So She Is Just A Lazy Eater?...

Ok. For those of you who have seen Ada, you wouldn't think that we've had trouble getting her to eat... but we have. No.. she hasn't lost weight, or become dehydrated... we just have to work and work to get her to eat so she won't have those problems. I just assumed that she was a lazy eater and that we would just have to continue working with her until she got better at it. Well... one night last week, my SIL Aimee was feeding her and realized that Ada might be tongue-tied... her second was and it made it hard for him to nurse. The way she was describing her son sounded just like Ada when I tried to nurse her... so, the next morning at 8AM, Ada and I were at Dr. Caballero's office to get her tongue snipped. I was so thrilled and relieved to finally have an answer. You guys have no idea how stressful it could get... I felt like I was feeding her all the time... just to get an adequate amount of formula down her so she wouldn't lose weight. We'd tried different bottles, nipples, stretching out her feedings.. nothing seemed to work. So... you can imagine how excited I was to find a solution.

Well... unfortunately, Ada was NOT tongue-tied... I was shocked. I think I asked Dr. C at least 10 times... are you sure? He assured me that he was sure and then gave me some suggestions on how to make feedings easier for Ada and for me. I was already giving her a cereal bottle at night (which she LOVES), but he told me to start introducing cereal with a spoon a couple of times a day. I was floored... I thought.. there is NO WAY my 2 1/2 month old can eat out of a spoon... she's just now getting to the point she can hold her head up on her on! But... I tried it. She had her first spoon feeding while were gone to Tennessee for New Years. I was glad, because I had my mom there and her friend Debbie who could help me..

Ada had gotten a Bumbo chair for Christmas, so we took that with us. I fixed the cereal and a bottle (for her to wash the cereal down with), and we dove right in. She did AMAZING... and she just keeps getting better and better at it. We are now able to finally get on a schedule. I am planning on working 2-3 days a week, and I really wanted Ada on a set schedule for when I leave her with people. So, here it is:

Between 7:00 and 8:00AM, Ada takes a 5-6 ounce bottle. She usually wakes up sometime around those times... but she doesn't eat before 7:00 and she doesn't eat after 8:00 :) She will take a short nap around 9:30 and then at 11:00AM she eats her first spoon-fed meal. I mix 2oz of formula with 4oz of oatmeal cereal. Then, I fix a 4oz bottle of formula, and let her take as much of that as she wants... but usually she takes the whole thing! Then, around 2:00PM she takes another 5-6 oz bottle. She will lay back down around 3:00 or 3:30 and sleep until 5 when she eats her 2nd spoon-fed meal of the day. She eats the same portions... Finally, around 9:30 or 10PM she takes another bottle with a couple ounces of cereal in it... just to help coat her tummy for bedtime!

I can't tell you how thankful I am for a feeding system that works with Ada! I was going crazy demand feeding... in my opinion, it's just not what I felt was best for her or for me... but I had to do it for her to get the amount of formula she needed.

Well... I just wanted to share! I've been so excited! Here's some pics of her first spoon-feeding! Enjoy!