Feeding is Fun!

Molly is now seven and a half months old and eating like a champ, at least in comparison to her sister! As I had mentioned in a previous post, Jane pretty much never ate.  So feeding Molly is basically a whole new experience!

She is eating lots of pureed fruits.  She loves them!  Not really a fan of the veggies, however.  Carrots, yes.  Squash, sometimes.  Everything else is a big yuck in her book.  She likes the puffs and is just starting to be able to pick them up herself.  She also enjoys MumMums and crackers.

I had planned to make all her food from scratch.  I prefer local produce.  But it's January in Pennsylvania.  So I go to organic.  And even that is slim picking at this time. So I make what I can.  But each trip to the grocery store I find myself buying more and more jars.  Oh well.  It is what it is. 

This week we already made a batch of applesauce.

I use my Baby Bullet for bananas in the morning.  She really enjoys her bananas, and I enjoy that they keep her full on our outings in the the morning!   By the way, the Baby Bullet is the BEST for making single servings!  I love love LOVE it!

I'm so excited for Molly to start on solids!  I'm sure it won't be long!

Letters to Jane

 

My sweet Jane,

You are turning into an amazing little girl.  

No longer a baby and hardly a toddler.

You're spirited nature keeps us on our toes.

You're social expressions make us laugh.

 You make an impression on everyone you meet. 

As I lay holding you before you drift off to sleep, I pray that you will remain the confident and curious girl you are.

I pray that you will show kindness to the world around you.

I pray you will always be passionate about the things you care about.

Jane, you are our everything.

We love you.

 

lil sicko

There's not much worse than when your kids get sick, is there?  Poor Jane woke up yesterday morning just cranky and not feeling well at all! 

After asking her 20 questions and not getting any answers, I called the doctor and made an appointment.  Minutes later she was fine and seemed back to her normal self.  So I canceled the appointment.  After nap the crying escalated and I made another appointment. 

No lie, we're at that doctor's office every week.  Yup, I'm that mom.  And like many of our visits, they didn't see anything wrong. 

Mommy intuition said there was.  But what was I to do?

Mid-morning today, I noticed her eardrum had ruptured!  Of course there is no doctor in the office today.  A million questions rush through my head.  How could they have missed this?  She looked in both ears at 7pm last night and said they were good.  Could it have happened all of a sudden?  But that would not explain the crying and screaming yesterday.  I've actually had her to the doctor 2 other times since Christmas suspecting an ear infection but both times told she didn't.  Has she had one all along?  Maybe it's time to find a new doctor?  Needless to say, I am anxious to get some answers tomorrow.

The good thing about a ruptured eardrum is that the pain goes away.  Jane had a mostly pleasant day.  We spent a lot of it doing this...

They love Sesame Street you tube videos!  Oddly enough, Jane doesn't like to watch it on TV.  When we weren't doing this, we were either coloring, doing puzzles, or watching Calliou.  It was a "taking it easy" kind of day!

clothes clothes clothes

Monday and Wednesday mornings are perfect for little tasks around the house.  Jane is off to preschool for two hours, so the morning is pretty quiet with just Molly.

This morning my task was to put away all the clothes that have accumulated everywhere.  I did lots of kid wash this weekend so there were piles everywhere that needed to be put into drawers.  After I did that I remembered I had a few pieces that needed to be attacked with a lint brush.

My husband, I love him dearly, did some wash over Christmas break.  We'd gotten a VERY linty blanket that he washed with a few of Jane's dark pieces of clothes.  Men don't think these things through do they?  Anyhow, I had left them in the laundry room until today.

Oh my.

No lint brush in the world is going to work on this job.  The lint is like matted into the sweater.  So, I left it on the counter.  Someone's going to have a little chore to do tonight and it's not going to be me!

Next I had to tackle THE CHAIR.  It is where I put the clothes the girls have outgrown.  It's right by the basement door.  I try to take it down with me if I'm headed that way.  Most of the time though, my arms are loaded with something else and the clothes get forgotten.

Here's what the chair looked like after only a week.

 

It seems as though the girls' closets are forever a revolving.  In and out, in and out.  Luckily, it's about the only area in this house I'm actually organized.  I have Rubbermaid boxes labeled with sizes and stacked like this.

That's a lot of clothes, I know!  And that's not even all...

These are stored in our crawl space. 

I think I'm a bit of a clothes hoarder.  Most of it is handed down to us.  And I do pass along what we don't use. 

The clothes are almost all away.  I have a few things that need to be ironed, but I'm off to get it done now!

cry it out?

 I am struggling. 

What I think I should do verses what I want to do.  And my heart is winning.

I know every parent has to do this.  And tonight, after weeks of half-asked attempts, I think I've made up my mind.  I like bedtime to be pleasant and peaceful.  But when I put that sweet little girl in her crib and quickly walk away, run down the stairs to sit next to the baby monitor, I ache.  She tosses and turns.  Then starts the cry. Within minutes she's hysterical.  I say to myself, I'm going to wait it out.  Maybe it will only take 15 minutes.  That's not too long.  But every night, after 8 LONG minutes when I can't take it another second, I run to her. 

I'm weak.  And I know it.  But my heart can't take another night.  And I feel like I should be okay with this decision.  But why do I feel like I'm breaking the rules. 

Here and now, I need to let that go and accept it.  Yes, I sit and hold, rock, and sing my baby to sleep.  And there is nothing wrong with that. 

the snowy day

We've been waiting for some snow.  At last, it is here!

We took the girls on sled rides down our street before the blow came.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First snow angels

Tuckered out!  The sweet baby fell asleep in her sled.

 

hello to more time!

Today was Jane's final session at Theraplay which I am jumping up and down about.  It's been consuming so much of our time.  Three one hour sessions a week, and it's a half hour from our home.  Yeah, that's a lot of time.

When Jane was a baby she refused to eat the purees I'd make her.  The doctor told me once she could pick up food, she'd eat.  But she never did.  It was like she hated all food.  We brought on a food therapist who came once a week to our house.  We visited the doctors at the children's hospital.  Every suggestion we'd try.  The child did not want to eat!  So when I found out our insurance would pay for 60 days of therapy at Theraplay, I jumped at the opportunity. 

Today was our 60th day.  I guess if I actually saw progress, maybe, just maybe, I'd be sad to see this come to an end. 

Before Jane, I unfairly judged moms who'd make 2 dinners every night.  I swore I'd make one thing and if my kids wouldn't eat it, they'd just go hungry.  I swore I'd only feed them all natural and organic.  They'd never feast on candy, cakes, or cookies. 

Today, I'm just happy if Jane eats anything.  It's been such a struggle, and we're leaps and bounds from where we were a year ago.  Other than Dora popcicles and vanilla ice cream, there is no food on this planet that isn't a battle on some level to get her to eat.

Everyone wants to offer suggestions.  And I know most people just don't get it.  I know if I were on the other side of this, I'd be the one saying, "Just make her eat." Hello, don't you think we've tried that?  When we transitioned her off formula, she went 3 days with eat and drinking nothing.  And there didn't appear to be an end in sight.  All I knew, was her behavior was horrendous from starving.  And I broke down and started giving her a bottle at nap and bedtime, cutting back from the normal 7 she had a day.  I can gladly report that she longer needs a bottle but my day is consumed with worrying how little she is eating each day.

Anyhow, Theraplay is over.  And I'm welcoming back all the hours to our week for playdates, and grocery shopping, and everything else!!

Her therapy sessions focus on playing with food without the expectation to eat it.  Here is one of our favorite breakfast activities.

Painted Toast

   

Mix some food dye in some milk.  Then just brush it on some white bread.  Toast it, and it comes out bright and fun!

and the days go by......

A month of photos. 

The babies had a lovely holiday. 

And now we're back!