I Guess We Will Call These ‘Issues’

I swear Gabriella knows when I write a nice little post about her. She decides to be the COMPLETE opposite that day. She is such a goof! Last night was one of those crazy nights…that I’m not the biggest fan of. She was up a ridiculous amount…and then ready to start the day at 5am. Normally I wouldn’t care, I’m usually up at that time anyways…but after a night of maybe three hours of sleep, I was begging her to go back to sleep.

Needless to say my begging didn’t work out too well, and my girl was up & at ‘em…which meant Mommy was too. 😉

^one of my favorite pictures which TOTALLY shows her little attitude & sass 😉

I’m not quite sure why she was a bit ‘off’ last night/ this morning…but I have a feeling it’s her little teeth. She is teething REALLY bad now, and her gums are white- which I know means those teeth are trying to pop through. She’s also really enjoying being held sometimes, which is odd, because usually she just wants to MOVE around on her own. I know a big part of teething can be the need for extra Mommy love- aka “hold me all the time Mommy.” I love the extra snuggles, because, like I said, usually she tries to push herself off me so that she can crawl around.

Anyways, as I said yesterday, I LOVE everything about this age- six months is an awesome age! But there are a few things that we need to work on with our little lady.

So the latest thing with Miss Gabriella is REALLY BAD attachment issues. As in, Craig or I must be with her at all times. She doesn’t want anyone else to hold her, except for us. I went up to visit my parents last weekend, and I went to give G to my Mom & she started SCREAMING. I thought it was because I handed her off the minute I walked in the door so that I could finish unloading all of the stuff (You need a TON of stuff for a baby…it’s insane), and since she had not seen my Mom in a bit maybe she was scared..? NO. She continued screaming when I got all of the stuff and was standing right there next to her.

^the last time my Mom saw her, on Easter, she was fine.

She wouldn’t stop screaming until I held her. This lasted all day. I was sad because I know how much my Mom wanted to hold her, but Gabriella just didn’t want any part of it.

The next day she did a little better, she still just wanted me to hold her, but she did warm up to my parents a bit. I was happy about that because I felt bad that she was being a little stink the whole time.

This isn’t the only time. She saw a few friends of mine & she did the same thing. 😦 Even though I was standing right there next to her & she could see me, she still would just cry until I picked her up.

^she’s really sweet, I promise 🙂

I had to keep apologizing to anyone who tried to hold her.

Lately I can barely take a shower. I used to put her in her seat & give her a toy & she would be fine…not anymore. My 2 minute showers have now turned into 30 second showers. I don’t think anyone wants to be around me…I mean who wants to hang out with someone who just ran 10 miles & barely had a chance to shower?! 😉

I did have a minute to do some research on this & I found out it’s pretty common. The attachment issues are in full force during this age…and it’s OK! It just means that she sees us as her comfort & safety, which is fine by me. That’s a GOOD thing! We want her to know that she is safe. BUT there are ways to work on the attachment issues, otherwise she will never want to go to anyone. Of course the big one is socializing her. I actually found some ‘Mommy groups’ on Meet up, only because most of my friends that are my age do not have kids & I would love to find some other Mommys in my area- not just for Gabriella’s sake, but for mine too. It would be nice to have other Moms to discuss things with & just hear about their experiences.

Another thing I read was to play Peek a boo with her. It shows her that Mommy & Daddy may ‘leave,’ but they always come back.

We may have the attachment for a while, but it’s usually just a phase & should pass once she is more socialized & knows certain people. We have a friend that just adores Gabriella, and she is planning on visiting her more often so that she may be able to baby sit her eventually- I want G to know that she is ‘safe’ too.

So the next ‘issue’ isn’t really an issue anymore. She still won’t take a bottle, which means I’ll be breast feeding for a year, which I wanted to do anyways…but I was hoping I would be able to pump too. It also means that I don’t get a break with the feedings- I can only be away for up to four hours…if that. And now with the attachment issues going on, sometimes I really can’t leave.

I tried sippy cups, and she is REALLY good at taking them. She chugs water like no other.

But she refuses to drink milk in them. I put a QUARTER of an ounce of milk in- mixed with about 3 ounces of water & she would NOT drink it. (I tried both cold & warm) I dumped it out & filled it up with water…and she drank it, no problem. HOW in the world can she taste that little amount?! I don’t even think I could!! Haha!!

But here are my thoughts on the bottle thing…for some reason this is how it is supposed to be. – you know the saying, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ That’s how I feel. There is a reason behind it all, and I’m just going to leave it like that.

I’m LUCKY & blessed that she latched like she did- right out of the womb she latched like a pro! I have never had any issues with it- and never had any dry or cracked nipples (sorry if TMI, just speaking the truth 🙂 ), which I know a LOT of women experience & it sounds absolutely horrible.

I told Craig that a year without a night out (without having to hurry home to feed her), or a night away is TOTALLY manageable! Honestly, it’s NO BIG DEAL! Of course we would love to have a night away, but we can wait until she is no longer nursing. We’ve gone six months, we go do six more! 🙂

There is no need to stress ourselves out or Gabriella.

The last thing was something I mentioned yesterday- how much she still gets up at night. I know breastfeeding babies typically wake up more & need to eat more often than formula fed babies, but I think she is waking up more than normal. I feel like she can skip at least one of her nightly feedings. She’s in bed by 7pm, then up to eat at 10pm, 1 or 2am, 4am & then up for the day around 6:30/7am. It’s a LOT…and it’s a lot of no sleep for me. This Momma enjoys her sleep! 😉

It’s something I’ll discuss with her doctor this week & see what he suggests. I hope he has some good advice. 🙂

All in all, I would say we are VERY lucky to have our sweet daughter that we do. She is our WHOLE world. I seriously don’t know what we would do without her. So she is a bit attached to us?! We can TOTALLY manage that. 😀 & lack of sleep??! At this point in the game, I’m SO used to it, I honestly don’t remember getting an uninterrupted nights sleep. And THAT’S OK! Some nights I actually CRAVE the time with her in the middle of the night. My cousin told me I would, and she also told me to savor these times because they don’t last long. The lack of sleep is worth it.

Moms: Did your child ever experience attachment issues? How old were they before they overcame it?

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Medela Calma Bottle Review

Good Morning!

Sorry I have been a bit MIA on the blog lately.. this weekend was VERY busy and I’m just now catching up.

Today I wanted to take the chance to tell you about the Medela Calma bottle.

As you know I have been having a VERY hard time with Gabriella taking a bottle. She took it two days after she was born (I started pumping right when I got home) & she did great with it. We were giving her a bottle a day. During the holidays it was just easier to nurse her, so we missed two weeks without giving her a bottle…and boy were those two weeks crucial. Since those two weeks, she has refused the bottle. We have been trying for OVER a month to give her one.

Craig would get home from work, I would heat the milk (it’s all breast milk) and then he would give her the bottle. I would try to do other stuff- like cook dinner- so that I was not in the room, and so that I was out of her site. NOTHING worked.

Then I read about the Calma. “Calma is a research-based nipple used with a BPA-free breast milk bottle designed to allow babies to maintain their natural feeding behavior and transition from bottle back to breast with ease—a revolution for breastfeeding mothers.” This sounded like a DREAM come TRUE!

One thing about most bottles is that there are ‘stages’ of nipples. But these stages don’t always correspond with your natural flow. I know that I have a fast flow, and the level one (newborn) nipples did NOT work with Gabriella when she did take a bottle. They were way too slow and she would get frustrated.

What’s unique about Calma is that it is more than a conventional bottle nipple: it’s a research-based feeding solution designed exclusively for breastfed babies to support mothers in maintaining their breastfeeding goals, especially during life transitions. (IE: Going back to work) With Calma, the milk will only flow if the baby works & creates vacuum to remove the milk. This enables the feeding behavior learned at the breast to be used with Calma.

I decided with this bottle to let Gabriella just kind of play with it at first. I wanted to get her comfortable around it, so I let her just suck on it- which also helped with her teething. Win win 😉

It was time for the true test.

I heated up some breast milk and got the bottle ready. I put her in her bouncer & Craig gave her the bottle.

Now, let’s start from the beginning. Since she was used to the bottle, she did take it in her mouth. It took her a minute to figure out the nipple, because she was used to the traditional nipple. She did start sucking on it, and she realized that is how you get the milk,

I also liked that the area surrounding the nipple was more realistic to a breast. It wasn’t perfectly smooth, but had little bumps surrounding it.

Now once Gabriella kind of realized it was a bottle, she did her usual- she would just move the nipple around her mouth from side to side.

The GOOD thing is she wasn’t crying when we tried to give it to her. She didn’t exactly TAKE it, but she did get a bit of milk.- more than with the other bottles we had tried.

IF I could go back, I would of purchased these bottles when I was registering for bottles. I LOVE the design, and I do feel like they are IDEAL for breastfeeding Moms. You cannot find another nipple out there like this one. I feel like if we had started her with these bottles, she would have been more open to taking the bottle…and it wouldn’t have been a fight.

The downsides to the bottle? Only two. First one- the price. At Babies R Us the 5oz Calma bottle is $19.99, the 8oz is $24.99 & the nipple alone is $17.99. But the good thing is that Babies constantly has these on a Buy one, get one 50% off. The other thing is that with all of the money I have spent on bottles (Dr. Browns, Playtex, Avant, Tommee Tippeee) & nipples (clear nipples, brown nipples, fast flow nipples, slow flow nipples, etc.) I would HAPPILY pay $19.99 for this bottle! SO WORTH IT!

Second one- there are a lot of parts to the bottle. Honestly though, I don’t think it’s really a ‘downside,’ only because that is what MAKES the bottle- all of the parts. But if you are not a fan of cleaning bottles, then you may not be too fond of the four different pieces.

I knew Medela was a great brand- I have a Medela double electric pump & I LOVE it- and this bottle didn’t disappoint at all!

We are going to keep trying with the Calma to get Gabriella to take the bottle. I think with a few more tries, she may take it! Like I said earlier, she didn’t hate it, which is a HUGE step in the right direction! 🙂

If you are a Mom having a problem with bottle feeding, I highly suggest trying the Medela Calma. Medela also has a breastfeeding app for your phone, to help make life even easier!

Disclosure: I was given Calma by Medela for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I shared is completely honest & my own.”

Currently..and Can You Help Me?

I came across this survey on Alyssa’s blog, and since I’m a huge fan of surveys…I had to partake.

Currently…

Current Book(s):

Honestly, I’m totally lacking in reading. 😦 I hate that. I love a good book, but my time has been occupied on other things right now. BUT, I did just read ‘Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child‘ & cannot recommend it enough for Moms & Moms to be! It has helped us so much. G slept NINE, yes 9!, hours the other night.

Current Music:

LOVING the song ‘Thrift Shop.’ I played it about three times on my long run – G & I did a 15K (9.3 miles) – and we knocked it out in 1 hour & 16 minutes…I definitely think listening to this song helped…I was so pumped up. Haha!

Current Guilty Pleasure:

Frozen yogurt. All the time. Love the stuff. Or this light ice cream…

Current Nail Color:

Essie. To buy or not to buy. (it’s hard to tell, but it’s a light purple)

Current Drink:

Water. Lots of it!

Current Food:

Not eating as I type this, but I ate lunch a little while ago- which was a smoothie with spinach…again with a side of Popcorners.

They are so good! They taste like popcorn, but are in the shape of a chip. My Mom & I saw them while we were at BJ’s, the wholesale club) this weekend, so we decided to try them. SO GLAD WE DID! If you see them while you are out, I highly recommend them.

Current Favorite Show:

Modern Family. The New Normal. I have a few, but I just LOVE those two shows. I can’t get enough.

Anyone else absolutely adore Sofia Vergara?!

CAN’T. GET. ENOUGH.

Current Wish List:

The Ergo carrier.

Current needs: (this is where the ‘Can You Help Me?’ comes in)

My lovely daughter to take a bottle. Can anyone help me?? I’m still exclusively breastfeeding, just pumping too. We had her used to a bottle for the first month of her life, she took it perfectly. Then during the month of December we didn’t really give her a bottle at all. Just with the holidays, it was easier just to breast feed. Well, LESSON LEARNED. If we do have a second child, we will make sure we stick to at least a bottle a day! This will save us in the long run.

But now Gabriella REFUSES a bottle. I mean it’s BAD. She SCREAMS when we try to give her one, she gets herself so worked up…to almost where she hyperventilates. I’ve tried three types of bottles: Dr. Brown’s, Tommee Tippee, & Playtex (the one with the brown nipple, so it’s more natural). Now I have been reading about the Medela Calma, the new bottle that’s supposed to be ideal for breastfed babies…but I’m still not sure if I should spend $20 on a bottle that cannot be returned if she doesn’t like it. (and $20 is for ONE bottle) I’m willing to do it, IF I can get some kind of feedback on it. But at this point I don’t think it’s the bottle…it’s just she doesn’t want to take a bottle in general.

We have also tried other people giving her a bottle, like Craig instead of myself. Or Craig’s Mom or my Mom…just so she won’t see me and assume she is going to breast feed…and babies can smell your milk I believe up to 20 feet away. (they are like little dogs- haha!)

ANY suggestions on bottles or in general, PLEASE let me know!!!!!! PLEASE 😀

Current Bane of My Existence:

Oh goodness, I don’t know if I have anything that I can think of right now. …well, except now I’m kicking myself for not keeping up with the bottle a day

Current Celebrity Crush:

Oh this is easy…it’s always Mark Wahlberg.

Current Indulgence:

Am I allowed to say frozen yogurt again?! 😉 My nightly frozen yogurt is a daily indulgence…and I love it.

Current Blessing:

Oh, this is even easier.

These two. My WHOLE world.

Current Outfit:

Ha…it’s always gym clothes. Always. Now that I work from home it’s weird for me to dress in anything else. Can’t say that I mind 😉

Current Excitement:

Going to Maryland in a few weeks!!!! It’s my nephew’s 1st birthday & my brother in law & sister in law’s 30th birthdays!! I.CANNOT.WAIT! G will finally get to meet her cousin & aunt & uncle!

Current Link:

Some AWESOME photos.

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G 😀

Now your turn…tell me something that you are currently loving!