Adriana has laughed a little bit before, but it was only very short ones here and there (and they sounded more like screams of joy), but this week we managed to make her howl with laughter! Oh my gosh, it was the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. We were just sitting there laughing at each other and she kept going and going. And I’m such a hormonal dork so I obviously teared up. hah. Then we tried to catch it on video and it was….radio silence. It makes us so excited to make her laugh in the future. It’s such a good feeling!
Adriana’s Babcia (Eric’s mom) came to visit us this week. Adriana got so many cuddles and lots of playtime with her so that was really nice. She also brought her a few early Christmas gifts – one of which is a really sweet red plaid dress that she will wear over the holidays. She’s a lucky girl and so loved by her grandparents.
While Margaret was here, we thought it would be a good time for her to try giving Adriana the bottle. I had a dentist appointment, so I pumped a couple ounces and fed her before I left and went on my merry way. My appointment ran longer than usual, so I called Eric just as I was leaving and he said things were not going well with the bottle (she just wouldn’t latch onto it) and Adriana was screaming for a half hour. I felt so stressed and guilty on the drive home. They tried both the Dr. Browns and the Comotomo bottles with no luck. Finally Eric got a tiny bit of milk into her to take the edge off so when I got home she wasn’t crying anymore and was semi-content. It’s been hard when I have to go out, and of course, it’s hard on Eric especially because he feels like nothing he does will help soothe her! We’re going to keep at it though….just like we did with breastfeeding and hope that it all will just click one day! You never know. And of course if she doesn’t take a bottle it’s not the end of the world. We’ll figure it out. Like many of you have said, once they are on solids they can go longer stretches.
On the plus side, we had another amazing night of sleep this week. Adriana slept for a stretch of 7.5 hours! She tends to cluster feed at night and then I try to give her a feed immediately before bed. This seems to help satisfy her for a longer stretch at night! On average though, she’s still feeding around 10pm, 3am, and 6am….give or take an hour. Sometimes she will skip the 3am feed resulting in a nice long stretch.
I meant to mention this little tip that we learned in the early weeks about diaper creams. When she was born, we started using a natural diaper cream religiously, thinking that we should use it at every diaper changing. Well, not longer after, Adriana started to develop a small rash so we switched up the creams thinking she was sensitive to something in the cream. It didn’t improve even when trying out a bunch of different ones. We mentioned it to our pediatrician and she suggested that it was the diaper cream causing the issue and she said to only use the cream if there was an actual need for it. As new parents, we had no idea we might be over-using the bum cream! So we took her advice and stopped using the creams for a while and wouldn’t you know it the rash completely went away! And we haven’t had to use ANY diaper cream since! I mean none. Her bum has been rash-free ever since. Anyway, I just thought I would mention this discovery in case it helps someone else!
Adriana still appears to be showing signs of early teething. She’s had a lot of fussy days lately and she is still chewing on everything and seems to be quite bothered! Her cheeks have also been quite red. She’s still enjoying her new teething toys.
Currently loving: New fuzzy animal books and song books (I’m a little teapot!) from her Nana and Papa! Also, baths (she can’t get enough), diaper changes, practicing standing up on our laps, airplane games, etc. We’ve also introduced her exer-saucer and she’s loving that too, although still needs our support with it a bit.
Still not enjoying: Ear cleaning, nose cleaning, nail trimming/filing
Weight gain since birth: 5.5 pounds or so – my arms are getting great workouts these days! *flexes pipes*
The other big news this week is our upcoming trip! We’re gearing up for her first 4.5 hour flight. I had an idea the other day – why not write a post on the entire “first time flying with a baby” experience? I think I just might! Sort of like a day in the life post, but focusing on the travel day. Maybe it will help someone reading…or if anything, maybe some comedic relief. By the way, I totally appreciate all the stories and tips you’ve been leaving on my last posts.
Well, this will probably be my last post before Christmas, so I want to wish you all a very happy holiday! I appreciate those of you who check in for these baby posts each week. This baby blog has felt like personal therapy for me at times, but it also makes me happy that so many of you have left comments saying how much you are enjoying the posts. It’s been really fun for me to document, not to mention a nice change of pace from recipes. I appreciate all of you who have shared your stories and experiences over the past several months!
On that note…have a great holiday!! I hope you find some time for rest and relaxation amidst this busy season.
Hi Angela!
It’s so funny how different babies can be from each other– my older son had trouble nursing at first so we used a shield, which I got him off of at 9 weeks, but then he would never take a bottle (and nursed until he was 16 months old). And my younger son latched on right away but then began to weaned himself from nursing as soon as I introduced the bottle at 12 weeks (he was totally on the bottle at 5 months). I did like the freedom with my younger one but then always felt torn that the nursing was over so soon. I still feel torn about it and that was 5 years ago! :)
it’s amazing how complex the feeding/nursing relationship can be, right? And everyone has a different story to tell. I always say to Eric I’m not surprised that she won’t take the bottle because it was such a struggle to get her to latch onto the breast in the first place. You just never know what they are going to do!
Oh the bottles! We tried and tried and eventually just gave up (it was actually more stressful for me to deal with the bottle issues than to just time my outings accordingly for a couple of months). My little one is now 9 months old and a total pro with a sippy cup (just a bit of water), so that may be what happens as well – at about the time she started solids we would just let her ‘play’ with the sippy cup to get her familiar with it, and it totally worked. She got the hang of it fairly quickly. And yes, once the solids go in, it is so much better – your husband will probably find that he can appease her by himself with some food while you are gone :). Thanks for the updates – having a baby just a few months older than your daughter, I find myself reliving all the wonderful craziness that surrounds a newborn through your posts. One more thing – if you are ever interested in some awesome totally natural baby products, Bare Organics has amazing stuff. Their baby balm is for real (I also totally agree with whoever said LOTS of bare bum time to prevent/treat diaper rash). Just wanted to share. :). Happy Holidays!
I love hearing these stories…gives us hope! I know we’ll figure it out one way or another. I like the idea of giving the sippy cup to play with and letting them figure it out. I haven’t heard of that brand before, but I will have to look it up.
Adriana sounds like a very happy little girl, and she should be, with so much love surrounding her! Wishing your sweet little family a wonderful first Christmas together (and a successful plane ride, lol!) All the best for the holidays and into the new year :)
Thanks Jen, you too!
merry christmas angela and eric! i am not a mother, nor do i plan to ever be one BUT i really enjoy reading your baby posts. they always make me smile and laugh and as another poster said, i enjoy reading about your daily life in addition to your incredible recipes. i am making your chocolate espresso hazelnut torte from your book for christmas! can’t wait to taste it.
What is her name again??? Oh right…..you only say it like a million times per entry.
Um what do you propose I should call her? Saying “her” over and over doesn’t really make much sense either. Sheesh!
ang, i counted. it was only 7. 7 does not equal a million. you should write an entry with just her name repeated over and over 500 times. “sandy” must really need some christmas cheer.
ok, so I read it over and I probably could’ve edited my writing more to make it flow better, but ah….there’s not enough time in the day. Oh well. :)
Goodness gracious, sheesh indeed! Adriana is a beautiful name :)
You better know I love these updates! Of course I love your recipes but as a friend of yours for the last 10+ years I have enjoyed “seeing” this new transition in your life. It is an amazing time for you and it will be fun to look back on!! Enjoy your time with your family.. your mom and sis won’t be able to get enough of Adriana!! xo
likewise girlie! hugs & Merry Christmas :)
I found your baby blog posts late in my pregnancy, and I enjoyed reading them as a first time momma-to-be myself! Now, my son is turning two months old this week (where does the time go?) and I love seeing what Adriana is up to and comparing my experience to yours. Thank you for sharing your struggles and successes with other mamas like me! Your candid posts about the early days of breastfeeding are an inspiration — my son initially had issues with weight gain, so learning that another mom had trouble and didn’t find nursing to be the instinctive, natural process it’s hyped up as was incredibly helpful. I can’t wait to keep reading!
Thank you Ashley! I’m so glad you are enjoying the posts. :) All the best with your son!
Honestly, don’t worry about getting her to take a bottle. The older she gets the longer she can go between feedings and you’ll be able to be away from her for a few hours without having her starve! This will all happen some time within the next 3 months. That’s the thing about babies, they grow so fast and once you think you’ve got one thing mastered it just doesnt matter any more! Neither of my daughters ever took to a bottle no matter how hard I tried and soon enough I realised it was no longer necessary. The amount of feedings and the frequency will decrease rapidly from here on out. So unless you plan on being away from her for days, its just not worth the hassle in my opinion! Food for thought!
`once you think you’ve got one thing mastered it just doesnt matter any more!`
hah…I`m sure that applies for many different things.
Merry Christmas! Still lovin’ the baby posts. And she is just precious.
It is not an ideal way to feed, but an eye dropper or on of those plunger-style needle free syringes (the kind used for feeding puppies and kittens) might help in a pinch. It’s more like a snack, but might help hold Adriana over if Eric has another panic session. Poor Daddy!
My oldest didn’t take to the bottle either! She was a booby baby all the way and it was really hard for her father to handle her when I needed to go out solo. Eventually he got her to take a pacifier by dipping it in milk or juice. After a little while on the pacifier she figured the bottle out and would grudgingly accept a small feeding. By the time she was six months I could leave her and dad together for quite some time without anyone going all Chernobyl.
Thanks for reminding me about the eye dropper. We tried that in the early days and I had forgotten about it! Always good to have in the back pocket just in case.
As always I love to follow your baby posts (I just haven’t commented lately as my 8 week old girl keeps me busy ;-)
In Germany it is nowadays generally recommended by the hospitals, the midwifes and every book that you don’t use diaper cream unless your child actually has a diaper rash. Putting it on every single time was what my mom’s generation was used to here. Funny how it’s done (and developed) differently in different countries!
Oh, and regarding the bottle: We have yet to try and introduce one (I’m dreading that one) and I REALLY should sterilize my hand pump so I can do it while my husband is on holidays!
Looking forward to hearing how the flight goes! We will be flying from Portland, OR to Dublin, Ireland end of January with our daughter, who will be 9 weeks at that time.
Merry Christmas!
Shea (Portland, OR)
Hi Angela,
This is my first time commenting on your blog. I just want to say first, that your baby is just beautiful and second, a huge thank you for your online recipes and cookbook. You have transformed how I cook and how our family eats. We are exploring food allergies with my middle daughter and every recipe of your is so delicious! I have a 10 month old who also struggled with the bottle when she was 3 months. It was so hard because it seemed I could only make a short trip without her and would feel terrible if she needed to eat. Someone told me about the old school playtex nurser bottles with the drop ins but to go on amazon and order the brown laytex nipple instead of the clear silicon…it worked like a charm! Just wanted to pass along the advice! Thank you again for being such a genius in the kitchen:)
I’m sure a review of your trip would be great. Your writing style is so approachable, it would help lots of folks. I’m taking my 3 little ones on a trip for a family wedding this week – a 3.5 year old, 1.5 year old, and 3 week old. This is honestly the very first trip I’ve ever been anxious about.
Please give Eric lots of love and support. He is doing GREAT. My husband was great to start, and has gotten better with each child. But from what I gather/you have written, you are both doing really well. Keep up taking time to be with one another. Your daughter will benefit from that more than you can imagine as she gets older. Kids pick up on what’s going on between their parents really early. . . appreciating his efforts will be something she understands from you – and often children will then take that lead.
I hear you about the diaper rash cream! Before our daughter was born I stocked up but then realized I didn’t actually need it all that often. My friend gave me a tip for a natural remedy which totally works if she does ever develop the rash again… Virgin coconut oil. Whenever I applied the oil the rash was gone within a few hours. Coconut oil is good stuff! :-)
Loving the baby blog as well as your food blog Angela :) She’s so precious and you and Eric sound like such great parents!
I feel for you and your daughter with the bottle struggles. I had the same problem with my first daughter 2 years ago. I found this blog post which totally helped http://www.mannlymama.com/2009/10/hooray-for-latex/. I used the playtex drop-in latex nipple and it was the only one she would take. Btw just had my second daughter on September 19th and it’s great to read your posts on your daughter. Have a great New Year!
Hi Angela- just wanted to chime in about the bottle. My 8 month old daughter still won’t take one- I remember feeling really stressed about it this summer. EVERYONE kept telling me “oh she will take one eventually” or “she’ll take it when she is hungry” or “well have you tried *this* one?” or “you should leave the house for longer periods of time”… we heard it all. and guess what? she won’t take it and we survived :) I ended up getting a dr. browns infant sippy cup that she was able to use by 4 months or so. maybe sooner, but we didn’t have it then. I knew she wouldn’t take the bottle- i felt it in my bones! there is certainly no convincing or rationalizing to be done with a baby :) soak it all up!
Not sure if this was already mentioned, but the next time she gets a diaper rash, spray some breast milk all over the rash, and voila, it will go away! Breastmilk = liquid gold = cures everything. Sort of like Windex to the Greeks in my Big Fat Greek Wedding :)