Choosy Moms Choose Grilled Cheese

After last week's encounter with peanut butter, we scheduled an appointment to see an allergy specialist.

And it's official. No peanut butter for this kiddo.



The doctor said she has something called Oral Allergy Syndrome, which, from my interpretation, means she doesn't have the life-threatening kind of allergic reaction. Her reaction is limited to red blotches around her mouth. Not ideal, but definitely better than the alternative.

It's possible she may grow out of it, but not likely.

The doctor said even though it's not the most serious kind of reaction, Grace should still avoid peanuts. Which means Claire will be avoiding them, too.

Which also means Scott has to avoid them. That'll be the tough one.

Free At Last

Three days ago, Scott and I jumped off a cliff together.

We held hands, took a deep breath and dove right off the edge.

…

We were down to one bottle a day. The after-dinner bottle was no problem to kick. Grace cried one night and we haven't looked back since. But the after-lunch bottle was a bit scarier.

We've been trying to muster the courage to kick these bottles for four months. Ok, I've been trying to muster the courage. Scott was ready to ditch them all the day after their birthday. But the idea of no bottles terrified me. What if they were hungry, what if they didn't go to sleep as well, what if they woke up in the middle of the night, what if they missed them, what if they refused to drink milk from a cup ... and the big one ... what if they couldn't nap without them.

Every day we had lunch, had a bottle and then went to sleep. It was a glorious routine. A routine that produced napping results every single day. And as those of you who have been reading awhile know, napping hasn't always come easy to us. And as those of you with kids know, nap time is crucial. For everyone.

So, taking away this bottle scared the crap out of me.

But last week, we added a book to our routine, hoping that it would mask the very obvious detour away from bottles.

The first day, Grace screamed when we skipped the bottle and went straight to reading.

The second day, Grace screamed when we skipped the bottle and went straight to reading.

The third day, Grace screamed when we skipped the bottle and went straight to reading.

But each day, the screaming lessened. And on the third day, we even got her to giggle.

Naturally, Claire took it like a champ, like she had never even had a bottle before. Easy-going doesn't even begin to describe this child.

So, now, after 496 days, we're bottle free. And had I known it would feel this awesome not to be chained to those bottles, I would have ditched them a looooong time ago.

Lesson learned, I suppose.

Day Two

We are now on Day Two of cutting out our evening bottle. And it's ... knock on wood ... going OK.





They slept through the night last night and didn't wake up until about 7:45 this morning, which is fairly normal.

Grace cried a little tonight during our book, but once we put her in bed, she stopped.

Early results are showing that this transition may be worse for me than for them. I already miss the quiet, calm, sweet feeding.

My little babies are growing up.

*Sniff*

The Life of a Parent: Panic, Heartbreak and Guilt

I am in a small state of panic.

And I have been for about two hours now.

Tonight was the night. We had it all planned out. The menu included all of the favorites: pizza, mac n' cheese, honey dew melon and grapes. Not the healthiest, but we knew they would chow it down. We knew it would fill them up.

That part wasn't scary.

They ate like champs, and I was able to hold off the panic through dinner. I kept glancing back at Grace to double check she was eating. She's been known to be a finicky eater (as if you didn't already know that.) But she was eating, and I was grateful for that.

But the time had come. We were cutting out our evening bottle tonight.

And yes, we are still doing bottles. Twice a day. One before nap and one before bed time. They don't take them to bed with them, but it's ingrained in our routine so much that I've been dreading this day.

The breakfast bottle and the mid-afternoon bottle were easy. What possible damage could cutting out those bottles cause? A hungrier baby? Easy solution. Just feed them a little early or give them a snack before the next meal. Cake.

But these last two bottles … these are the doozies.

I love my children to the moon and back, but I get two breaks a day and I desperately need those breaks.

Taking out either of these bottles jeopardizes my sanity.

It jeopardizes the light at the end of the tunnel every day.

It jeopardizes the peace we have struggled so, so hard to achieve.

So, you can understand my panic. My fear of going back to the days where one or both would scream before falling asleep.

Yesterday, after the bottle, after the diaper changes, after the PJs, after the book, they giggled. And giggled and giggled. Then laid down quietly and drifted off to sleep.



Today, Grace cried. She cried during the diaper changes, during the PJs, during the book and while we laid her down.

It broke my heart a hundred times over as I had to walk away, leaving her wondering why we forgot to give her the bottle.

Then she cried and cried and cried.

And my panic and my guilt and my heartbreak sat in my stomach until about five minutes ago.

She has stopped crying (Claire never did show signs of missing the bottle, for the record) and it sounds like they are both sleeping.

My panic has subsided and now I'm just hoping we make it through the night and wake up at a relatively normal hour.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Seeking advice ... again

So, I never updated you, but the transition from formula to milk went well. We eased the girls into it and we have been drinking full-on milk ever since.

But now, I come to you again, seeking advice.

We are attempting to transition from bottles to cups, and it's not going so well.

Well, let me re-phrase. It's not going so well for Grace. Claire has had no problems with the change, but Grace refuses to drink milk out of a cup. Figures, right?

We know she likes milk. She drinks it out of a bottle. And we know she likes things out of a cup and cold because that's how she drinks her water.

That's what we do know. What we don't know is how to convince the little booger to drink her milk out of a cup so we can get on with this whole growing up thing.

Thoughts? Ideas? Advice?

Got milk?

Last week, I mentioned that we saw the doctor for our one-year checkup. I also mentioned how terrified the girls were of, well, everything. But what I didn't mention was how terrified I was when I left the office.

The doctor said it was time to switch from formula to cow's milk. If this change doesn't seem scary to you, you must not have a Grace. I have a Grace.

And Grace hates change.



She fought us when we changed her from preemie formula to regular formula.

She fought us when we wanted her to eat baby food.

She is currently fighting us on table food.

And yesterday when I tried to get her to drink milk, she looked at me like with eyes that said, "Are you drunk? You know I'm not going to drink that. I don't know why you even try."

But I tried anyway. And she gagged on it like it was the most foul substance I could give her.

I immediately went to the internet for help. Just about every site I went to said to gradually transition them with bottles of part formula, part milk. That made complete sense to me. The Internet's smarter than doctors, right?

Indigestion

As you know, Grace is known for her eating troubles.

Well, yesterday she ate a napkin. Seriously. I'm not joking. I was putting Claire in the high chair while Grace (who was behind me) grabbed a nearby napkin and shoved it in her mouth.



I did what any calm, cool, collected Mom would do. I frantically dialed my mother while googling "baby eats napkin." Both said not to worry. That kids eat much worse things.



But here's the awesome part. They both also said to be on the lookout for it on "the other end."

Lucky me.

Pictures of the week: 26 weeks

So, we tried cereal for the first time this week. They were not impressed.