Cora gave me a lovely gift yesterday on Christmas Eve.
She ended her 4-day nursing strike. It all started with biting. She may not have many teeth, but the ones she has are SHARP! Apparently she was traumatized by my saying "ouch" and putting her down, because after a couple of days of frequent bites (and yes, she is working on some apparently huge new front teeth right now), she began to refuse to nurse. She'd ask to nurse, then whine and twist away with every attempt.
I know that she is almost 2 and that for most toddlers, weaning at this age would be a viable option. But this girlie isn't big on drinking from cups or bottles. We have a shelf full of them, and when she is feeling very interested she may drink an ounce or so. That's it. Over the past few days, we surrounded her with cups and choices of beverage and I went out and bought a useless manual pump. I scoured Kellymom and Babycenter for advice. We were trying everything.
After the first day of her strike, she was dehydrated and we were scrambling to get fluids in her. After a ton of effort, the only solution seemed to be smoothies given by syringe.
I started out the holidays stressed out, worrying about her intake, my milk supply and whether she would get past this. It brought me right back to her first few months of round-the-clock feedings, NG tubes and a baby who just didn't want to eat. Stress and tears and worries. Days I really don't want to re-live any time soon.
So on the night before Christmas Eve, when she began nursing at night (usually not on the menu) without biting, and then snuggling in to nurse even when awake, I sighed with the biggest relief. And elation.
After an evening of food and merriment, this morning we got down to the business of celebrating Christmas, sitting in our jammies, sipping coffee and mimosas, eating sticky buns right from the oven. Rooty-toot-toots and rummy-tum-tums all the way.
Stockings and lovely handmade gifts. Cora and I even got something I've been wanting for the two of us well before I even had Cora: matching aprons from Auntie Tara. Beautiful.
May your day be merry and bright.
LOL...The title to this post cracks me up! Glad Cora started nursing again...Hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas :)
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ReplyDeleteOh Cora! Be kind to your momma! The only time Ben and Colin bit me was when they were getting their teeth so hopefully this biting stage will be over soon for Cora. Ben is almost done nursing himself. We are down to 2-3 times a day: morning and bedtime and sometimes nap time. I feel a little sad but ready for it to be over:)
ReplyDeleteOh my! I'm so glad she started nursing again. I had the hardest time getting my littlest guy to drink enough fluids too. This summer I was really worried about dehydration but now he drinks pretty well. I started out with thicker liquids and slower with thinner stuff. We are still nursing about three times a day though. Eventually I think he'll get the hang of it, I'm not sure why it's taken such an adjustment with him though.
ReplyDeleteI hope you guys are doing well. I've had a hard time keeping up with blogs. Every time I think about my night time woes, I think of you. Hope Cora is sleeping better these days!