No Bottle for Baby!?! Help!

by Mama G

This is a plea for help!  If it does not work, I may never be able to leave my son for more than 3 hours at a time!  (And the thought of that makes me very stressed – Mama needs some time out with the girls.)

The problem is four and half month old Baby C has stopped taking a bottle.   He’ll take the plastic nipple into his mouth, take 3 or 4 sucks, and then realize it’s not the real thing.   This is when he lets his displeasure be known by writhing, flailing and all-out screaming.

It wasn’t always this way.  Baby C had his first bottle at 3 weeks old, courtesy of his dad.  I had done all sorts of reading about breastfeeding and bottles before Baby C’s big brother was born, and 3 weeks old seemed like the magic number.  Not too early so as to cause any nipple confusion, but not too late, when the baby has become more set in his ways.  It worked like a charm the first time, so we figured why change anything the second time around.  Unlike his big brother, who was somewhat reluctant to take the bottle at first, Baby C took to it right away.  I did some pumping each day, my husband did a bottle each night, and I felt a huge weight off my shoulders.

Then life got in the way.  With a highly active 20-month old and a newborn, there just wasn’t much time for pumping.  It was just easier to breastfeed than bottle feed.  Somehow, one bottle a day became one bottle every other day and then one bottle a week.  Without really noticing, suddenly it had been several weeks since Baby C’s last bottle.

Now I am desperate to re-introduce the bottle.  Any other mom’s out there who’ve had success at this?  Please share your story.  I’m ready to try anything at this point!

The other option is to forgo the bottle altogether and go straight to a cup.  My toddler’s sippy cups just seem so big though, and I am having a hard time imagining how that would work.  If you started your baby on a sippy cup early, do you have any recommendations for brand or type?

I’ve got dinner with the girls on the calendar for December 11th and would like to have peace of mind that Baby C will get some milk, from any source except my boob, if needed!

Adventures In Mom Dating: The Blind Date

by Mama A

It’s funny –and fortunate – how having a child becomes a passport to an entirely new social scene. Pre-baby I was happy and fulfilled with my world of friends, scattered both in town and across the country. Since I’ve had my daughter I still cherish those relationships but I’ve also grown hungry for a connection with someone who also worries about things like their milk supply or how to best trim miniscule fingernails and has an opinion on whether to go with the SnugRide 32 or 35.

My daughter is now 11 weeks old and I finally feel ready  to meet some fellow moms in a similar situation (i.e. I’m not totally wiped out, I’m able to string a sentence together, willing to put on clothes that may not have a draw-string waist etc.). My Great Beginnings class at Isis just ended and while providing a good initial foray into the new world of parenting, it didn’t produce the new, life-long best-mom-friends that I was hoping to find.

So I’ve ventured into the world of on-line dating. Mom-dating that is.

I recently found an online “ad” placed by a new mom seeking the company of other new moms.  I’m typically a chat-room “lurker” and never reply to such posts however, my desire to meet other new moms emboldened me. I replied, included a little info about myself and my daughter, and after one more exchange we agreed on a date to meet. That was it – my first blind mom-date was set! We agreed to meet at the Pru, near Isis, and I chuckled as I shared some identifying details – “I’ll be the one with the rose - er I mean red UppaBaby”.

Eat, Pray, Love, Cry, Feed, Poop

Going to movies used to be a weekly past time of mine. Because I worked from home and made my own schedule, I was able to walk into the city and catch a day time screening any day of the week. I didn't care if I was that lonely old lady with the giant box of Hot Tamales and diet Sprite (from CVS of course) in the empty theater at noon on a Tuesday...I love the movies. Like I mentioned in my last post, it is one of the things I miss most about having kids. No longer can I jet out to the movies by myself, and I miss it terribly!

Babies at the Movies

But now I have something to look forward to...

This past Thursday I attended the "Baby Pictures" screening of Eat, Pray, Love at the Legacy Place theater in Dedham. Baby M and I, along with two of my good Mama friends and their tots, sat in a theater amongst (approximately) 100 other moms and babies and took in the mediocre movie (I don't recommend rushing to see it - wait for the Netflix). But at $6 per Mama it was worth every penny. Hell, I would have paid $20 a ticket! But don't tell the theater that.

Stroller Valet

We arrived at 11:30 (30 minutes before the show) and waited amongst the newer moms in the lobby for the theater to open. Our 9 month old babies were seriously the oldest ones by a few months. Most babies were only a few weeks or months old, so we felt like we were the professional Mamas. Since you aren't allowed to bring strollers into the theater (more on that in a sec) we opted to shove our large babies into their infant car seats and sit them next to us. Fabulous idea - and hysterical because we all have the exact same car seat! Other moms had their babies in carriers (Moby's, Ergos and a few Bjorns) while some just opted to carry them in their arms. At a few weeks old that is fine, but sitting through a 2+ hour movie with a 20 pound infant on my lap did not sound like fun.

Once the theater doors open you, those with strollers checked them at the "Stroller Valet" right out side the theater. See the photo for the hilarity that was the stroller valet. When we entered we were politely greeted by the Baby Pictures Hostess who told us about the changing table area, and later went around asking about the dimness of the lights and the volume of the movie. We found our seat and settled in.

Mamas in the aisles with babies

Throughout the droll movie there was a constant din of crying baby, but you seriously learn to tune it out and are not bothered by it in the least. At about half way through I glanced to my left to see a bunch of moms in the aisle swaying back and forth with their babies in their arms and laughed out loud. Never did I think I would see that in a movie theater!

Overall it was a very pleasant experience, and one that I will take advantage of whenever I can. It helped that it was a noon showing, as that is Baby M's nap time and she slept through the entire thing. Actually I kind of wanted to sleep through the entire thing too!

Baby Pictures are held at Showcase cinemas, twice a month, at Noon on Thursdays for $6. For a listing of the upcoming movies, click here. They are also held at the Coolidge Corner Theater on alternate Fridays at 1 pm for $6.75. Click here for more info.