SR is 9 Months!!!

Each month I create a Smilebox album to share with my family and friends.  I just realized today that I can post Scarlett Ruth's albums on Blogger.  So, please enjoy her latest album!

Make a scrapbooking design

 

Maybe I take things too personally...

In the last few days a few people have said things to me that I think I have taken too personally.  To give you a little history, Scarlett is in her making strange phase.  She does not like to be looked at too closely by people she doesn't know and she absolutely does not want to be held by anyone other than me or her grandparents (Suvta and Zaidy).  And she will let you know by making a face like this:

On Sunday night, Scarlett and I were at a party.  We arrived shortly after 5, and by 6:10 I knew it was time to pack up and go - bedtime is at 7 and Scarlett was fussing due to her tooth and close to bedtime.  Plus, she had a very early dinner to make it to the party on time (she ate at 4:30 instead of 5:15).  I asked an acquaintance to hold her while I put on my shoes, and I prefaced it by saying, "she's going to cry" due to her making strange.  A close friend of mine (who has opted not to have kids) started to walk with the person holding Scarlett - they walked away from me, which started to upset Scarlett even more.  I called them back to me and took Scarlett back, and she calmed down.  My friend (who does not have kids) made the comment, "she's not really crying".  As if she was saying that my little baby is faking it.  I responded with, "Scarlett doesn't have tears."  Parent or no parent, this is my child and not anyone else's to make comments about.  Whether or not she only wants her mommy is my business and no one else's.  And making strange is a very normal thing babies go through - it shows she knows who is and who is not her family.  But, Scarlett really doesn't have tears.

Then, another friend and I were talking on the phone.  She has been using Tracey Hogg's The Baby Whisperer as her guide.  I've written before about how I read different books and in the end I always follow my instinct with Scarlett.  My friend's baby is 4 months.  She told me she is trying to get her on a "4 hour schedule" - I did write about how Scarlett feeds every 2 hours and I questioned how these books suggest that they should be on 4 hours - several of you reassured me that I know my baby best.  Okay, so my friend said that she is trying to get her baby on a 4 hour schedule.  I told her that Scarlett has always eaten every 2 hours.  My friend responded with, "Scarlett is a 'snacker'".  Snacker is the term Tracey Hogg uses for babies that eat too often.  Let me tell you, Scarlett is no snacker.  I should write out how much she eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, on top of her regular breastfeeds.  She seems to have the same metabolism that I do....I eat very regularly.  I know my friend did not mean any harm, but I get upset when people tell me about my parenting.  I would never tell anyone how to parent their child.  

Did I just ruin her sleeping through the night?

It's Sunday night, 11:52pm.  Scarlett and I are staying at my parents' house overnight to dog sit while they are away.  This is fine.  Scarlett has the same crib and mattress here that she has at home and she naps here regularly.  But, she is also teething. 

Just under an hour ago, Scarlett woke up screaming.  I checked on her and she had rolled herself into one tiny corner in the crib and her leg seemed to be stuck outside.  I moved her back into position and she seemed to fall right back to sleep.  But then a little while later she really woke up screaming.  She was inconsolable.  I'm sure it's her little tiny tooth pushing through the gum.  Well, I tried everything to sooth her...and I gave her some tylenol.  Nothing helped.  So I breastfed her.  Now she is sleeping.

I also breastfed her last night around 2am for the same reason.  Scarlett hasn't woken up in the night to feed in a very long time....I'd have to look back at my blogs, but a couple of months at least.  Did I just set her back into a habit of waking to feed again, or is this just b/c she is teething?  Oh no!!!

Learning Sign Language

Just a short funny story about being in the swimming pool with Scarlett this morning.  I've been teaching her different signs.  She seems to recognize them now and know what I'm saying, but she has not signed back yet.  Scarlett is 8 months old.  So we're in the pool this morning and I said "water" and did the sign at the same time. Scarlett immediately opens her mouth and tries to get my finger into her mouth.  She associates "water" with her sippy cup and went for my finger as the spout.  It was very cute.  Poor girl didn't get water for a little while.  Although she did put her face in for the first time....maybe to try to have that drink of water I was offering to her.

"Mommy, I'm ready to go swimming!!!"

Editing My Blog

I finally had some time to play around with this blogger page.  I wondered how everyone had such pretty pages and mine was so boring.  I'm not sure if I'll keep it this way or if I will fiddle with it more.  The next thing I need to figure out is how to add photos properly.  I've tried before but they all accumulate at the top and they don't spread out nicely throughout the post.  Maybe I'll try to put one in now:  

Okay so how do I continue typing?  Okay, I did it!!!  Now I will attempt to put in another picture:

Yay, it worked!  I'm getting the hang of this!  It only took me well over a year since I started blogging.  Okay, now that I am finally making my page look better, stay tuned.  I think I might start blogging regularly again!

Breastfeeding...am I doing it too often?

I try not to let books or friends influence me too much with how I am raising Scarlett.  And yet, I continue to read the books and talk to my friends.  Just for comparison???  Scarlett is 8 months old.  She loves her breastmilk and she loves her solids.

When Scarlett was born I was told to feed her every 2 hours based on her weight.  I guess old habits die hard because she is still feeding every two hours (except she sleeps through the night).  One of the books that I requested from the library months ago finally became free - "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems."  I didn't really think I had any problems but I decided to start reading it anyway.  Apparently, a healthy baby should not need to eat more than every 4 hours.  Am I overfeeding Scarlett?  Although I eat every hour and I'm underweight.  I'm going to post a sample schedule of her feeds:

6am - breastmilk
7:45am - breakfast - cereal with 4 tbsp of fruit followed by breastmilk
8am - nap to 10am
10:30am - breastmilk
12:30pm - lunch - 4 tbsp veggies, 2 tbsp yogurt mixed with 1 tbsp fruit followed by breastmilk
1pm - nap to 3pm
3:30 - breastmilk
4:30 - half an arrowroot cookie for snack
5:30 - dinner - 5 tbsp pureed chicken or fish or lentils mixed with veggies, 2 tbsp veggies, 2 tbsp fruit followed
           by water
7:00 - breastmilk




So I am feeding Scarlett every 2 to 3 hours.  She never seems under or overfed.  I was giving her breastmilk at dinner too, but I eliminated it about a month ago and began giving her water.  I figured she was having milk right before bed anyway.  I am going back to work in 4 months.  I am not sure if I will continue breastfeeding a morning and night feed at a year, but I am going to have to end the breakfast and lunch milks in any case.  I am thinking I should try to eliminate the lunchtime milk and substitute it with water for now.  I know that I've followed my instincts so far and things have worked.  But I can't help but wonder if the "experts" are right.  Or am I just being selfish b/c I enjoy breastfeeding my baby and don't want to lose that connection?