. Nu-uh.
ReplyDeleteYay for you for becoming healthy! :) You'll probably have more energy and you'll feel so much better as you get more into it. Great job!
Hi- just a quick comment- wanted to tell you that Playtex drop ins worked for my son when he refused to take a bottle. I was concerned about the environmental impact of the plastic bags, but we bought a box of 100 drop ins when he was a few weeks old and we're still using that same box @ 11 months old! We also had to put him in the car seat to eat. He would get started on the bottle there, then dad or whomever could take him out to finish it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey, I lurrrve you, too (even if it takes me like a week to make it back to comment.)
ReplyDeleteBirdie-bird is so cute!