the boob-free diet

the dreaded word:

weaning.

 

my sister-n-law, jaime, and i were talking about nursing.

when to stop.

how to stop.

the best way to do it.

there is such pressure to get it right.

i don't want this to be hard on brette or me.

i want it to feel natural and, dare i say, easy.

with my niece madeline, she weaned herself.

and since i'm a stay-at-home-mamma

that would make the most sense for me.

just let brette naturally grow out of it.

except (can i have a selfish moment here) i'm not going to do that.

my goal has always been 11 months.

so random right?

but ronnie and i have a vacation planned at the end of may in mexico.

my bff is getting married and a whole group of us are making the trip.

i really really don't want to lay by the pool and pump.

(i guess that's another selfish decision.)

sure, it would be easy to pack a pump

none of my friends would care,

and if brette was younger, i would.

but, to me, it doesn't make sense to keep up my supply

to just wean her off a couple weeks later.

 

plus, i'm hoping that transitioning a month before her first birthday

will help also lead to an easy transition to milk instead of formula/breastmilk.

(my plan is start milk cold-turkey when she's a year- - pediatrician recommended)

and i'm still unclear of my plan for getting rid of a bottle.

maybe i'll try that at the same time?
not sure.
(suggestions welcome)

 

anyway.

back to nursing.

this all seems sudden.
it was like a slap to the face when i realized that

may is actually right around the corner.

i only have a little over three months to get this going.

only three months of nursing left.
that's sad.

i've turned into one of those moms.

the ones that really enjoy it.

and so this is bittersweet.

oh sure, it will be freeing

but i know i'll miss it too.
and my biggest concern: that brette will miss it more.
one good sign:
i think brette is giving hints that she is ready for this.
i read a good way to tell is if she's ready
to be weaned is if she nurses for shorter spurts
or if she is easily distracted.
this is a picture i took the other day because our morning "session"
was taking f o r e v e r.

she was much more interested in seeing the world upside down.
also, at night, she is IN LOVE with her bottle.
so much that she cries until i give it to her
and THEN she'll nurse.
i'm hoping that means that this might be a good time.

to make it easier, i'm going to start by replacing one feeding with a bottle.
and just slowly take it away little by little.

i'm starting with the one she'll miss the least - - - 9am.

that means i'll still nurse her at

6am

1pm

4pm

7pm

i'm actually thinking about taking the 7pm next.
i know usually that's the last to go,
but brette has been taking a bottle at this time since she was 4 days old,
so i don't think it will be as big of an adjustment as other babies.

i studied a calendar to try a figure out a schedule
(because that's just the way i roll).
if i start tomorrow
and i add another bottle every four weeks,
i can be boobie free by may 14th.
2 days after she's 11 months old
and 7 days before we leave for mexico.


slow and steady wins the race.
hopefully i'll be waving the checkered flag soon.




 

small moments

we went on a sunday afternoon drive

and i captured the life of brette in a nutshell.

 

 

leave me alone, i'm sleeping.

oh god, where am i?

i really need something to chew on.

how about a finger? they're my favorite.

 

 i am so bright eyed and happy after some sleep.

 

 i think its time to get me out of my carseat and play.

 

and that's the basics.

eat.

sleep.

play.

repeat.

 

the life of brette.

it's pretty great.

 

 

 

suck it

take a good look:

 

 

 

 

 

because its the last time you'll see it.

 

 

brette is officially pacifier free.

 

 

say what?! 

whoop. whoop. (i'm raising the roof)

 

and she pretty much decided this for herself.

i think i wanted her to love it for a little while longer

because its so easy to stick that sucker in her mouth if we're out and about

and she decides that yelling might be fun.

but i'm also kind of glad because one friend told me that

it is not good for their teeth or how it changes the shape of the roof of their mouth.

 

[ps - at the time, brette had a pacifier in her mouth and i was like -

oh great, brette's teeth are going to be fucked.

and i always refer to crooked teeth as jafar teeth.

so i guess this is my worst case scenario. damn pacifier.]

 

a n y w a y,

i noticed recently that it was a 50-50 shot whether or not

brette would even take it.

i remember the good ol' days where i could pop it in

and she would sooth herself and seriously pass out within 30 seconds.

it was like ambien.

but once her teeth started coming in

she started using more to chew on

and less for sleeping.

in fact, if she was crying and you were trying to put her down for a nap

she would get seriously ticked if you even tried giving it to her. 

like - you son of a bitch, i know that's not your boob.

quit trying to trick me, idiot.

and then scream even louder.

awesome.

in the last couple of weeks she has been

falling asleep at night while nursing

so she wasn't using it anyhow.

so when my dear friend margie, posted something about ending

the pacifier streak with her kiddo,

it got me thinking about mine.

 

she wasn't using it at night.

she was mad if i tried giving it to her while she was crying.

she was only taking it half the time.

and she was basically using it as a chew toy.

 

there was really no need for it anymore.

so i packed them all away...

(i found five, which is weird because when i needed a pacifier

we could only find one at a time.  seriously. those things are the easiest things to lose.)

... and just stopped offering it at all.

and you know what?

nothing changed.

she still slept the same, napped the same and freely yelled in public.

 

 

 

 

now next on my list of other habits to kick:

the swaddle.

i'm way more reluctant to try this again.

sleep is so lovely.

 

hodge podge

not a lot has been going on.

i mean, it is january.

the month that requires a lot of indoor activities.

something we're not that great at.

it usually involves renting movies.

but luckily, we had a really warm sunday and b is feeling much better

so we finally ventured out.

we packed food, the dogs, one baby girl and headed to [our] park.

unfortunately, is was super windy so we ended up tailgating

instead of using the picnic tables,

but we did manage to go on a little hike on the trails.

 

i love this place

 the dogs love this place.

 and ronnie loves changing diapers on the go.  wink.

we also decided that we needed a night out

so we took brette to her first pizza dinner.

she sipped on water and ate some applesauce i packed for her

while ronnie and i devoured waldo's.

(i made him split a gluten-free pizza with me because of my diet

and we both agree, that we couldn't tell the difference and really liked it.)

 

i also ordered ronnie and i some new sheets from west elm.

i was so busy loving on the grey stripes that i didn't even bother looking at the thread count.

i was just assuming west elm would have nice sheets.

just so you know, this is not the case.

they are not soft and amazing liked i had hoped,

but i DO love how they look.

maybe a few hundred washes and they'll be better?

 

 

and lastly, some random shots of b

in all her cuteness.

she has started scrunching her nose when she smiles.

it makes for some weird photos.

ha!

 

 

 

i'm hoping winter flies by.

i could really use some afternoon stroller walks

and evenings on the deck.

 

 



 

brette: 7 months

growth:

our little one is getting big.

she is still wearing 6 month clothing and size 2 diapers,
but i'm sure that won't be for long.

i would almost swear the scale at the doctor's office

was broken last time we were there for her 6 month check-up

when we went in for her ear infection

she weighed in at 16 lbs.

which seems a lot more true

but that means she would have gained

over a pound in the last couple weeks.

either way, at least now she's more average for her age.

our big news for this month is she is sitting up on her own unassisted.

i knew she was close,

so i wasn't surprised when she just started having no troubles at all.

i love watching her sit on the floor and play.

she also sprouted another tooth!

she now has both her center bottom teeth.

and she uses them to bite e v e r y t h i n g.

i have to watch my fingers.

(but luckily, she has NOT bitten me while nursing.

thank jesus.)

 

 

sleeps:

so i've been such a bragger about
how brette is a super sleeper.
then we hit six months and things have been a little wonky.
we had three nights where she's been up several times.
like 9:00, 12:00, 2:30 and 6:00.
it was not cool.
after her tooth popped through,
those ended.
thank god.
but
she also decided that she needed to start getting up earlier too.
she used to go down around 8 and sleep to 6 or 7.
now she goes to bed at 7:30 and gets up at 5:00-5:30.
since i'm not down to start our day at that time,
i nurse her and put her right back down and she sleeps until 8:00.
so basically we reverted back to our original schedule.
it's nice because we're not starting our day at 6:30 anymore,
but its sucks because i have to be up for 30 mins around 5:00.
whatever.
i just really want her to eventually sleep 12 hours.
go to bed at 7 or 8
and get up at 7.
juuuust waitin'
 

  

eats:

she nurses five times a day
and gets food twice a day.
i normally feed her after her morning nap
(which is around lunch time)
and then she eats dinner with ronnie and i.
we actually have dinner at our kitchen table every night.
no more meals in front of the tv.
she will not let you eat without her.
she'll stare at you or grunt until you feel bad and give her something,
so we figured it is just easier to feed her while we eat.
then we can all eat in peace.
so far she is loving everything we give her.
if it's a new food,
i give it to her for 3-5 days straight
and then lay off it to see if there is a reaction.
so far, so good.
no allergies.
here is a list of food she's had:
peas
carrots
green beans
sweet potatoes
bananas
applesauce

i also started making baby food.
its super super super easy, fast and cheap.
i bought black beans and mangos today,
so those are next on the list.

if you want to make your own baby food:
read this.
its pretty much what i followed,
except i didn't have a steamer.

  

 

plays:

like i mentioned before,
i can sit her on the floor with toys
and she can play without falling over.
such a big girl.
she loves everything that makes noises and lights up,
but i found if i only give her one or two things to play with
she does better than if i surround her with things.
i think its too overwhelming.
she also found a soft spot for sofie,
the famous chew toy.
i guess it is worth the money
because every baby loves it,
brette included.

  

firsts:

she sat unassisted for the first time.
she had her first christmas...
and her first new year's.
she was prescribed her first antibiotic
because of her first ear infection.

this next month i'd love to see her push up using her arms.
that means, i better get crackin' on tummy time.
she's going to hate life.

ps- i got NO smiles this month,
but i swear, she smiles all the time.
maybe i should have let her wake up a bit more.

 

sick baby

a quick update.

 

we took brette to the pediatrician yesterday

since b had been running a fever for a few nights.

she also had a bad cough and a stuffy nose.

its not a good combo.

the doctor found a little bit of fluid behind b's ears.

wah wah.

she said i could either wait it out to see if it

clears up on its own when her cold goes away

or if she was running a temp or tugging on her ears,

i could put her on some antibiotics.

i chose the antibiotics since she had both symptoms.

 

we made it almost seven months without drugs,

but no more.

doc said b should be feeling a lot better by thursday,

so i'm laying low until then.

i'm trying not to go stir crazy.

i already spent my whole weekend at home,

so i'm keeping busy.

 

cleaning house.

making baby food.

laundry.

actually cooking dinner.

and

trying to get rid any germs in the house.

 

 

hopefully she feels better soon.

 



weekend top ten list

things that happened this weekend:

1. met up with my girlfriends on friday for a playdate.
always fun.
the kids keep getting cuter.

2. brette's second tooth finally cut through.
teething sucks.

3. brette has been running a fever for the last two days.
i'm assuming it's her teeth.
she also caught a cold.
i'm carrying around kleenex so she is literally not described as a snot-nose kid.
i know she doesn't feel well because she slept 13 hours last night
and then took a three hour nap this morning. sleep on, girl.

4. to top it off, she shit on ronnie. and then when he was changing her, she peed all over.
it. was. awesome. 
and then it was bath time.

5. the bachelor is back.
time to live tweet my friends every monday night.
its DZ tradition.

6. we took christmas down except for the tree.
i'm trying to convince ronnie to carry it down to the basement with all the decorations still on it.
my brother does it and it looks like an amazing idea.
ronnie doesn't think the tree will fit down the staircase.
there's only one way to find out.

7. it snowed and snowed and snowed.
and it's freezing here. like super-duper, don't-go-outside-at-all cold.
i hope people brought their dogs inside. 
it literally haunts me that people leave their pets out in this.

8. i colored my hair.
yes, that was the "highlight" of my saturday night. 
get it?! i kill myself.
i now have the blond ombre thing going again.
i missed it.

9.  ronnie made dinner twice this weekend.
talk about miracle.
he says he's going to try to start cooking, but only on the weekend.
i guess that leaves me the other five days.

10. my best friend that lived 5 minutes away moved back to warrensburg.
40 minutes away.
not cool, not cool at all.
so now i'm all alone in lees summit.
sad face.

so yeah, my weekend was not that exciting.

but when you have a sick six month old and its 10 degrees outside

it limits the amount of things you can do.

i didn't list it, but we did manage to get out of the house and go to walgreens.

i stayed in the car though, so i don't know if that counts.

 

whoop whoop