FINALLY!

I am so excited to write my first product review, and it is a darn good product to begin the review process.

After weeks months of struggle with this little thing called the bottle, my baby is finally able to consume his ounces from something other than me!

And it is due to a wonderful item I won on twitter from Coddlelife:

The Coddlelife Polypropylene Bottle.

I am not kidding when I say my baby was literally chewing on Medela, Avent, Playtex Nurser System, etc. nipples. He would chomp, scream, kick, flail, and pretty much expel his way through 45 minutes of bottle feeding with Daddy. Oh, and maybe he would get 2 oz. out of it before Daddy would look at me drained and say, “Please nurse him.”

So what’s so different about the Coddlelife PP that Gabe is able to nurse?

First of all, please understand this has not been a magic fix. Bottle feeding is still messy, and Gabe still sheds some tears while he figures things out in the first two minutes, but he was actually able to drink 5 oz. within 20 minutes. He didn’t spit up much afterward, and he wasn’t an angry ogre when it was over. He still needed some more from me, but he is just a hungry bugger lately. But this bottle is getting the job done well enough that I might actually be able to leave my sweet baby for longer than 2 hours at a time in the future, and here’s the science behind it:

The Coddlelife PP was developed with breastfeeding in mind. The nipple was designed to mimic not only the shape and feel of Momma (it even has little bumps on it), but it is designed to function like Momma—it actually stretches and flattens in baby’s mouth. It is pliable, allowing the baby to truly latch on and flange like he would if it were a real breast. And I think this is the key for Gabe.

The other wonderful thing about this bottle is that it was made for babies with colic and reflux. And if you read my blog at all, you know my little man has a nasty case of the ‘flux. This bottle has a special air venting system meant to keep the extra air in the bottle from getting into baby’s sucks. And that helps alleviate gas by preventing bottle-created gas bubbles. Good for the spit-up-tortured reflux baby.

It's BPA free, too, which is a must when it comes to bottles.

And I am such a skeptic and critic when it comes to bottles. I doubt every little claim of the anti-colic-blah-blah-blah because everything we have tried has NOT worked. Most nipples really do not remind my breastfed baby of my nipple, and he has a hard time getting any food at all. But this one has worked for little one a few times now, and it has given us some much-needed solace in the bottle battle department.

To be fair, I will offer one criticism of this bottle—I wish that when you turned it over, not a single lick of milk would drip out, because for it to be absolutely like a woman, it would have to function in that way. (Please realize the drip is so slow and so minimal, but I have to be critical about something, right?)

And as this bottle becomes more popular—and I am SURE it will—it would be fun for some colors to pick from other than pink. My boy is man enough to eat from a pink bottle, but I am obsessed with green baby items because they work for both lads and ladies.

So all in all, if you are having a hell of a time with bottle feeding, do yourself a favor and order yourself this bottle. It has gotten quite a bit of acclaim lately (featured in Parents magazine and on the Toy Man Product Guide 2009). Get this for your baby, because quite literally, it sucks.

Thank you, Coddlelife!!

Available online and at Sears

Reflux Mishaps, Baptism Garb, and Slowcookermania Success

I am starting to think my life revolves around my son's immature sphincter. Who am I kidding? It does.

He has been miserable for 2 days. He has not been able to lay flat on his back for more than 15 minutes without shrieking, and, while this is not unusual, for every 5 minutes of tummy time, he spits up some amalgamation of something.

ANYWAY. I realized he has been feeling a little on the larger side lately. And, ha, well, he sure has grown! My husband weighed himself last night and then added Gabriel (in the nude)-- his weight went up 15.8 pounds!

Not yet 3 months old (just around the riverbend, but still) and almost 16 pounds?!

And here's the thing. He's a baby with body to him, but he is not fat-- he is probably around 25 inches, too. He just looks so much bigger than a 3-month-old.

BUT HERE'S THE POINT. I called the doctor and the doctor said my little monkey needed to DOUBLE his dose of Baby Zantac.

Clearly, therein lies the rub... he was uncomfortable because his antacid dose was way too low!

Anyway, a 2 ml dose later, he actually smiled and laughed after 3 p.m.

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In other news, Gabe's Christening is next month, and I have no idea what to dress him in for the event. I know there are lots of traditional outfits, but I just do not like the baby boy Baptism outfits in stores. Christening gowns are beautiful, and especially beautiful on baby girls, but for some reason, most Baptism outfits just do not seem to fit for us. It seems so very formal to wear a gown or a mini-white tuxedo. I LOVE the ones with shorts, but alas, it will be February when Gabe is christened. I found a beautiful knit romper in ivory that I loved on a few websites, and of course, the 6-9 month size is out of stock everywhere (Yes, Gabe fits in 6-9 months right now). Hmmm... pondering and searching... Any suggestions?

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slowercookermania update

It's going really well! It definitely has made all of the difference to prepare meals in the morning when Gabe is happy and/or taking a happy nap. I made an AMAZING low calorie southwestern chicken and sweet potato soup the other night. My husband and I just loved it, and it was nutritious. I will post the recipe next week in an Erin's Edibles.

The Spit Up Blues

I didn't have baby blues-- oh, I was emotional after Goober was born for a good two weeks, but it was a "my life is too beautiful/i can't believe he's my baby" emotional that was full of happy tears.

I should have known something would get me down along the way. And it's not a depressive-my-life-is-ending down, but it's an I'm-too-tired-I'm-too-this-that-and-the-other down.

Let's just call it Spit Up Blues.

Because last night, after being spit up on for the umpteenth time that day, I cried. I cried for my dirty laundry. I cried for my poor little refluxing baby. I cried for my stretch marks. I cried for the weight I have to lose. I cried for the sleep I want and need so badly. I cried for my overworked and underpaid breasts. I cried for my lack of hair drying time. I cried for all of the things my husband doesn't understand about me being a full-time Mommy. I cried for the money we had to spend on our car in the shop. I cried for Conan O'Brien. Let's just say, I cried for a lot of things.

But it was mostly about spit up.

And I know it could be worse! I know I could have a baby with colic. I know I could have a truly ill baby. I know I could have to deal with a lot of things that would be worse than spit up. But last night, at that moment, I had had enough of the spit up. And to be honest, I am still pretty sick of it now.

So tonight begins the weekend. I am going to recharge, snuggle my baby and husband closer, work out at the gym tomorrow morning, and take a nice long breath.

...And, ya know, pray my baby's sphincter matures a little more and we get a little closer to beating this reflux thing.

slowcookermania

Take that, dinnertime!

I'm tired of not being able to have a warm home-cooked meal ready for dinner on a regular basis. But frankly, cooking in the late afternoon and evening is pretty near impossible with an angry infant.

And he's not always angry, and he is not angry every evening even, but he is not predictable and more often than not, he's a malcontent once 4:30 p.m. comes along.

Why? REFLUX. It hits him hard by dinnertime, and it means one thing.
I.WANT.MOMMY and I.WANT.HER.NOW-- NO, do not pass go. Do not sit down. And do not put me in my swing.

Conundrum! How does one safely cook with le bebe attached? It's just not happening for me. And I NEED to cook healthy food.

But he's happy in the morning ALWAYS. He's a one-stop smile monster at 9:30 a.m. sharp. If only I coulc cook then; he would sit in his bouncer and laugh at me as I told him about bell peppers.

It dawned on me. SLOW COOKER. Not such a novel idea for the busy Mom, but a new one for me-- love that crock pot, but mostly use it if a fave recipe needs to stay warm long-term.

And here's another great thing-- Weight Watchers (I joined online to help with the mcfatness) has a stash of low-point-per-serving slow cooker recipes that will be easy to make and healthy to eat!

So... healthy, easy, warm, and wonderful. Slowcookermania, I'm in.

Tomorrow's menu? 3-bean Pork Chili. I'll let you know if the mania works out.

Chalk it up to reflux.

My baby sure chalked it up today, the poor guy. He had his GI tract x-rays done bright and early, and he drank that bottle of barium like a champ (or as well as a usually-breastfed-bottle-hating baby could), however scary it looked for opaque white globbiness to spill out of his mouth and all over him. He didn't even cry through the ordeal of his x-rays as he was turned and moved around. He spit up plenty while the doctor's eyebrows raised as he said, "He's refluxing," with such gusto that I realized in a second I was not being a paranoid first-time mother thinking Gabe's routine shrieking to be more than, "I.want.milk."

And when he was all done and I picked him up to take him to a changing room to clean him up, he smiled a huge smile and said, "Haaaayyy, Iyeeee, Huh-iiiiii," as he usually does when he sees me for the first time after not. He smiled through a rough little spot this morning, and it was possibly the first moment of many to come that I can and will say I was a very proud momma.

This morning, I was so proud of my son.

And a one, a two, a one, two... two.

Two months old and a Two months check-up that is.

It went, er, well? How well can a check-up go when you have to watch your precious baby's thighs be injected with 3 shots/5 vaccines. I was THAT mom who teared up and sniffled while the whole thing went down, and my husband, who luckily is off this week, was there to squeeze my arm back to reality to soothe Gabriel.

The babe is sure gaining well, though-- he is 13 lb. 9 oz. now, up from 10 lb. 15 oz. at one month. This is assuring especially because of his reflux issue.

And the reflux issue is a whole other barrel of monkeys. The doctor we saw for his well check-up was not happy with the doctor who met with us last week and offered Gabe the Baby Zantac as a solution for his 'reflux.' This doctor, who I much prefer, wants Gabe to have a chest x-ray of his upper GI tract to confirm his reflux and to eliminate all other possible stomachish problems. I really am happy this whole investigation is thorough, but I have to give my baby barium in a bottle.

Barium in a bottle. Now, if you have been following this blog at all, you know my baby HATES bottles. Tell me how I am supposed to get my baby to drink liquid chalk out of his most-hated thing in the world.

Well, we'll get through it, right? Of course, right.

Other good things? Gabe is meeting his milestones like a champ. Lots of cooing and smiling and attempting to move forward/roll over. (Yeah, he rolled over at 6 weeks-2 days, but we are yet to see this happen again!)
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In other news....
Gabe LOVES his rainforest playmat (part 1 of the Evenflo triple fun jungle), and he talks to the koala, butterfly, and whatever else he can attempt to whack with his little arms like a crazy fool. He squirms and wriggles his little butt as he kicks his legs and squeaks out lots of random syllable combos and sounds. It is truly awesome watching him learn and blossom and all that. It's just plain fab.
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Stay tuned for my first entry of "Erin's Edibles." It'll be a fun one, too... an interesting and strange little sweet treat I made to kick it off.

Reflux in HD

So Goober has had a few rough days. He spent his time over Saturday, Sunday, and Monday crying bloody murder, spitting up copious amounts of congealed disgustingness, waking from sleep with shrieks, not sleeping, looking ashen, and simply seeming way off his usual swagger.

Concerned Mommy? YES. So I called the doc, and fastforward- nothing was found to be wrong with the little fella. Other than the reflux we already knew he had and we were avoiding treating it with meds.

But Goober was too far miserable and off his game to ignore meds anymore, so he is now on 1 ml 2x/day of zantac (ranitidine)... alla baby zantac.

And if he looks ashen again, he will need to be monitored for other issues.

He is still Grouchy McGrouchsterson today, but hopefully he will be feeling better asap.