A good start on Good Start

Last night Arya had her first bottle of formula. We had been trying to decide between Similac Advance (which we had samples of) and Gerber Good Start. We chose to go with Gerber. We also decided to not mix it with milk as we had been planning. I decided if she would take the formula on its own then the milk stash would last longer and there wouldn't be the hassle of mixing them.

When the bottle first went in and she tasted it she let go of it, but opened right back up. Then she drank it all down! SUCCESS!! So for right now she will get one bottle of formula a day. We will increase to two in a few days and keep increasing it every few days until our stash of liquid gold is gone.

Formula

Tonight Arya will have formula for the first time. 

I have Myotonic Dystrophy, New Daily Persistent Headaches (NDPH) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). I have been off my medication since April 2010 when we decided to start trying to get pregnant and have remained off of them so that I could provide breastmilk for Arya.

We have not been nursing. Arya was born premature and never quite got the hang of it. We tried hard and had very little success. I have exclusively pumped up until this time. I am still pumping now, but I am weaning myself off the pump.

Two weeks ago, I had what I call "episodes." I have had constant head pain since September 21, 2008. I have "episodes" where the pain is excruciating and debilitating. This episode lasted a week and a half. I was unable to lift/carry Arya. I could barely stand. Bradley had to take off work to care for her. Back in 2010 I was discussing coming off my medicine. My doctor said, "Yes, breastfeeding is best for a baby. But if you get to the point where you can't function it is more important for you to be able to actually care for the baby." Well. we have reached the point where I am unable to care for Arya. So, next week I start medication. And today, we start formula.

The reason we start formula today is to mix it with the milk we have left to ease her into it. I am very torn up- I wanted to give my daughter breastmilk for the first year of her life. When I realized that might not happen my goal was 9 months. Arya will be nine months old a week from tomorrow.

I feel somewhat like I failed. Everyone told me I did an amazing thing for Arya. I don't feel that way. I feel like I fell short. But as many have pointed out- I have to take care of myself to be able to take care of her. 

This is a picture of Arya her first time in her highchair a couple months ago, so it is breast milk in that bottle. 

Laundry!

Arya's version of helping Mommy with the laundry. :)

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor day weekend, my parents, and my sisters family came to visit. Then on Sunday we had a picnic with two sets of Arya's grandparents, two Uncles, an aunt, and cousins. This weekend was Arya's first time meeting her cousin Ruthanne (my sister's daughter) who is 3 months younger than her; and Elijah (Bradley's brother's son) who is 1 month older than her.

Meeting Ruthanne for the first time. They liked to hold hands. We just had to stop Arya each time she tried to grab Ruthanne's trach.

Grabbing Mommy's hair as always.

Playing with Mommy at the picnic.

Arya with Daddy, Uncle Aaron, and her cousins.

W

We went for a walk at the picnic. It had cooled down quite a bit, so we bundled up Arya (and Tigger!) in her stroller.

Arya hamming it up for the camera.

Too bad, we didn't get pictures of everything else. We did have some pictures of Arya going swimming with Mommy and Daddy, but I don't know who's camera those are on. There were also group pics of everyone one at the picnic but those were on my moms camera.

All Dogs go to Heaven

The other night Arya and the dogs had some time together. As some of you may know, Daddy does not like the dogs to be out around Arya much right now. He wants to wait until she is about one, which I think isn't the best idea because then she will be learning to walk and might get knocked over.

Lilly (6 yr old Beagle) and Teddy (5 yr old Chow-Shepard mix) have been around Arya a little bit. We "introduced" Arya to them when she came home from the hospital. We had done the whole letting them smell the blanket, hear baby sounds, etc before she came home. They spend most of their time outdoors while Arya is still little and lays on her play gym and the floor (on blankets).When they are roaming the house Lilly tends to go lay on our bed. She kind of sniffs Arya then walks away. Teddy, on the other hand, wants to be with Arya the whole time. I keep a watchful eye on them and keep him from smothering her (with love) or beating her with his tail. Okay...this brings us to Friday night...

I had gone to bed to read and brought the dogs with me. Daddy and Arya stayed in the living room and joined us a while later. Bradley decided to let the dogs and Arya get a little better acquainted. 

First up was Lilly. Lilly sniffed Arya and gave her a couple licks. Arya wasn't too sure about this and pulled back. We tried to get her to pet Lilly but she kept her hand in a little fist. Lilly did her usual- went and slept on the end of the bed.

Next was Teddy. He surprised me! He was so good and calm. (Not that he is usually a bad dog, just overly rambunctious.) He just put his head on Bradley's lap. Arya has always enjoyed watching Teddy. One time she was outside with Daddy. She laughed and laughed watching Teddy run and jump. She seemed to have the same opinion Friday. She liked to watch him. She sat up real well, leaning forward to get a good look at him. She even reached out and patted his snout on her own. This made Teddy decide to lick her-that made her a little unhappy. Bradley thought she seemed scared and was surprised commenting that fear is often a learned response. But, Arya did love watching Teddy, especially enjoyed seeing his tail thump on the bed.

We ended the night by cleaning Arya from all the doggy kisses. I really hope she learns to love dogs and animals as much as I do. :)

A few of my favorite things....

Some of Arya's current favorites:

Person: Daddy

Place to Sleep: Mommy and Daddy's bed

Thing to grab: Mommy's hair
Place to play: Exersaucer

Thing to sleep with: Tigger lovey

Toy to play with: Little purple stuffed bunny
Favorite Blanket: Muslin SwaddlePlus

Outfit to wear: Nothing, this girl loves to hang out in just a diaper

TV show: Wheel of Fortune-it gets her so excited!

 Notice her tigger lovey was watching wheel with her in this picture!

Sound: Blowing raspberries!

Food: Applesauce, Sweet Potatoes (She likes white foods and orange foods;pears, apples, carrots, etc)

Tutus, Hairbows, and Money OH MY!

I am sure many of you have noticed the trend of baby girls being dressed in tutus and gigantic hair bows. Personally, I kind of like the big bows. I have a couple for Arya. (Three of which are thanks to Grandpa Brian!) While I do like the bows, I won't be putting Arya in a tutu anytime soon.
What I find interesting though are the prices. Most bows and tutus are made in home businesses by Stay-at-home-moms (SAHM). When looking for bows I looked into a couple different SAHMs businesses. I have found bows for $7-8. I buy some, then find out the ones Grandpa got for Arya are $3 for small $4 for big. Hey, if I can get two for the price of one of the others that's were I am getting my bows!

The outrageous thing is tutu prices! I am not a crafty person...not at all!! I was looking at some pictures of a little girl in a tutu and easily could see how you make one. Then, I see that the person who had these pictures sells tutus for $50!!!! (You do get a free matching bow.) Okay, it would cost probably between $3-$5 MAX to make one of these. I scurry over to one of the bow sites- she charges $12 for tutus. Much more reasonable (In my opinion), I understand mark up because it IS a business. Then I was on babycenter. I find a women who sells them for $22. And there was a woman talking about how she made her own after watching a how-to video on YouTube.  Okay, so how can someone charge $50 for something so cheap to make, so easy to make (since I the non-crafty figured it out) and that there are free how-to videos? Just seems insane to me.