Mommy Stress

I can’t believe our little lady is already damn near 9 weeks old…its crazy. These 9 weeks have FLOWN by and I’m so sad to return to work on Monday. But its life. And unfortunately my little girl isn’t making returning to work easy or stress-free either.
When Ella was born and brought to the NICU she was given a bottle and pacifier during her stay there. They wouldn’t allow her to eat the first 24 hours…then only allowed formula through a bottle (to limit her stress level)…but by the time we were heading home she had started breastfeeding ((sigh of relief)).  Also while we were in the hospital they gave her a pacifier to help soothe her when they were changing IV’s and such. I was against both the bottle and pacifier because I wanted to breastfeed without any added confusion. But since she took to the breast fine I was alright.  I eliminated the pacifier once home…hoping to give it back to her a few weeks later. BUT she wouldn’t have it! Gagged every time I put it near her mouth. I now have a baggy of 4 different pacifiers…we tried them all! Many say “well its one less thing you’ll have to take away in the future”…but man pacifiers help with those restless car rides, smoothing to sleep, etc.

The first week of March I decided it was a good time to start pumping and bottle feeding. NEVER thinking it would be as issue. But Thank God we tried it then…because this little darling will NOT take a bottle. I have spent a small fortune in new bottles and nipples. Different sizes, textures, colors, etc. When Owen was a baby he went to the bottle at 4 months when I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Wasn’t an issue…thankfully. But this little girl is giving us a run for our money! Literally!

We tried the Dr. Brown’s bottles first since we used those with Owen and have a bunch…

She took 2 oz from me after some effort (beginners luck!)…but then…next time we tried it she REFUSED it! I even had Daddy try feeding her since everyone was saying sometimes babies won’t take bottles from Mommy’s.  But look at this little pathetic face…

So we tried a different bottle….one that was “more like the breast”…a Tommee Tippee.

Again the first attempt she took it from me…YES! I was so excited…can you tell! But sadly REFUSED that type of bottle the next time I tried to get her to take it. Someone told me that if I was even in the same room she could refuse it….so Mom attempted to feed her when I wasn’t in the same area…no luck!

So we attempted many more bottles…Avent, Playtex Nursers, Comotomo. 

All of these ones she wouldn’t take AT ALL! She gets soooo pissed off…won’t drink any of the milk and the only way to calm her down is to nurse her! Its so frustrating. So this whole month we have tried and tried. I’m sure many of you are saying…don’t nurse her, make her get hungry and she’ll eventually take the bottle…right? Well up until Monday (April 1st) I wasn’t sure if her heart was able to take the stress. Remember she has the VSD (read about that here).  So I didn’t want to over work her until I knew from her doctors that it was ok to do so.

We had Ella’s 2 month check-up and shots with her pediatrician followed by her appointment with her cardiologist.


My petite little thang is 8 weeks and 5 days old…weighing in at 10lbs 13.3oz and in the 36th percentile. And barely reaching 23 inches putting her in the 63rd percentile for height.

I looked back into Owen’s baby book to compare the two….

Back in 2009 Owen had his 2 month check up when he was 10 weeks 2 days and weighed 12lbs 11oz in the 64th percentile and was 24 inches long in the 75th percentile.
Owen was definitely bigger than Ella is now, because he weighed 10lbs 8 oz at 5 weeks old. …but that’s ok. She’s a lady!

Anyway, Ella’s pediatrician was impressed with her and gave me bottle advice of “she’ll have to go cold turkey and she’ll eventually get the hang of the bottle” oh man! and she also told me that Moms have told her that most babies don’t last longer than 6 hours before giving in and taking the bottle. How sad huh! The cardiology appointment went just as good…if not even BETTER! He said he couldn’t even hear her murmur anymore and that the small hole has probably already closed itself! YAY! I asked him a bunch of questions, since I had been nervous after hearing stories.  But he said she looked and sounded great and would be seeing her back in 1 year UNLESS of course something comes up. AWESOME! When I asked about the bottle issue and if it was too stressful for her he said that her heart could be considered NORMAL! Whooohoooo

 

  And my little beauty had a slight fever for 2 days following her shots…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So my poor mother will be dealing with the bottle battle next week while I’m at work! Since Mom is retired now she has agreed to stay with Ella the 8 weeks I’ll be working before summertime, Owen will go back to his daycare part-time, staying with Mom and Ella 2 days a week. I feel so bad for my Mom because Monday is going to be ROUGH!  I know Ella CAN take the bottle…she has drank from the Dr. Browns, Tommee Tippee AND yesterday she got my hopes up and drank 3oz from a Playtex Ventaire Advanced…

But once again…when I offered the same bottle at the next feeding she refused it. Soooo she’s just being a little turkey and STRESSING me out! She’s being a lil booger!

I know that Mom is the best person to deal with her next week…but I feel bad for both Mom and Ella…I hope Ella can get a hang of it and not be too stubborn for too long on Monday!!

Hope everyone had a….