E Love Stories

• Sleeping is going MUCH better. Two new teeth are in, dependence on milk eased and enough food attained. Hallelujah until the next trial!
• The other day, Daddy took the bottle from me to put in the refrigerator. E was holding the cap, so I said he could keep it. But when Daddy walked away, he held up the cap saying "uh!" Turns out he wanted the cap to go BACK on the bottle. He's very big on putting things where they go these days. It's adorable. He's a very orderly baby.
• In the same vein, E has a little bucket shape sorter. I showed him how to use it, and he caught on quickly. The next time we played with it however, when I started to put the shapes in the correct spots, he looked at me like I was crazy, took the cover off and started to put the shapes straight into the bucket. "Why in the world would you make it difficult?" he seemed to say.
• Have I told you the story yet of how he fed me a bottle? His saline bottle? Mommy must have been hungry.
• We had a lovely walk in the Florida sunshine today along with some play outside in the grass. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying this stage. He's still not walking, but standing and crawling like a fiend.
• My favorite is when E tips his head to mine and leans in close. He does it frequently. Yes, it's definitely all very worth it.
  

Dear extroverts,

Please understand that we introverts desperately need decompression time ALONE and that it's not personal.

Sincerely,
Barb aka getting-more-introverted-by-the-day

MLK

We just listened to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" on NPR. Amazing that it still gives me chills. I hope E grows to understand these issues.

Gratitude

Thanks to all of you who reply with such wonderful support. It means the world to me when trying to muddle through all these new, amazing and sometimes challenging experiences! Being E's mother is the most important job I've ever tried to do, so obviously I want to do it as well as possible. Tonight went much better. After one aborted try when I realized he hadn't finished his milk because it was too cold, we rectified the situation and he went down easily without any fuss. Hopefully tonight will be much more restful for him, and we'll get him to gain the weight he needs.

Bad

I feel like a bad mom. My baby just woke up crying because he was hungry even though we tried to make sure he ate enough at dinner. Just now he drank some milk and ate some blueberries and cereal bar. Will we be able to catch him up so he won't be so hungry? Anyone else deal with this? I don't think he ate enough at daycare either, but he's probably so distracted. I swear I have the worst time when hunger is an issue for E. It feels like such a basic failing.

Yet Another Food and Baby Post

E had his well check up today. He's still above average in height but way below in weight. He's very near the edge of the "normal" curve. The doctor isn't overly concerned because he still looks healthy and appears to be thriving, and Daddy was a skinny minnie, but he suggested trying to get more food into him and really cutting back on milk as much as possible. E usually sticks in the 20 oz limit range, but sometimes ranges up into 30. (Though I thought that usually made them overweight?) Anyway, we're going to be more strict. Dr. F. gave us the go ahead to switch to whole milk, and we need to shovel more food into this kid. Any ideas?

Oh - and he also reassured me that while we should be encouraging finger foods, he still needs the bulk of his calories fed to him to help him gain. Dr. F. is also as nervous as I am about choking hazards, so says it's fine to continue a lot of the softer stuff.

Competition

To Whom it May Concern (and it seems to concern a lot of people in this world):

I am a good Mom. I (usually) do what's best for my baby and family and have a good life and routine in place for him. If I fail, it's not for lack of trying, intelligence, research or caring. Sometimes it just happens. We're human. It's going to. Also, if my style differs from yours please understand that that is in no way a personal attack on your preferences or beliefs. I don't have to do what you do to respect your choices. And please lend me that same understanding.

And you know what else? I think the world would be a much nicer place if we could acknowledge each others' strengths. For example, "Wow Barb. He's on a really nice, consistent nap schedule, and that seems to work great for you guys! Good job!" goes a long way toward making me (or others if you insert different names and situations) feel good.

Sincerely,
Barb aka "Can't we all just live and let live?"