Sippy and Drippy

The good news here is that we are almost 100% sippy cup these days. Today The Chubs had 3 out of 4 "bottles" from her sippy cup. Tomorrow I plan on transitioning to all sippy cup and getting rid of that ridiculous haberman bottle. Not only has she been doing great with the sippy for her bottles, she has also consistently been drinking several ozs of juice from them a day, during meal times. Remember my miracle blanket burning party? Well I intend to have a haberman burning as well (even though neither time will actual flames be involved - it's more of a freeing mental state).

In less fun news, we had a pipe burst in our basement today. It completely flooded one of the bedrooms down there that is considered the "poker room" or "man cave". We heard water rushing and when The Hubs went down to check on it, there was a few inches of water on the floor. We'll be spending the rest of the night soaking up the floor and ringing out towels. I can't wait. Thankfully we didn't have much in there, so there wasn't a lot of damage. It's mainly just a pain in the butt. I suppose this could've been anticipated since our temps have been hovering in the negative teens the last several days. And thankfully, my husband, being the handy guy he is, was able to fix the pipe, but had to tear out a lot of the drywall. All of that will need to be repaired at some point. You don't realize the value of running water until you have to clean up after a toddler without it!

11 3.5

We had The Chub's weight check yesterday to make sure she's still gaining weight despite her terrible eating. Her weight was 11 lbs. 3.5oz. That means she gained 5 oz in the last 2 weeks. Not too great, but at least she's still gaining. Ideally she would've gained at least a half ounce a day. If you do the math, she obviously has not gained that much. But I need to count my blessings. She is still gaining, and that's what really matters right now. It actually feels like a huge victory in some ways. Getting her to eat everyday has been challenging to say the least. I feel like my life revolves around trying to force a bottle nipple down her throat. It's a battle back and forth. I try feeding her, she closes up her lips, fusses, turns her head, and pushes the bottle away. Today I spent the entire feeding trying to distract her with a mirror so she would eat enough.

I had a small breakdown last night. This has been going on for months now. I don't know how much I can take. But at the same time, I know the answer: I'll do whatever it takes. Because that's what you do when you're a mom. No matter how tough a situation may be, or how frustrated and overwhelmed you might get, the bottom line is you will do whatever it takes to provide the best for your child. If that means months of 40 minute struggles to get my daughter to take 1 or 2 ounces, so be it. It doesn't take away the frustration, the stress or the occasional emotional breakdown, but it reminds me that although the road may be long, we are on it together and my daughter who was definitely worth the wait, is also worth the extra effort, the tears and the $100 we'll probably need to spend replacing all the haberman bottle nipples she's chewed open. And today I'm feeling thankful. Thankful that my daughter is here after the initial scares, and questions regarding her health. And thankful that it could be so much worse than it is. I have a friend who is dealing with this with her twins and I admire her strength. I'm only struggling to feed one child each day. I can't imagine what she is going through struggling to feed two.

Thank you for your continued prayers for The Chub Muffin. Her next appointment is June 28th with genetics/metabolics at Children's Hospital.

Look at the nipple on that thing!

What is this (you might ask)?


Why it's a special needs bottle. You know the kind for kids with cleft palates, or other feeding issues (AKA the only bottle my daughter will drink from). You may recall my story regarding breast feeding issues and our experience with the Children's Hospital NICU. This is where The Chub Muffin was first introduced to the Haberman bottle. She was having some issues with eating at the time. I wasn't successful getting her to breastfeed and a regular bottle nipple had a flow that was just a little too fast for her. This was all fine and good at the time, knowing that there were special circumstances and she would eventually have the "suck, swallow, breath" coordination down.

After a few weeks, she had it down pat. No need for that weird looking bottle anymore... right? WRONG! The Chubs refuses to eat from any other nipple now. She's gotten so used to the shape and flow that she's a nipple snob. And the best part (other than the fact that we get strange looks everywhere we go), is that this "special" bottle costs a whopping $30. To purchase ONLY the nipple without the extra parts is a whopping $17! So until we can convince her that long nipples aren't the shiz, and that "big girls" use normal looking nipples (that still never look anything like the real thing, but you know), we're stuck with the weird glances and shocking statements like "WOAH, look at that nipple!"

I just used the word "nipple" 8 times. Time to wash my mouth out with soap.