The bad news is, Milo has been waking up every hour to hour & half at night, crying until I nurse him or bring him into bed with us. There is not very much room there, with two grown adults, a dog, and a baby in a full-sized bed. Although I don’t mind co-sleeping a bit (I only give in at 3:30am or later), I don’t sleep very well with him beside me. I wake up at the slightest movement or noise, afraid that a blanket has crept up over his head and he is suffocating. This is never the case, but I still wake up. Lately, he wakes up more often than he did as a newborn, and letting him “cry it out” only keeps all three (or four, including Proudie) of us awake. So…. against the advice of our old college friend and soon-to-be lactation consultant (sorry Bitsy), we started Milo on his first solids; rice cereal mixed with breast milk. I was going to wait one more month, but I am barely functioning during the day I am so tired, and I’m hoping that this little extra bit of calories will help him sleep better at night. An experiment that I’m willing to abandon if it doesn’t work, but I’m desperate!
The good news is…. Milo took to rice cereal like an old friend!
I think he enjoyed shoving the spoon into his mouth more than the actual food! He did seem to enjoy the new texture, opening his mouth eagerly every time I brought a spoonful close to him. He didn’t eat very much (it was mostly breast milk anyway), but I consider it a success.
Here is Milo with an interesting spoon grip:
And assisting Mom in the feeding process (in case I missed his mouth, he was helping):
Enjoying Mr. Spoon:
So who knows if this will do anything at all, but we’ll see.
Milo is also becoming more mobile. This morning while I was in the shower, Milo rolled over from his back to his stomach and was happily playing with a toy when I stepped out. Quite a surprise to me, 1) that he had managed this maneuver, 2) that he was not screaming because he was stuck on his tummy (still doesn’t know how to roll from belly to back). He has also started doing this funny thing when he is on his back- he just lays there and raises just his head off the ground like he expects to sit up. It’s only a matter of time before he is running around.
He is also beginning the long process of acquiring teeth. He seems to be biting down a lot, and drooling excessively. I thought I felt a little sharp point on his lower gums, but I’m not sure. Is our little guy really growing up so fast? Just in case, I think I’ll snuggle him extra close tonight.
Congratulations, you stink! Maybe Milo can give Reina some eating pointers since he already kicks more butt with a spoon than she does. Excellent job sticking it out this long with nursing, you’ve done a great job, you crunchy granola tree hugger mommy you! All of your friends and family (even the lactation consultants) are proud of you.