Happy 4 month birthday Coey

My little turd burglar is 4 months old today. The time has both flown by so quickly and yet also seemed to drag on. Strange.

He put on a brave face yesterday at the pediatrician's office when he got his 3 shots and his oral vaccine. Only cried for a few seconds, my little trooper.

We went over what, how much and how often he eats and his doctor, whom I absolutely love, said to try giving him more since he continues sucking on the bottle after it's empty. Now why couldn't I think of that? Duh. So instead of 5 oz of formula or breastmilk last night, he got 6 oz. Same with today, but he sucked that down and kept sucking, so I guess I'll give him 7 oz. My mom told me my sister guzzled 10 oz. at each feeding at this age (or else she was 6 months, she can't remember. Not sure why she can't remember that detail as this is a woman who can remember what outfit she wore on any given day in any given year).

And the doctor said he's at an age where he should be sleeping through the night. And not 5-8 hours, closer to 12. So she suggested we try eliminating his 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. booty call. We were going to try last night but didn't think it was fair seeing as he got shots. So we'll try tonight. Oh, and by "we", I mean "me" as Christian doesn't really want to have any part in the "crying it out" process. He'll be sleeping in the basement so as not to endure the torture. I know this is a controversial thing, the whole crying it out thing, but I've always been a fan. Hey, I don't want a 2 year old who can't sleep through the night. And if his doctor says he can sleep through the night, I'm going to try. She said it should take 3 nights, but knowing that little strong willed kid, I have a feeling it might take longer or might not take at all.

Here are his 4 month stats. I'm very pleased to say his head size isn't ridiculously large compared to his body, as it was before.

Weight - 13 lbs 11 oz. 27th percentile

Height - 25.25". 63rd percentile

Head - 16.7". 58th percentile

So maybe we won't have to special order his hats afterall!!

Bye bye boobs

Yes, I talk about boobs a lot. When you don't have them, you want them and you look at other women's boobs in hopes that your's will grow into "those ones" overnight. It's crazy that I, before becoming pregnant, didn't even fill an A. No, that's not crazy. It's sad. The crazy part is that my sister is like a double D. I like to think she stole my boob allowance from me.

In thinking of the pros and cons of weaning Cohen, I hate to admit that I've been very concerned about losing my B boobs. It's not my number one concern, but it's in the top 3. Cohen's nutritional intake and our bonding take number 1 and 2 on the list, but losing my boos is definitely #3. When you don't have boobs and you suddenly have them, even if they aren't big jugs, you realize how much you feel like a woman for the first time in your life and it's not that easy to let them go. I wonder if other women think that too--you just don't feel like a woman until you have boobs. It's so sad but it's true for me.

Anyway, I've come up with my list of pros and cons for weaning Cohen to formula and in true Kristyn fashion, I'd decided to share it with anyone who cares to read this collection of my thoughts.

THINGS I'LL MISS

1. Knowing that Cohen is getting the "perfect" food from me. Yes formula has made many advancements over the last few decades since it's creation, so that's reassuring, but it's still not breastmilk.

2. Spending quality time with that little hooligan. I love how he looks me in the eyes when he's nursing and smiles when I smile at him. And his hands are always in search of new discoveries. But it's that bond that he has only with me that I worry will lose a little something when we quit our little routine.

3. Boobs. I'm thinking of investing in some Nearly Me silicone thing-a-magiggers that you put in your bra so there's actually something there. I won't tell if I get them or not. You'll have to guess.

4. Convenience. Nursing is usually convenient. And it's free. I'm not looking forward to the expense of formula.

5. Aunt Flo. I'm REALLY not looking forward to getting my period all the time. Before getting pregnant with Cohen, I had never missed a monthly visit since I got it at age 13. The 12 month break I've had has been wonderful. Now I have to start carrying tampons with me at all times since I don't know when it's going to come. Blerg. And it's not just that, it's the emotional rollercoaster that comes along with it. I already feel like I'm on one every day right now. I feel like I'll be living on a Tilt-a-Whirl when it comes.

THINGS I WON'T MISS (don't judge me)

1. National Geographic nipples. Yes, you read that right. When you have a baby with acid reflux, they eat differently than "normal" babies. They pull off every few seconds and then lunge back on and then pull off, taking your nipple with them every time. I swear mine are 5" long now. I have to roll them up and tuck them in when I clip my bra back on.

2. Fussy McFusserson. He's so fussy and spastic when he nurses. Nursing for us has not been an enjoyable experience because of his acid reflux. But with the bottle, his fussiness is pretty much non-existent. And he doesn't pull off all the time with a bottle like he does with me.

3. Being tied to the boy. Now that he's taking a bottle, I have a little more freedom than I did even 2 weeks ago. I don't have this short span of time in which to run my errands which means I can leave the house for longer than 45 minutes at a time.

4. Getting up in the night to feed HRH. When I start working, Christian and I are going to take turns getting up in the night to feed him. It's so nice to think that I don't have to do it every night and still try to function all day in the office.

5. Wondering if he's getting enough. Now we know what we're giving him at all times and are figuring out that his fussiness after he's been awake for an hour or so isn't from hunger--it's usually from being tired and needing a nap.  

So there you have it. I might add to it as I think more about it but this is what I've come up with over the last week or so. If you have any pros or cons you'd like to share, write a comment.

And now a photo of Boy Wonder who honestly gets cuter and cuter each day and makes my heart absolutely full when I look at him.

One cute kid

One cute kid and one ugly mama. That'll teach me not to wear makeup or do my hair.

Grateful

We've had 2 wonderful days and one less than great night with out little hooligan this weekend. How different a mindset one can gain with 2 magical days like that.

We decided on Friday night that we would only give Cohen milk or formula from a bottle yesterday and today and it's worked out wonderfully, much better than I could ever imagine.

He's far less fussy when he drinks from a bottle, be it my milk or the formula that gives him breath that smells like someone living in Ireland in 1840 during the great potato famine. I'm not sure why I think that but everytime I smell his formula breath, I'm 1) so glad he has breath 2) wishing it didn't smell like he'd been eating raw potatoes. Baby halitosis at it's finest.

But he's taking a bottle like he's an old pro. You'd never have guessed that only 2 weeks ago he was pushing it away and kevetching like an old Jewish man.

And the little man is packing on the pounds now that he's consuming 5 oz at every feeding. I can't tell you how much I love knowing how much he's getting. When you're breastfeeding, it's always a crap shoot, unless you pump all the time.

The weaning to formula is going well. I'm hopeful that by my start date of my new job on May 10 we'll only have one or two feedings per day still left on the boob. I'm considering feeding him in the middle of the night and possibly in the morning, the 2 feedings I know I can provide 5 oz  for. But it all depends on ol' lefty--the problem child that keeps me up in pain at nights. I did have a plugged duct last night but the little feller sucked it out this morning and so today was a good day.

Okay, that's enough for now. More soon. In the meantime, here are some photos I adore almost as much as I adore the subject of the photos.

  Be still my heart.

Pants are overrated, Mum.
  

Exhausted from helping Mummy drum up some Pampered Chef sales. Pedaling spatulas is HARD work, my boy.

One armed baby

Since Cohen came home from the hospital at 2.5 days old, he has slept with a crocheted blanket my cousin Rita made for him. Every nap and every bedtime, that blanket is covering Cohen in some capacity.

Christian's new fear is that Cohen will get an appendage caught in one of the holes and it will remain stuck like that all night, cutting off circulation and Cohen will have to have said appendage amputated. And if you think I'm kidding, I'm not.

Man, I hope he's not right. I'd have to eat my words AND live with a one armed baby.

In the meantime, here's a photo my friend Tara took of her daughter, Charlotte, with Cohen. She is almost 4 months older than him and about 20 lbs heavier than my lightweight. I'm not calling her obese or anything. She's just a big girl and Cohen is a little man. Good thing his head is the same size as hers. Cohen was a little apprehensive about lying beside her as last time this happened, Charlotte reached over and took a chunk out of Cohen's head behind his ear. Their first fight. 

Giving myself a shout out

I'm really proud of myself for doing something. Like, really, REALLYproud. And it's such a little thing but I think it's going to make things at Hancock Manor so much better when I go back to work full time in a couple of weeks.

I've come up with a game plan for dinners.

That's it. Nothing too crazy. But boy it feels good.

On Saturday I asked Christian what he wanted to have for dinner this week. His response, which was no surprise to me, was "I don't care." Ah, but he does because as soon as I mentioned salmon, he said "Do we have to have salmon?" Oh yes, buddy, we have to have salmon. It's starting to burn a hole in the freezer.

So over the course of Saturday and Sunday morning I figured out 5 meals to make this week. I conferred with my friend who is in our dinner sharing group (we make them a meal each week and they make us a meal. It can't be anything fancy--just something you would make for your family. You just have to make double) and we decided which night they were going to make us dinner and from there I made my final plan. Then I pulled out my recipes, wrote my grocery list, and went to Walmart to buy the majority of what we needed. Walmart didn't have a couple of things, like boneless pork ribs or any good lettuce, so I'll grab them from the grocery store around the corner from us in a couple of days when I need them.

This will save me from going to the grocery store almost every day, which is what I've been doing since I haven't had my act together for, I don't know, 3.5 months or so--I think that's how old Cohen is.

So if you're in the neighbourhood and want to stop in, this is what we'll be having:

Monday

Dinner group meal (I think we're having roast beef)

Tuesday

Turkey Taco salad

Wednesday

Chicken Coconut Curry with basmati rice and curried cauliflower

Thursday

Pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and baked beans

Friday

Fish tacos with rice and beans and leftover salad

And that's enough bragging for today.

Watch tomorrow for the story about how Christian thinks Cohen is going to lose a finger or a hand.

Send a letter to management, buddy.

Fingers crossed that I did this right and there's a video attached to this entry.

This is a regular addition to our day now: Cohen telling us what he thinks. He's very verbal and I fear he will earn the nickname that his mother earned as a child--Motormouth. Oh well, his babbling is music to my ears and I thoroughly enjoy our conversations until he threatens to write a letter to the editor or speak his mind to management. At one point it sounds like he's about to break into Yiddish, his second language only behind Latin.

In this video, he's upset that he's:

A) Not wearing pants

or

B) Being forced to play with a pink toy and "duh Mom, pink is for girls."

You decide.