Last week, I paid a visit to my friend Erica, who was my first best friend and someone that I am lucky enough to be reconnecting with. Erica is due next month with a little girl so obviously we talked about babies, babies, babies. Oh, and baby gear. We also talked about breastfeeding and she suggested I do another blog entry about it because the whole situation has changed since I blogged about it in August ...At four and a half months, breastfeeding is WAY easier than it used to be. I don't remember when the change actually occurred, but at some point, we both got better at it, which makes it a lot more enjoyable. For a long time now, Piper hasn't had any latching issues, and she's finally getting to be more efficient (it's usually about a half hour process now). It's also hilarious because she'll come off the breast sometimes, look up at me and give me a huge smile, and then dive back on. For so many reasons (the first being the fact that she couldn't smile), this couldn't have happened for a while, but with her personality coming out more and more, she's way more interactive and fun - including when she's eating! I think I've also become more used to the whole process, and a lot more comfortable with just feeding her wherever and whenever she needs to be fed. I will admit that we still time trips out around when she needs to eat, but I have no problem feeding her at play dates or when we go visit people. Depending on who we're around, sometimes I'll use the cover, sometimes we'll go in another room, or sometimes we just run with it. The last is usually when we're just around a bunch of ladies, but for those that are at the six week (guessing that's about how old Piper was when I wrote my last blog) mark and frustrated beyond belief, know that it got better for us, and hopefully it will for you too! We also love the mother's room at Babies R Us in Latham and have gone there just to feed Piper before. With a love seat, glider rocker and two changing tables, it's nice to have a private place to feed her when we're out and about.
I will say that our personal experiences are just that, personal. And breastfeeding is different for everybody - everyone I've talked that's had a baby has had different experiences and stories to share. It doesn't work for everybody and that should be fine with all of those women out there that judge whether or not someone nurses their baby or uses formula. Two of my friends that have had babies since we had Piper have had milk supply issues and either supplemented with or switched to formula. They did this to ensure that their baby was healthy and thriving - so for those mean women out there that have judged them for not nursing, shut up and mind your own business. It's shocking how a baby can open you up for public criticism from complete strangers, but somehow it does. But that's another post for another time ... right now I need to take advantage of this morning nap and fold the laundry!
We also got her latest stats yesterday:
We're also back on the cereal kick. We had tried it during her recent growth spurt and it just didn't go well. I think her tongue thrust reflex was still too much in play and the poor little thing seemed to get super frustrated when she wasn't getting food in fast enough to her liking. Now she's a champ! We tried again on Sunday and the tongue thrust is gone and she seems to really like this new development in her diet. We did rice cereal Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and then oatmeal today ... and either she was a hungry lady or she really liked the flavor because she was all smiles and talked throughout her meal today. It was absolutely adorable. I'm hoping that these extra calories will help too with the sleeping because the days of her sleeping through the night have definitely been few and far between since her last growth spurt. I, admittedly, got a bit spoiled by a good night's sleep and I'm ready to have it back again!
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