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Nov 5, 2007

And Then She Bit My Nipple Off

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We have a slight situation here at Casa de Mommy Story. You already know Mira has teeth. Two sharp bottom ones, to be specific. She’s chewing on anything she can with those two new teeth. Including me.

I’ve been trying to use the advice people have given me. When she bites me while nursing, I yelp, hoping to startle her and make sure she doesn’t do it again. It’s a good theory, and it worked the first time, but now my screams of pain are countered with laughter. She thinks it’s funny. Not sure who she got that sense of humor from.

I also tried putting her down and stopping the feeding session when she bites. She gets mad and screams her head off, as expected, but it doesn’t seem to do much to discourage her from biting.

Another bit of advice was to push her head into my breast when she bites, making her unable to breathe and then she’ll let go and associate biting with an unpleasant experience. However, Mira is a bite-and-release girl, so it’s hard to catch her in the act. By the time I feel the bite, the damage is already done and she’s pulled off, smiling at me. (I told you she had a sick sense of humor.)

I even tried buying a nipple shield to give me a thin layer of silicone between us, but she refuses to nurse with it. Re-fus-es. Completely. Like it’s some kind of abomination of the natural order and using it would be akin to admitting there is no God.

We’ve come to a breaking point, though. Yesterday Fang (my new nickname for her) bit me hard enough to draw blood. I have three small gashes on my right nipple and one on my left. I tried to nurse her again overnight, and she bit me hard enough that I worried she bit through my nipple. (I checked, and she didn’t – but at 2am when you’re half-asleep, you jump to those conclusions from the pain.) I’m too sore to nurse on one side, and also too sore to pump.

To all of my hardcore lactation readers out there – I want to know how you survived biting? What did you do to discourage it? If we can’t stop this, I think weaning is in the near future. I don’t want to wean – bottles and formula are such a pain, plus formula is expensive. And when she’s not biting, I like having the ability to breastfeed her. But I can’t let her turn my nipples into hamburger.

Any advice is appreciated.

(And it’s not like Fang has a lack of teething toys. Anything is a teething toy to her.)

That’s one way to hold a spoon.
Filed Under: breastfeeding, Mira ·


Oct 30, 2007

I’m Crazy, How Are You?

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Wow, I haven’t updated since Friday? Where did my weekend go?

Oh yeah. That’s right. I have two girls who won’t give me a moment’s peace.

Seriously, how do you convince a five month old that she does not need to scream loud enough to alert social services because I had the nerve to put her down on a fluffy soft blanket on the floor, surrounded by a bunch of developmentally stimulating and appropriate toys, for just five minutes so I can make myself a frikkin’ sandwich? The crying and fussing is hard to endure, especially when you’re trying to enjoy lunch, or go to the bathroom, or give her big sister a little attention.

I remember that Cordy was a high-needs baby, too – at least I thought so at the time. Someone forgot to give Mira the message that she’s the second child, so it isn’t all about her. Putting her in her swing, in her bouncy seat, on the couch, in her crib, or any other surface (Bumbo on a countertop edge?) that isn’t my lap or my hip is a serious offense.

No problem, you might say, just get your rest during her naps. That would be fine, if she took real naps. Her naps consist of 3 catnaps lasting 15-20 minutes during the day.

Believe me, I’m not trying to play the “who has to endure the worst baby?” game, because I know there is someone out there who has a baby with some sort of aversion to sleeping all night long or a baby with a shriek that can break glass. Mira has a smile that would make your heart grow three times its size, and she is so cute when she sleeps. And Mira does sleep well at night. It’s just the other 13 hours of the day that are the problem.

But enough of that rant. It wasn’t our entire weekend, and we did actually have some fun! Aaron and I took the girls to Boo at the Zoo for some trick or treat practice. Kids are encouraged to come in costume, and community sponsors have treat stations set up throughout the zoo. Fierce animals and a candy high…woo-hoo!

It went really well, and for the first time in ages, we had a pleasant day out with no meltdowns from Cordy. She loved getting candy put in her pumpkin, even if she doesn’t know what it is. (Totally serious – she has no idea what candy is. Chocolate brownies are another story, though.)

Cordy’s costume was cute, although she refused to wear the hat. And without the pirate hat, she didn’t look much like a pirate. More like an Anne Rice vampire, thanks to the lace frills and her pale skin. Maybe we should have added a little fake blood and dressed her as Claudia from Interview with the Vampire?

Mira wore her Princess Leia outfit, including her hat. Several people did double takes as they walked past the stroller and saw her. It was cold on Saturday, but Mira’s costume is made of felt so she didn’t mind at all.

Pictures of the day, thanks to Aunt Katie:

Frilly pirate (or vampire) Cordy

Spidey was suffering from VPL (visible panty line)
Tiger. Big tiger. Up close.
Bear on a log

Princess Mira


***************

Speaking of princesses, check out my review of Cordy’s new personalized book from Printakid over at Mommy’s Must Haves.

Filed Under: Cordy, family time, Mira ·


Oct 26, 2007

Haiku Friday: Threatening to Cut It All Off

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Haiku Friday
The sudden sharp pain
It’s like a Vulcan nerve pinch
Let go! Let go please!

I’ll chop it all off
If you pull my hair once more –
That really hurts kid!

After nearly a year of growing out my hair, I’m seriously tempted to cut it again right now. Mira is practicing her death grip, and my hair is her favorite target. Sometimes she doesn’t even look – she reaches upwards and back, finds hair, holds on and pulls. And when that happens, I’m at her mercy, brought to my knees as I beg this little person to please release me.

My hair is too short in the front to be held back in a ponytail. I tell myself that this phase will pass (along with the biting – that will pass, too. Right?), and cutting it all off would be bad. But bald can be sexy, right? It has to be better than having patches of bald spots from a tiny torture specialist.

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your generic blog URL). We will delete your link if it doesn’t go to a haiku. If you need help with this, contact Jennifer or myself.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button above.

So flex those mental muscles and join Jennifer and I for Haiku Fridays!

Filed Under: Haiku Fridays, Mira ·


Oct 25, 2007

What Will Your Pre-Teen Girl Be For Halloween?

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With Halloween only days away, there is a rush on costumes. Here are some of the hot selections of costumes for pre-teens this year (yes, these all come in pre-teen sizes – some as small as 6-8):

Maybe your girl wants to be a storybook character, like Miss Muffet:


Sold-out! Virginity not included.

Or maybe she’d like to be a fairy, like when she was younger:

Does a pre-teen have the breasts to fill that costume out?

There’s always the classic vampire:

More Anne Rice, less Bram Stoker

But if those are too sexy, you can fall back on the traditional pirate:

More like the galley girl, I think.

Yeah, it’s a sexy Halloween, and from the costumes being sold, it looks like the goal is to make everyone look sexy, from adult down to pre-adolescent girls. Do 8 year olds really need costumes like that? Are we so out of imagination and creativity that we have to fall back on sex, even for costumes designed for middle-school girls?

Oh wait, it’s worse than that:Superhero underwear, now available in size 4-6X!

Yes, Linda Carter wore something very similar, but there are modified versions that are more appropriate for a 4 year old.

I’m not against mini-skirts, and I’m not a prude. I’m even OK with these types of costumes for older teenagers. They’re trying out adulthood, and experimenting with looking sexual can be part of finding an identity. But can’t little girls look like little girls, and not prostitots?

So, Miss On-Her-High-Horse, what are your kids dressing as for Halloween? you may ask. Here are this year’s selections. Mira had no choice in hers, but Cordy picked her costume herself.

Mira’s costume:

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope. And change my diaper, will you?

Cordy’s costume:

Real pirates don’t wear fishnets. 

Finally, if you’d like to see some amazing shoes for your kids (and enter to win a gift certificate, too), check out my review of Vincent shoes over at Mommy’s Must Haves today.
Filed Under: Cordy, Mira, reviews · Tagged:


Oct 22, 2007

She’s Been Waiting For This

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Ever since Mira was a few weeks old, she’s been obsessed with watching everyone else eat. We laugh at mealtimes, watching her stare longingly at our plates and making chewing motions right with us. My mom took the girls out to eat on Friday, and told me Mira fixed her gaze on the plates of food like she was going to swipe a piece of chicken when no one was looking.

I knew she was ready for food. The chewing motions, the constant hunger, the fact that she lunged for my sandwich. So we tried some oatmeal on Friday evening. Somewhere in that first meal, she gazed at me with a certain look, as if to say, “Thank you, it’s about damn time.”

Is that bowl for me? If so, put down the camera and feed me, Seymour!
Can you shovel that gruel in a little faster, please?
Oatmeal…check. Now when can we move on to pizza and chicken fries?

After I took that last picture, she cried when she realized it was all gone. This kid takes food seriously. There was no struggle learning to swallow solids properly, no trouble with tongue thrust, no confusion about opening her mouth when the spoon came near. Perfect form, with nary a drop wasted.

This kid is going to be a foodie.

And speaking of food, want to see how I’m sneaking veggies into our meals and how you can too? Check out my review of Deceptively Delicious at Mommy’s Must Haves – there’s a link to some of the recipes, too!

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Filed Under: daily life, Mira, reviews ·