Bottle vs Boob

02/12/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

If you’re reading this post to see which one reigns supreme, here’s a spoiler, it’s the boob! The boob will always win over the bottle, no contest. Hell, without the boob, there would just be an empty bottle.

Yes, of course there’s formula, but since the ideal food source would be boob, I am not taking formula into account. For anyone who does formula feed, I’m not attacking you at all, so please take no offense. We feel very lucky that Avery is able to and willingly accepts breast milk, and I understand that’s not the case for all babies.

An issue Kelley and I have had disagreements with (she is going to hate that I’m blogging about this; sorry Kelley, I love you!) is how I feed Avery. In the mornings when we first wake up and Kelley is getting ready for work, I will start the first bottle of the day. Some mornings Avery is more fussy than others, but it always seems she is stubborn about taking the bottle.

Admittedly, I do try to get her to take it for too long which just makes her more fussy, or my position is wrong. Kelley has lectured me on this, and I am more accepting when Avery won’t take the bottle, I just give it a break. If Avery continues to be fussy, Kelley will get on to me thinking I’m still trying to get her to take the bottle, but that’s not it, she’s just fussy then.

Kelley will then say that she’ll feed her directly from the source, but I know she really needs to get ready for work. Anyway, after we go back and forth, Kelley will head to work and then I’ll try the bottle again.

Guess what? Avery is way more accepting of the bottle without mom around. I’m pretty confident that when mom is home, Avery knows she could have better than some plastic bottle with a fake rubber nipple; she wants the real thing! So, as we already know, the boob wins against the bottle hands down, but the bottle is also very necessary for us guys.

As a SAHD, I’m useless if I’m not armed with bottles to feed Avery, and I depend on the boob to reload those bottles every day.

Here are a few pros and cons to further prove the boob’s #1 status:

Bottle

Convenient and portable
Allows others to feed and give mom a break
Gets the healthy fat stuck on the side
Have to be cleaned afterward
Costs money
Not a boob

Boob

Convenient and portable
Nothing to clean once done feeding
Free source of the best stuff
No fat stuck on the side
Dad (or anyone else) can’t use to feed baby
Babies eventually get teeth

Obviously the boob is the preferred choice, and yes Kelley, I bow down to you and the almighty boob. I don’t want to argue about anymore and I no longer try to make Avery take the bottle if she is being unruly. I just give her a break and try again later. But I swear, she will chug the thing in one sitting when we’re alone!

Any other couples have this issue? How do you both come to terms on feeding?

Parenting

Do You Clip Your Baby’s Nails?

02/11/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

We have been avoiding trimming Avery’s ~~pterodactyl claws~~ nails for quite a while now and I thought I’d give it a shot this morning. Bad choice.

It's there, but luckily not very noticeable! — It’s there, but luckily not very noticeable!

The baby clippers I used has a nice light to help see the nails, but attempting while Avery was awake and squirmy is not the best time. I knew this, it’s obvious, but I tried anyway after being scratched so much. Plus, she scratches herself!

Trying to trim her nails in her sleep is pretty useless too since she’s swaddled every time she’s sleeping. So, I figured this was my only shot while she wasn’t too fussy.

I was doing just fine and finished within minutes with a sense of accomplishment. I picked her up and we went back to the kitchen to talk and do whatever else she wanted to avoid crying. Mostly I just stared out the window with her and cursed the cold weather we’re having.

As I looked down on her clothes, there were blood spots across her leg. At first I thought is was from my dry, cracked hands, which is pretty common, but after a quick assessment, there were no open wounds on me. I checked Avery’s hands and sure enough, there was a little spot on her right index finger; right where daddy trimmed her nail!

It didn’t seem to stop since she kept moving her hands everywhere like a baby does, so I put a mitten on there to hopefully let the bleeding stop.

Seems to be acceptable.....for now — Seems to be acceptable…..for now

Do they even have Band-Aids for babies? I figure she’d just put it in her mouth which could be a choking hazard. All of here other scratches clot pretty fast and I’m hoping, given the chance, her finger will too. Avery, when you’re reading this someday, daddy’s sorry. Please don’t take it out on me if you have to care for me in my old age. : )

Yesterday we made our rounds to two stores and a vacuum shop to get ours repaired. Avery was pretty good the whole time but really missed out on her naps. I try to plan as much as possible so the entire trip will allow me to avoid feeding in a cold car and just do it when we get home. This worked, for the most part, but getting a good nap was futile and we just waited for her bedtime.

I still have some figuring out to do regarding store trips, but I guess I have time for this being a stay-at-home parent!

Have you ever trimmed more than your baby’s nail? Any advice?

How do you plan store trips with your baby?

Parenting

What Pigs and Pterodactyls Have in Common With Our Daughter

02/10/2014 R.C. Liley 7 Comments

Do you have one or two (or more) children and multiple “animals” like Kelley and I? Whether domestic, farmland, or extinct, I’m willing to bet we all associate our offspring with one or more different species.

A pig is pretty common and is probably used to describe most breastfeeding babies when they are feeding or ready to feed. Avery makes a very distinguishable snorting while she is trying to latch and even during feeding; she even does it to let us know she’s hungry.

Of course she's a cute pig! — Of course she’s a cute pig!

If I had a choice of how she lets us know when she’s hungry, it probably wouldn’t be a pig, but it sure is cute and makes for a good laugh. I really don’t see her snorts getting old, and we will miss them when the phase is over.

We discovered her pterodactyl mimicking abilities when I was trying to help relieve any gas in her stomach a while back. I read about folding a baby’s legs up to her stomach to help push any trapped air out, so I proceeded to do so. Once her knees were up to her stomach she let out a long, “ugghhhhhh” sound and I automatically called it a pterodactyl sound. Why? No freakin’ clue, it could be any other living thing, but I chose pterodactyl and now it’s stuck.

Our friends, Sean and Erin, weren’t able to make it down to visit last weekend, so they came this weekend. They have a 20 month old daughter, Brooklyn, who is full of life and very adorable. It was great to see them since it’s almost been a year, and Brooklyn helped to foreshadow what we’re in for when Avery is a walking, talking, ~~terror~~ little angel.

I proudly showed Sean and Erin how Avery can be a pterodactyl and at one point thought, “Wow, this is my entertainment now.” Put ashamed I am not, in fact, I’m way more proud to be doing this than plugging away at a computer. This just fits me better and I can’t wait to run around after Avery as she tears through the house turning my hair gray. Sure, ask me if I still feel this way when that time comes…

The day they arrived, Avery was not accepting her normal nap times and only got a few, short 30 minute naps in. She just wouldn’t stay in the crib like was doing; probably because there was too much going on. Can’t blame her I guess. Anyway, she spent most of the night in bed with us. But, Kelley and I didn’t care because as I said about my view on Sleep Training, we are enjoying this time while we can.

Avery also started becoming more vocal while Sean and Erin were here. She has been cooing and “talking” to us some already, but she really ramped up the conversation that day and continues to a couple days later. As new parents, every single thing she does just puts us in awe and we have to tell everyone via text or on Facebook. Who doesn’t, right?

I used to be annoyed seeing all of those baby posts by my peers, but now I totally get it. Our babies become our lives and they are the most wonderful yet stressful beings!

It was a short visit, but we enjoyed seeing our old friends and hope to go visit them soon. Maybe when Avery can run around make a nice mess!

Do you associate your kid’s sounds with any animals? Please share, I’m interested what other parents are raising in their household.