WE HAVE A ROLLER!!

... that is all.

YAY!!!

6 Months!

I swear I say this every month (and I swear I put this disclaimer every month as well), but I really can't believe how fast these last 6 months have gone by. And with all the milestones and growing she's done so far, there's just so much coming in the months ahead... it's so exciting!

In regards to milestones, we've reached a big one -- Sami has her first tooth! Yup, her bottom right tooth has finally broken through the gums, and man, is it sharp! I know, I should have announced this in its own post, but things lately have been very busy/tiring that I haven't had the chance or motivation to sit down and really type. And most of that can be blamed on Sami's teething, methinks. Oh yes, we are back in full-swing. Between the drooling, the fussiness, and just the overall sleeplessness, I know those other teeth are just waiting to pop... and so am I! For Sami's sake (and for mine) I just hope that the others that have to come in are easier to cope with... there's only so much that Oragel and iced teethers can do for a baby...

Speaking of milestones, the slow transition to solids has been fantastic! It was a battle at first, what with the not liking of the rice cereal, but we gave it a bit, and although is was something new, Sami definitely has the hang of it now! First we started with apples, and then bananas, and we just finished up prunes last night. I think we're going to move onto peaches tonight, followed by pears, and then I think we're going to be ready to add veggies and an extra meal, but we'll see what the pediatrician says when we go on Thursday. And in preparation for more big-girl solid foods eating time, Chris finally put together the high chair we received at Christmas:

And as I mentioned, her 6-month appointment is on Thursday. I'm a little nervous. And not because of the 3rd round of shots she needs to get, either. Nope, I'm worried that I'm missing something, and something BIG. Something that the pediatrician is going to look at me, shake her head, and think I'm an unfit mother. Sure, I have a list of concerns and questions we've collected over the last couple of months, like teething, and diaper rash, and her congestion, but I fear that when I start talking about solids, or tummy time, or her inability to roll over, the doctor is going to look at me and ask me/tell me what I'm doing wrong. And I don't even want to think about her growth percentiles... I'm happy that Chris is taking the day to work from home so that he can come with us, because I don't know if I could do this one solo... I feel like too much has gone on in the last couple of months, yet there's so much more that could have gone on -- it's just too overwhelming right now.

solids anxiety

Not for Sami... for me!

When I went to Sami's 4-month appointment (which was really like 4.5 months for her because of snow and rescheduling) I was given a form instructing me on how to feed my child solids for the first time. So, as any new parent would do, we strapped her into her bebePod that night, put on a bib, and prepared a serving of rice cereal, under the impression that although it might take a few spoonfuls to get the hang of it, this would work out for the best...

Not so much.

We struggled with the rice cereal eating for maybe 2 weeks, but it was clear she just didn't enjoy it, and me giving her more than half a teaspoon of cereal with 2 teaspoons of breastmilk just wasnt giong to cut it... so I told myself we would stop for a week, give her some time to regroup, and then try again.

Sadly, this didn't work out as well as I wanted to. Combine sickness - both Samma's and my own - with my lack of pumping and just overall lack of milk supply, and it took maybe 2 weeks to get Sam back into her bebePod to try rice cereal... but in vain. She hated it. Maybe moreso than before. So then I thought maybe it was rice that she didn't like, and was going to try the oatmeal that Angel gave me to see if that was an improvement. But this was the Thursday before I called the pediatrician to ask about forumla to get reemed out about not having my daughter "well on her way through solids." Sigh.

Like I said before, I was torn between whether to start Sami on Fruits or Vegetables first. Some say starting on fruits is better for breastfed babies because the sweetness is more like that of breast milk, while others say starting on veggies is better, because starting on fruits will make it harder for the baby to go from something sweet to something not so much. I was all ready to get her veggies first, but then the pediatrician suggested fruits first, Chris's research suggested fruits first, and common sense to just get her to eat something solid led me to picking up the Gerber First Foods like I did. Rice cereal and oatmeal be damned.

I started with Apples on Saturday night, and it was a battle. The same thing happened on Sunday - she just did not want to get her tongue out of the way and open up for the spoon! I mean, we got some in her mouth, enough for her to taste it... the reaction wasn't anywhere near as bad as it was for rice cereal, let me tell you. And let night was our breakthrough -- she actually started opening her mouth for the apples when I brought the spoon towards her, so YAY!

So we have apples for a couple more nights, and then we can move onto a new fruit. I'm thinking Bananas! Nom...

My plan is to continue with fruits at night for a few more weeks, until she's 6 months, and definitely while we're getting her onto formula in the daytime. So other than that we're breastfeeding in the mornings and in the evenings. It's a little routine, but we still need to work on it and expand.

6 months is when I think I'm going to really try to start with the breakfast routine. It's going to be hard for all of us, I know it. As it is, getting myself and Sami ready, plus getting Chris out of bed and Loki fed and taken outside, we can't be doing this last minute stuff anymore. Mornings have to be a little bit better planned, and we're all going to have to work on it.

After a month of fruits, we'll finally start with veggies. So at 6.5 months. Not too bad, right? I just hope we don't come up against any major allergies... luckily Chris and I are pretty much allergy free, but this is a topic for another post for another day.

Ideally I would love to get Sam back on cereal or oatmeal of some sort. I mean, she's going to need SOMETHING other than fruits and/or veggies each meal... if we can get her to really eating solids with the fruits I think we might try it again come 6 months and the breakfast/dinner routine, where we'll give her some cereal and fruit in the morning, and then some cereal and some veggies at night.

And don't even get me starting with the whole sippy cup ordeal! Research shows 6 months is when a sippy cup should be introduced, if you should even use a sippy cup at all! There are some that suggest you should forgo the sippy cup for a cup and a straw! Really?! I guess I don't know where I stand in all of that. Sippy cups have covers, which means less mess... but cups and straws can help better develope the sucking motion not like a bottle.

We have one cup right now -- I think I'm going to give it to Sami, empty, and see what she does.

Gods, I hope I'm doing this right...

the great formula conversion

We began Sami's transition to formula today.... so it begins.

The plan is to have Sami be on formula during the afternoons, and I will feed her myself in the morning and at night until I can't do it any longer. Plus it will just make everything easier for me, knowing that my output from pumping throughout the day before will not determine how much Sami gets to eat the next day, or whether or not we have enough in reserves to go out and do something...

The plans goes as such:

• This week: 4oz breast milk / 2oz formula
• Next Week: 3oz breast milk / 3oz formula
• Week Three: 2oz breast milk / 4oz formula

I am very grateful to have such understanding and supportive family and friends to help us along with all of this.

It's a hard thing to come to terms with -- knowing I am no longer a sufficient food source for my daughter, and we have to start supplementing in order to keep her fed and healthy. We had to last night - she woke up around 8pm for her regular feeding, but because it was the end of the day, I just didn't have as much as she wanted, so we gave her a half bottle of 2oz breast milk / 1oz formula and she didn't see to have any issues keeping it down. Chris is hoping she has his iron stomach.

The upside is that she is accepting the fruits we're giving her, tonight better than the last couple if nights we've been attempting to feed her. Before it was a battle to get her to move her tongue out of the way so that we could get the spoon in far enough for her to even taste the apples, and tonight she started opening her mouth for me and nomming the food rather than just spitting it out. Progress!

So yeah... that's where we stand now. Like I said, it's hard for me... I know I should be proud of myself, for lasting as long as I did EBFing, but still -- it wasn't the plan. So that's the hard part.

and so it goes...

I'm sorry to say it, but I think the end is near.

It's the day that every exclusively breastfeeding mother dreads....

The day that you realize your supply is diminishing and you need to find an alternative to feeding your infant.

I knew it was going to happen. I just had hoped it wouldn't have happened so soon.

Starting last week, things were becoming really hard. I could tell my supply was starting to lessen, thanks to having to pump at work. Everything came to a frustrating and emotional head on Friday where in a regularly allotted 3-hour time span between Sami's feedings, I did not have enough milk to produced to feed her after 3.5 hours of waiting. Having to prepare a bottle for my daughter because I couldn't support her on my own was one of the most upsetting things I think I've had to handle, to date...

Once I dried the tears, I was able to call the pediatrician to see which brand they suggested...

 

taadaa...

Of course, the nurse gave me an earful about how Sami should be "well on her way through solids" - yeah, way to make me feel like an even more inadequate mother for taking my time with my 5.5 month old and her solids intake. It was SO not what I wanted to hear at that moment, but I moved through it...

Not wanting to cancel out all of my options, I also made a point to go to the lactation clinic that afternoon and talk to the specialists and see what they suggested...

 

3 capsules, three times a day, and after a week I should be able to see an increase in supply. Also, pumping for 15 minutes after a feeding so that my body thinks more milk is needed, tricking it into thinking the demand is up...

So taking all of that advice into consideration, I think we're formulating a plan of attack.

Oh, and not because the nurse made me feel guilty, but because I was going to do it anyway, I bought Sami a bunch of Gerber First Foods fruits!

Pears, Apples, Bananas, Prunes, and Peaches. I think these beat out rice cereal any day. And research shows that the fruits vs. veggies vs. fruits first debate is unending. My pediatrician suggested fruits first, and from what I've read it's actually easier for breastfed babies to transition to fruits better than veggies because of the sweetness of breast milk, so we'll see how it goes.

But yeah. A lot of change is upon us. Change I wasn't ready for, but it seems like now is as good of a time as any, right?

Geek Mom Incoming!

T minus 6 days until THE gamer convention of the east coast arrives in Boston. From March 11 to March 13, Boston will be invaded with swarms of video- table- and PC gamers from around the country.

And we are going to be there!

I've always considered myself a geek and a gamer, even before being a geek and a gamer were cool. Ever since I can remember, video games were a part of my life, and they brought not only my friends and I together, but also Chris and I way back when.... so of course, this is something I would like Sami to embrace full-on.

Which is why we're bringing her with us! =)

But of course, if we're going to be bringing our almost-6 month old to an all day/all weekend convention, there needs to be some planning involved.

Item 1: Transportation.

As of yesterday, Sami is 15lbs. I don't know about you, but I'm not one for carrying 15lbs in my arms all day. Sure we could bring a stroller, but the one we have is just WAY too bulky when having to deal with that many people, and Sami's not strong enough of a sitter to be in an umbrella stroller, which is why we bought this:

The ERGOBaby Sport Baby Carrier. And it just arrived yesterday! w00t!

Why this one you might ask? Reviews. The BabyBargain book. The fact that it can be used in the front, side, AND back, up to 40lbs. And it also has an optional extender strap so my 6'4" husband can carry Sam around as well! And even if the extender doesn't work out like we'd like it too, we know it'll most definitely work for me sans strap, so we're good to go!

Item 2: Costumes.

No convention is a convention without cosplaying, and what's the point of bringing your offspring if you can't geek them out?

This was my first idea:

I mean, seriously. How cute is that? But Chris doesn't think $20 is worth it. Or that she'll keep the bunbuns on her head. I say, when else are we going to have the opportunity to dress Samma up as Princess Leia and have it be adorable?!

Ok, so lets say we don't go the all-out in your face costume route... what then? Well, then we stare looking into geeky onesies!

 

 

And if we order today, 3-day shipping is only 75-cents more than ground shipping! THIIIIISSSSSSS close to just throwing it all on the credit card, but I know a sleeping husband who might not be too happy with that, so I shall wait and see what he says once he wakes up!

And the final item...

Item 3: Child Care.

Honestly, as much as I would love to bring Samantha with us all 3 days, I just don't see it happening. For many reasons. One, it's going to be a long day for all of us. Two, she's really fussy when she had to eat in public, outside of her comfort zone with a Boppy and no distractions. And three, we might actually want a day where we don't need to worry about a fussy baby keeping us from panels we may or may not want to see. So the more I think about it, the more I think we're going to leave her with someone on Saturday. We'll bring her on Friday since neither of us will be working, and see how it goes. Friday, though the first day, is usually more low-key than Saturday, though not as dead as Sunday, so it might not be so bad. We'll go in around lunch time, spend as much of the day in there as we can, and hope for the best. I haven't figured out where and when I'm going to feed her, mainly because I've never been to the BCEC before, but I'm sure I'll be able to find a quiet corner.... right? Sadly, I won't be able to drag the Boppy with me wherever I go, so hopefully we'll make due. Either that or it's going to be trekking it back to the car every 3 hours... Plus, we're going to want her there on Friday. Show her off to people. ;D

And then I think we're going to leave her either with my parents or Chris' parents on Saturday. I think I have enough breast milk frozen to last a day. That way, on the busiest day of the con, we'll be able to move around and see what we want to do amongst the masses without having to worry about Sami and her sensory overload.

We'll take Sunday as it comes. Depending on how we feel, and how Sami does Friday, we'll see if we're going to bring her in again, if one of us will go, or if we'll just forgo the whole day.

Regardless of what goes down, it's going to be awesome. I can't wait!!