Hunger Strike

A few things about food...

One: Even if you pediatrician says you can introduce 'solids' to your 4 month old, you don't HAVE to... I didn't. I waited until Elle looked ready to me. I waited until her pincer grasp was strong. I waited until she sat up in her high chair by herself. That worked for us. She nursed exclusivly until about 6 months (some pumped, some frozen). Then we added some formula and started her solids.

Two: I introduced foods 'fast', some of those non alergenic foods I introduced after a quick 48 hour waiting period. This allows me to feed her pretty much what we eat now. If we have pasta with tomatoes and cheese...I cut up her pasta and cheese and hold back the tomatoes and instead give her another veggie. This has made my life very easy. I did not introduce tomatoes yet because they can be too acidic.

Three: Elle goes on hunger strikes. Some days she eats a lot, others she doesn't. She is growing great, her color (skin tone) is great, her fingernails are growing and she makes healthy poopies and peepees....so I don't worry. As a matter of fact, Elle is not the only hunger striker... I have tried to find out if it is politically motivated, but she aint talkin'....

Things a 9 month old does not care about

1. Where that thing that she just put in her mouth has been
2. What it looks like when SHE climbs INTO the dog crates and hangs out
3. Why mommy does not want her in the dog crates
4. Crawling off the bed, couch, out of the high chair (mommy will catch me, dugh)
5. When mommy does not feel great and wants a nap
6. What her hair looks like (chronic bed head)
7. What her clothes look like
   
8. How much nutritional value her food has
9. What her mommy looks like
10. How much the neighbor's car costs....

Things a 9 month old cares about:

1. Food is yummy
2. Mommy loves me
3. Daddy loves me
4. Doggies love me
5. Mommy is not aloud to hold another baby...(Funny story about mommy holding a 3 month old and Elle stopping what she was doing to shoot across the room in violent protest)
6. New adventures every day
   
7. Full belly, when Elle has the patience and time to eat!

Great walk today

I am shy. Believe it or not, I am very shy. It is hard for me to connect with other moms because this is such a new phase of my life. Another mom in my neighborhood reached out to me today and I felt comfortable asking her to go for a walk. It was really cool. My life changed radically when Elle was born. The old me went to work out of the house and was defined in that role. That role is completely gone now. I get to make new friends as me, just me. Having Elle has made me a different person because the things that define me now cannot be taken away.

My Teeny Tiny Teen

Elle is teenager again today... she doesn't want breakfast. She doesn't want to get dressed and she has been yelling at me all morning.

I am a computer idiot and don't have time to learn

I want to have a cool blog and have facebook friends from around the world...but I am an old mom who does not know what is going on. How do I get a like button? I want people to like me and my blog! BTW, my kid is sleeping and I am happy!

Vacation!

We took Elle to Sesame Place this week! She was to young to enjoy it. She was too young for us to enjoy it. That is ok. We had a good time anyway! The highlight of the vacation for Elle was the full length mirrors in the hotel room. Those were winners.

I was watching Elle's milestones this week also. Updates for everyone out there. Elle is 9 months old. She crawls like a maniac, anywhere she needs to go. She can climb an entire flight of stairs in less than a minute if there is another kid at the top having fun. When her knees get tired, she does a cute crawl where she is on her feet and she lifts her knees off the ground and walks like a triangle on feet and hands. She can stand up, walk along furniture and take 2 steps unsupported to get to her next piece of furniture. She loves being mobile and HATES being restricted.

I do not compare her milestones and mobility to other kids.... at all. I don't even ask other parents what their kids are doing. When I am asked about Elle's movements I reply, "Everyone does their own thing". I really believe that. For a while I would freak out because Elle would not "regard her own hand" which was a milestone at the pediatrician and in the books. Finally I decided that she just did not feel like regarding her own hand.

Is it possible to stalk your own kid?

I mean, is it possible to stalk my own baby? For example, I love to watch her sleep. I love to peep in when she is fast asleep...face smushed into the bed...cuddling her Pooh Bear and dreaming. It is so freekin' cute. I can't get over it. I want to take a picture every morning of how big she is and how cute she is in her little footie pajamas.

Moms know, poop can happen any time...show your support

Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com!

9 month check up sucks

There, I said it. I said a BAD word. But it did. She had to give blood through a finger stick. She had to have a Tuberculosis test. She got two vaccines. It sucked. There was nothing fun about it.

However...she did grow!!! A bunch! She is now 29 inches long and a hearty 17 pounds and 8 ounces. She is my biggest girl!!!!! That is what I tell her every day!

Elle has also cut another tooth...right on top! She can now make her bottom teeth and top tooth touch. And she found out it makes a cool noise when you grind them together! Yeah!

She had her first egg yolk the other day, winner. We are going to give her a sample of soy formula because we have like 5 cans sitting in the cabinet.

Oh yeah, the biggest news...Elle pretty much has weaned herself. She refuses REFUSES to breast feed any time during the day except her first morning feeding. At first she just would not do it in public. Then she would not do it at home. Then I started to really worry because she was not nursing at all during the day. I was really worried about dehydration and the nutrients she was missing out on. So I offered her a bottle one morning after I had tried to offer her morning boobie...and she drank it all. 5 oz gone in seconds. I offered her nursing later that day and she refused, so I offered a bottle and she drank that. So that is where we are. I had told the pediatrician at 6 months that we were just going to keep nursing until she did not want to anymore...I just did not expect it to happen this soon.

So now I am a formula consumer. The problem is, all the coupons from Similac have expired...and I am not about to pay retail!!!! So if anyone knows anyone at Similac...tell them to send some more coupons! Sincerely, a really cheap mom....

Workin'

Elle was workin' hard today. Some days she plays. She looks whimsical and moves from one toy to another and then peruses and eats a magazine or two...then chases the dogs. Today was a workin' day. She keeps a serious look on her face and explores and tests and climbs and thinks. She turnes things over and pokes them seriously. She smells things and licks them. Workin' days are harder with Elle. She is harder to keep happy and busy. She also usually refuses her nap times on workin' days. She has too much to do to take a nap. However, she usually goes to bed earlier after a workin' day. Tonight was no different. Elle was all tuckered out from a hard day at work and turned in early.

How fast things happen

I like to cook dinner while Elle is having her afternoon snack. The other day I had her in her high chair...eating her diced nectarine and cheerios (favorites in our house) and I turned my back for exactly enough time to remove 2 spoons from the dishwasher and put them away.

By the time I turned around to continue our conversation, she was standing up. In the high chair. Looking for a way to jump over the back. I promptly strapped her back in and reinstated the shoulder harness that I had previously deemed cruel and unusual and *not necessary* because we already used the lap belt with between the legs strap and the locking tray with between the legs security feature.

How did little Elle Houdini do it? I don't know. I know that now she is on lock down in that thing with 3 point safety restraints now. I have never left her alone in it. Usually I position it so that I can see her while I am cooking...so we can talk and stuff. Terrifying.

The other day we were at the zoo with some friends. We had 3 adults and 3 children. Baby Elle...Little Guy**, who is 2 and Mama's Helper**, who is 4 and 1/2. Mama's Helper is a great kid to take places. She is really well behaved in public and causes no stress. Little Guy is super sweet and also a *good* kid. Baby Elle goes along to get along.

We were wrapping up our day and I asked Mama's Helper if she needed to go to the bathroom before we got in the car. One adult stayed with Elle, one stayed with Little Guy. Little Guy was posing for a picture in those cute cut out things that you put your face in...you know, the ones that make it look like his head was on a baby eagle! Sooooo cute! I love those things. I had just taken Mama's Helper's picture and sent it to her mom!

All of a sudden. In less then a second. Seriously, in the time it takes to say smile. Little Guy's head was stuck in the cut out. This cut out has been at the zoo for 50 years...and our Little Guy got his head stuck.

The zoo keepers wanted to lotion him up to get him out.

I got in a fight with a couple "not nice people" as I called them to their faces who tried to take pictures of Little Guy stuck in the eagle's next.

After about 25 minutes of Little Guy's mom keeping him as calm as she could (she was GREAT by the way), me keeping Baby Elle and Mama's Helper busy and away...and Little Guy's aunt running interference with the zoo keepers...FDNY showed up. That is when New York's Bravest cut our Little Guy out of the eagle's nest with a saws-all and a tee shirt covering his head.

Little Guy was SO BRAVE. When they got him out the fireman told him he could have anything he wanted for being so brave. Little Guy just wanted to go home. Good choice Little Guy, it was time to go home.

So all I am saying is, kids move fast! Too fast for old mommies. Way too fast for old mommies. So us old mommies need to adapt and stay focused...and when stuff we don't expect happens...we just gotta adapt and keep calm. I have found that screaming like a wild howler monkey doesn't help any situation...unless you are trying to talk to the howler monkey's at the zoo.


**Names changed to protect the identities of Little Guy and Mama's Helper.

Changes

Elle is growing fast and changing. Her eating style has changed and it is making it very hard to breastfeed her. She still is focused and relaxed during our first feeding of the day (around 6 am these days) and I feel confident she is eating. However, she is starting to refuse to nurse during the day. She wont latch, she plays with mommy's assets, she climbs off my lap after less than a minute. I have tried nursing in a quiet place. I have tried her "favorite" chair in the living room. I have tried the rocking chair in her bedroom. She is on strike. This scares me because I want her to get the food she needs.

This has been happening for about a week and I think we are going to switch to formula for the daytime feedings. I would like to keep nursing her in the morning because it works for us. Does anyone have any experience with nursing only once a day?

She is eight and a half months old and I want her to get the calories and nutrition she needs and I am not confident she is getting it from me now. Today I gave her 2 bottles during the day at times when I would have tried to nurse her and she sucked down the bottles and seemed happy. She has not been happy at a day time nursing session in a while.

clean up

My kid basically uses her high chair tray as a plate. Yeah, it would be cute if I got her little dishes or something, but honestly they would just end up on the floor serving as dog food bowls. (By the way, super cute that Elle feeds the dogs cheerios from her chair! Super cute that they gently and gingerly take them from her hands! And super funny that she won't throw them overboard because she likes to talk to them!)

So, after meals that consist of a lot of small cut up pieces (as many people know, my kid does not like spoons of mush but will eat ANYTHING cubed) of veggies and cheese followed by a few cheerios for dessert...I need to clean that disgusting tray. I have these snap on covers for it, but food gets stuck underneath and it is kind of gross. I also don't want to spray it down with crazy kitchen cleaner because she eats off it and I *try* to limit chemical exposure where possible. So I take the whole freekin thing and spray it with the kitchen sprayer and dish soap. Any better suggestions???

Never thought it would take this much energy

I really love my kid, but it is hard to be by myself with her all day. She is my little side kick and we do so many things together, but sometimes mommy gets selfish and wants grown up time. I don't really like to go out that much and I don't really need adult time like all night out...I just want to go to the grocery store by myself some time or talk to other grown ups.

The hardest part about being laid off is that they money that I would have had for child care is gone, so I don't get to take adult time in the middle of the day. I can't do a ladies lunch anymore or meet people after work at the driving range. I can go to the driving range, but I have to push her carriage and set her up to watch me and play and only buy a small bucket of balls in case she doesn't want to golf any more. Everything revolves around Elle and that is a blessing. I am glad I do not have to make her fit my arbitrary schedule...but I would love a bit more arbitrary in my schedule!

Swimmy Swimmerson

Tomorrow I am going to sign Elle up for fall swimming lessons! She loves the pool so much that I am going to try to harness that fun feeling all year round!

Why buy toys?

Elle's birthday is coming up and I am going to suggest to her friends and family that they wrap up all their old magazines in boxes and bring them over. Also, for close friends who want to give more than paper...I will suggest they throw in a few old water bottles.

Elle has a laundry basket full of toys. She prefers playing with old magazines, empty or partially full water bottles and ... the laundry basket. She will take every item out of the basket, turn it over and push it around. She walks behind it like a real pro. Then she will turn the basket right side and sit in it. Did I mention that she has Vtech Sit and Stand walker that her grandparents bought her? It is fun for me, but I am going to tell her granny to spring for a bag of garbage instead of new toys!

Napping is no fun...but I love it!

That is what Elle says. She fights that nap tooth and nail. She rubs her eyes, she whines and when she gets into the crib she screams...for about 20 seconds without fail. Like I am murdering her. Then she falls asleep! And mommy tries to clean the house, work or get something done.

Baby Book

I don't know how good Elle's baby book is going to be. I am not great at remembering to write stuff down...I think of the cutest and funniest things to write and then forget by the time I find my pen.

Any suggestions on what I should be tracking?

The new Teen Mom

Some people know that "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" are my guilty pleasures. I think I no longer enjoy the programs but watch because I genuinely feel bad for the people on the show. I feel so grateful that I have help with Elle. I feel so grateful to have had the first 29 1/2 years of my life to be VERY selfish so that I now feel ready to give Elle everything. I feel grateful to have my own home to give Elle a stable living situation.

Dirty Faced Kid

When Elle was a tiny baby...she stayed in my arms and I dressed her in little outfits and she was so cute! She was always clean and always had that nice baby smell.

Now she is a wild woman. At 8 months old she wants to be crawling on the floor (or GROUND! Gross) and rolling and touching everything. Her knees are always dirty and I wash her hands 50 times a day. Even worse, she likes to feed herself and it is cute...except that her face is stained with blue berries and beets and little streaks of dried yogurt. I take her to the sink after every meal and wash her face and hands and arms...and remove her bib. But somehow, mommy always misses something. Elle delights in her new found freedom and messyness. She is never happier then when she is 'running' away from a washcloth or a clean pair of pants.