I’m on the second leg of Nate’s work trips for the week, and I’m a bit overwhelmed. I’ve kept myself busy by going out with friends and shopping today, but I think it hit me around 5:45 PM when I woke up on the couch and didn’t know where I was and forgot that I’d put Fynn down for a nap at 3:45 PM that I’m really, really tired. So after a few moments of panic, I woke up my sleeping child and tried to pull myself together. Although, I have to say that a two hour nap right before dinner doesn’t really help the evening bedtime struggles we’ve been going through lately.
Speaking of bedtime stuggles, we really haven’t been hitting our groove lately on bedtime. For a while we had it down that 7:30 PM was bedtime, but with being busy and getting home too late we’ve been putting him to bed at 8:30 PM, which I believe is way too late. Also, his naps are completely screwed up. On Saturday he took 1 one-hour nap. Then went to bed late. Oi. That was a crabby, tired baby. Then today, he took 2 two-hour naps and went to bed at 9:30 PM after much crying and nashing of teeth. I think tomorrow I’m going to have to be very on my game and work on a better schedule.
Speaking of baby “fun,” Fynn is still not on table foods. He does not like the texture of mushy things. For example – peas. Today we tried canned peas. He squished them, rubbed them into his hair, and then gagged when he put one in his mouth. He LOVES crunchy things. So puffs, cheese crunchies, graham crackers, gold-fish, and dried fruit are all fine, but veggies and regular fruit are not great. I know I just have to be patient with the eating thing, and I’m not concerned about his health on the purees, but I know he should be on table foods and he’s just not there yet. Any advice?
One really good thing – he’s off the formula! He’s on whole milk and he’s had no weird digestive issues or anything. It’s a small victory, but a good one. Formula is expensive and it’s good to have him off of it. He’s doing better with the sippy cup, but not great. I’m giving it now at every dinner and snack time. I think I just need to focus for a couple weeks on the eating stuff and try not to get to worked up about it. Except I get pretty worked up about everything…
One more night on my own before Nate comes home. I’m hoping the thunderstorms don’t arrive so he doesn’t get stranded in Baltimore. Crossing my fingers. I don’t know how single moms do it.
Damien was still drinking from a bottle at 2. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Don’t know what kind of sippy cup you have, but if it not the use-and-toss el cheapo plastic ones we use, you can also try removing the flange from the sippy cup, to make the milk flow easier.
Food-wise, again, I wouldn’t stress over it so much. He can get his fruit and veggies from purees. Keep introducing the “real” thing once a week or so, and see what happens. Or just let him mash the crap from the peas and hope he’ll eventually get interested enough to try it 😉
Beth at 16 months still gets a bottle at bedtime. She took to the sippy cup slowly, but she did take to it. Now she’ll steal any cup she sees, Alex’s, Xavier’s… Doesn’t matter to her!
Both my children refused to eat any level 3 foods – you know, the ones that are half-puree, half-solid? They totally refused them. And Beth recently went from eating almost everything, to refusing almost everything. You learn to just go with the flow and they learn that if they’re hungry, they eat what you give them.
Great news about the formula. We broke Beth at 11 months after she drank some of her brother’s milk and it didn’t seem to bother her. Why keep paying for it?
After becoming a mother, I have a new respect for single moms. I know I couldn’t do it!
And if you take the flange out of the sippy cup, be prepared for more spills. I did it to try and entice Beth, but eventually I put them back in to make them more spill-proof. The more you offer the cup instead of the bottle, he’ll come to accept it.
Thanks for the advice! I’m going to try not to fret. I’ve tried the flange thing…Fynn just likes to tip it over and watch the milk pour out. 🙂 He’s getting it, but he gets frustrated after a couple minutes and slams the sippy on the tray yelling “BA BA BA” which we have figured out means “Bottle!” Crazy kid. It’s good to know I’m not alone on the weaning/feeding issues stuff. Sometimes I think pediatricians put too much pressure on the stages. I just want to tell her sometimes, “I’m lucky if we’re both clean and fed at all during the day!”
My pediatrician is pretty laid back about the feeding thing. All he said with my son (who has always been in the 5th percentile on weight) was “Don’t make meals a battle, it’s not worth it.” Eventually you have to make them try, but I would definitely do what you said and take just one thing at a time. There’s plenty of time.