A Meltdown over Poop

This is only ONE of the many differences between our 2 kids, but its a difference I'm struggling with a lot.  Aria has had a rough go with her tummy since 2 weeks old.  First was a battle with colic (here was the beginning) and now is a battle of constipation.

Aria has been breastfed until a week ago, when we began introducing formula 1 bottle at a time.  Her first formula bottle was 1 week ago and she spent the next day "spitting up" (I called it throwing up because it was everything she'd eaten... the nurse didn't agree since there wasn't any "wrenching").  My initial thinking was... omg, what did I do to our poor baby girl?!  But I followed the nurse's urge to continue formula and allow her little body time to adjust.  The next day, I noticed that she was only "spitting up" when she was straining to poop.  (Pooping has never been her strong suit, usually going days -a week, a couple times- between bowel movements and often times harder stools.)

After talking to the doctor and nurse on the phone a few times, we have tried: eating prunes, drinking prune juice, tummy massage, water, and bicycle legs. The catch-22 of the situation is that she doesn't poop every day, which means she doesn't have to feel miserable while pushing every day - but also I'm sure it makes it worse when she does since it's not a daily occurrence.

This morning, on the way to preschool, she began straining to poop and "spit up" clear liquid, enough to soak her shirt.  I hurried home to get her cleaned up and hopefully find a dirty diaper.  No luck.  All that pain for nothing... just a wet diaper. For the next hour, she went about her day eating and playing without any trouble.  Until she tried going again... up came most of her food, again (but this time it came out of her mouth and nose and was very thick).  She did successfully get a small nugget out, but man... this is not OK.

A serious conversation with her doctor (and the med student that always happens to be there for appointments when I don't want him to be) about her tummy troubles, and our major concern for her not growing more quickly, I left with our 12 lb 2 oz, 8 month old and headed to Walgreens to pick up Miralax and some high calorie baby food.

1 teaspoon of Mirlax into a bottle after dinner last night, a good night's sleep and a painfree poop later... she can suddenly crawl!  Imagine my surprise when I set her down on the floor this morning.  Poor girl must have been miserable!

Is she the only one with these tummy troubles?
XO!

Overwhelmed... or maybe underwhelmed?

The last couple of weeks I've been down.  I want to blame it on the rainy, cold weather, but I don't even think that's it.  
I feel like one of those balloons that is only doing enough to just skim the carpet, but doesn't have the air to float.  Its even worse that I know I'm being like this.

I keep going through all of the excuses in my head, and reassuring myself that once this is over or once that happens, I'll go back to feeling normal... I know it's in my head... I know it won't go back until I make it happen.

Here's to pushing through
XO!

I Feel Like I Just Wrote This Post

It wasn't more than 4 weeks ago that I was writing about how fast things can change.  3 1/2 weeks ago it was my mom who was in bad shape.  The last 2 days, my dad has been in the hospital going through a battery of tests.

This isn't the first health scare my dad has been through, and each one gets increasingly scary.  Not just for him... for my mom... for me... and now for Chloe.  She has had anxiety since yesterday morning when we stopped by to see him at the hospital. I feel like the worst mom putting her through it and it was absolutely not my intention, of course.

She began by complaining that her head hurt and that it felt like that was an ice cube inside her brain.  I chalked it up to having an "ice cream headache" because she was drinking ice water, and it was pretty short lived.  Later last night, she mentioned 3-4 times that she felt as if she were floating up toward the ceiling.  I immediately started questioning her about how everything else was feeling.  Once I realized what was happening with her, we sat down to have a reassuring talk.

*Papa is in the hospital to get help from the doctors.
*The hospital is the best place to be for someone who's very sick.
*He WILL be okay.
*(and I may have ---lied--- and said that he would be heading home the next day)

Truth is, I don't know when he's coming home.  I don't know if he'll be okay.  And if he's not, I don't know that I will be okay.

Breastfeeding is Hard, Part 3

This post is an honest account of a new mom and breastfeeding.
If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, catch up here and here. 

It's been over a month since I posted Part 1 and Part 2 about breastfeeding.  I didn't intend to post a Part 3, but the last couple of weeks have been very hard and I realized, I am probably not the only one. So let's support each other. 

As I mentioned in Part 2, Aria is gaining weight (or I should say not gaining weight), at an incredibly slow rate.  At her 6 month check-up, she weighed 11 lbs, 10 oz.  (I was informed that if there was something smaller than 1 percentile, we'd be in that category.)  At a doctor appointment 2 weeks ago to check for ear infection because of a lot of extra crying and fussiness, she weighed 11 lbs, 10 oz.  Exactly 1 month later, she had not gained a single ounce.  

Aria nurses 5 times a day (every 3 hours, and I usually have to make her eat because she's not ready yet), and eats fruits/veggies/cereal 2 times a day.  She chows down on the solid food, eating more than a serving at each meal.  

When she nurses, it has been very frustrating.  My letdown seems to be taking longer than in the previous months, and she is not patient when there is other things she would rather be doing.  She eats for 3-4 minutes, pulls away and cries.  I switch sides and the whole process repeats.  I don't know if my milk supply is not enough for her, I don't know if she's full and telling me no more, I don't know if something else is bothering her... ugh.

I've tried all sorts of things to help the situation.  I've spent several days pumping right after she finished eating to help boost supply (I usually got 5-10 DROPS of milk...).  We've experimented with positions.  We've experimented with quiet locations.   I've tried, unsuccessfully, to get ahold of our lactation consultant for the last week.  It all sucks...

I'm ready to throw in the towel.  No more stressing out about feeding her while I'm not with her (getting a bottle takes 3-5 pumpings).  No more worrying about feeding her out and about.  No more wondering if she's getting enough.  
And I feel guilty about quitting... I don't know what to do.  

What did you do?
XO!

I Pinned This - Honey and Cinnamon Cleanse

I don't know about you, but this pin has been blowing up my Pinterest feed for the last several days.  (I'm pretty sure there is another pin with a different picture and the same information floating around, too.)

Here's what Pinterest promises: 

Honey and cinnamon cleanse every morning, on an empty stomach, half an hour before breakfast, and again at night before sleeping. Drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup water. If taken regularly it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also drinking of this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body, even though the person may eat a high calorie diet. 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of honey in a cup of boiled water.

Here's what I did: 

To start, I didn't even intend on this pin making it to my blog because I figured the results would be inconclusive at best. But it's on here for a whole different reason. 

I started the kettle on the stove with some water, dumped 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of honey into a mug.  When the kettle began to whistle, I poured in the water and stirred and stirred and stirred.  (In my head, I always think of a teaspoon as a VERY small amount, but the amount of ground cinnamon that it ended up being was A LOT)

I let it sit for a couple of minutes to cool down before tasting it, and I wish I had forgotten all about it.  

The taste... OMG... I took a teeny tiny sip (as to not scald my tongue and palette) and I chocked on the dryness of the cinnamon.  I did not taste any honey, I did not taste any water, I COULD NOT get the taste out of my mouth.  The 1 sip lasted about 3 hours, 28 oz of ice cold water, and a cup of milk.  

I should have known it was too good to be true.  

XO!

She Believed She Could, So She Did Art DIY

I saw this quote on Pinterest and found in love.  Can you think of any stronger message to send to your daughters? 

I immediately went to work creating something with this saying on it for Chloe's room.  

Pick out a font that you think fits the message best and print it out on regular typing paper. 

I don't know why it's sideways but you get the point. 

Grab some wax paper and rip off enough to cover the words.  You will be tracing the letters so you need to have plenty of space on the wax paper. 

Using puffy paint in the color of your choice, trace carefully over the words.  (If you mess up, move the wax paper and try again - FOOL PROOF!)

 

Continue until all of the words are covered.  Let dry.  

Once all of the letters are dry, line them up onto your canvas however you would like them to be arranged.  Play around with it until your happy!  

Use Mod Podge and carefully glue each letter into place.  I picked up 1 letter at a time, and replaced it before picking up the next letter.  This helps to keep the words aligned.  (You could also use a ruler as a straight edge if needed).

I choose white puffy paint on white canvas intentionally.  My original idea was to spray paint the whole canvas the same color pink that I used on Chloe's bookcase, but I ended up really liking it white and haven't pulled the trigger on painting just yet.  (My white puffy paint is iridescent, which helps it to "pop" off the canvas. 

Ta Da!   The possibilities are endless with this project!  Different colors, different sayings, adding a design... make it your own! 

XO!

I Pinned This - Shape-able Ice Pack

Summer is just around the corner, which means shorts and scraps.  Getting bruises and scraps is part of being a kid and no matter how hard you try, inevitable.  We have ice packs in our freezer for lunch boxes or bottle carriers, but they are the super hard, not very comfortable, kind of ice pack that does not work well for the body.  I saw this on Pinterest awhile back, but finally decided to give it a go.

Here's what Pinterest promises: 

To make your own shapeable ice pack for booboos and sprains: Mix 1 part rubbing alcohol with 3 parts water in a ziploc bag. Double bag it with another ziplock bag, and put in the freezer. Pull out and put inside a tea towel or fabric bag, use on sprains, strains and other booboos. (disdressed.blogspot.com)

Here's what I did: 

I gathered the materials (which is luckily something that is always in the bathroom cabinet). 

I took a picture of a bottle of rubbing alcohol, an empty 

ziploc baggie, and a glass of water ... but then deleted it on accident

I mixed 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and 3/4 cups of water in a snack size baggie.  Stuck it in the freezer and forgot about it waited. 

When I checked on it the first time, it was perfect.  Shape-able, soft, COLD.
When I checked on it the next morning... it was rock hard, burn your skin cold, and leaking something strange.

Maybe I just overfilled the bag... but for now...

Bummer.  Did you have better luck? 

XO!

Monday's Favorites

Bright Starts Vibrating Teether - Berry was something that was in Aria's Easter basket and she loves it!  When chewed on, it slightly vibrates, soothing any sore gums that come from teething.  I picked mine up at Target, but Toys R Us has them too for $6.99. 

Another Easter gift was these Magic Beans.   These fun little beans grew into lollipops/suckers while we were gone for Easter dinner.  Chloe loved everything about planting them and picking them! 

The hubby has been suffering from a migraine since early Sunday, so both girlies sleeping during nap time was a MUCH needed break! 

What's your favorite thing this week?

XO!