I'll talk about the less fun stuff first so we can get to the fun stuff.
Alton has/had been struggling with eating. He just started to hate it. He had been taking 6oz at a time and then all of a sudden, he would hit 3oz and he was just done. Every feeding. We couldn't figure it out. He was having a lot of reflux too. We'd burp him, walk around, find distractions.... anything and everything, we tried. I went to the doctor and they wanted him to try the nasty formula Ashlyn was on (nutramigen). He wouldn't even taste it. As soon as a drop hit his lips he was like, "what the nasty??". Needless to say, there was a day where he really didn't eat anything. Then the doc put him on another formula, Alimentum. That stuff smelled NASTY. I even put him on a higher flow nipple. He drank it okay, but still was having the same issues. Not eating more than 3oz at a time. He would just cry and he couldn't calm himself down. It was a long few weeks. Then, we tried another formula. Similac for spit up. He slowly got better and all of a sudden in a few days, he sucked all of his 6oz in like 6mins! He has been doing amazing lately. He still has a few feedings where he won't take the whole thing, but that's normal. At least it's not every feeding!!
Then the next issue came for Alton that we are still dealing with. He won't let anyone else feed him, but me. Which is fine.... until I have to do something and Jon is alone with the babies. As soon as I take him, he eats no problem. It's a bit ridiculous. What a momma's boy ;)
Ashlyn is still struggling with eating. She has come so far though and has been doing so much better than she had been. So, it's all about perspective, right?? It has been a few weeks since she has thrown up. What a relief. However, she really doesn't care about eating. She's not very enthusiastic about it. She will suck on the nipple, but then she has a bad habit of not swallowing. So it fills up her mouth and then I don't know if she's scared to swallow or what the deal is but she starts to freak out and then once she swallows it, then she'll suck on the nipple again. Very weird. I have also changed her formula. Nutramigen was just so expensive. Even with coupons. It was $35 for the value size can and she went through about a can and a half a week. I was thankfully able to find another formula that is cheaper that she seems okay with. I have tried waiting longer to feed her, but it's still the same. We tried a higher flow nipple and that was a disaster. She just "drowns" in it. Oh well. It will come. The good news is that she is eating more. It just takes a really long time. 30-40mins to feed her. I just keep telling myself, "I will never get this back. She will never be this small again, so enjoy it while you can". That and church music help get me through feedings :)
Here is our current stash of formula that we have had to try... I recently threw out some opened ones that they can no longer eat. The only ones we didn't pay for are the ready to pour liquid ones that we got as samples from the doctor. Between the two babies, we are on our 7th type of formula.
Now to the fun stuff!
We started rice cereal! Feeding them for the first time was fun. No crying! They were both skeptical about what was going on and made the classic baby faces when they first tasted it. They are still both trying to figure out what they think about it, but so far it is going pretty well.
They both can hold their heads up really well and are getting better at tummy time! Ashlyn usually immediately rolls over when we put her on her tummy. So she has the tummy to back roll down pat. Alton can do it too pretty well.
When Ashlyn is on her back she likes to find things to put her feet on so she will turn her body (a full 180 if she has to) to find something like the little foam rod on her playmat. She is also really good about turning from her back to her side. She is so close to going from her back to tummy, but it hasn't quite happened yet.
Alton loves his buzzing rocking chair. He just has a grand ol' time in it. He likes to hold onto his octopus while he is in it. He loves playing with this musical dog toy from a playmat from some friends that is above him. He knows how to turn it on and he just laughs and kicks his feet when the dog starts moving.
Ashlyn has a favorite toy already. We call it her "BFF Jill". It's this plastic doll that she will just start cooing at whenever she sees it. Her eyes go wide and she gets a big smile when we bring out "bff jill" lol.
They have both finally found their feet!!
Alton is so good at grabbing things. You can just see him thinking about it. He'll hold onto his toys and shake them a little until they fall out of his hands or he tosses them haha. He loves to look at picture/board books.
They are both really good about sitting in their bumbo chairs. They used to spit up as soon as we put them in the chairs, but now it doesn't happen as often. Improvement!! We are working on sitting and I am hoping that within a few weeks, they'll start figuring out to sit on their own. I have a feeling that Alton will do it first. He loves to be sitting or being held in a standing position. Which is why we bought some "walkers". Their feet can barely touch the floor in them, but it holds them upright and their bodies don't fold in funny to cause them to spit up, so it's perfect. Ashlyn's came in the mail first and I think Alton's will come today (I got a really good deal on amazon)! They both love being in it!
1 comment:
Looks like as time goes by things are getting better for you and for them! Great news!! They are growing up so quickly, can't wait to come see them again!!
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