Playing Catch Up

Ugh, I've been meaning to blog forever. So, where did we leave off? I have no idea either. I know there was the thing about soy...

So we switched Baby Girl to soy formula. With mixed results. As you may remember, we were having trouble with both input and output. Input has become much easier. She is not necessarily eating much more, but it is so much easier! We never have to fight to get her to eat. She usually happily gulps it down but sometimes we have to switch rooms or walk around to convince her to finish the second half. But more often than not there is no problem! She is probably averaging a few more ounces than she was. I am trying not to obsess about how many ounces the books or her pediatrician says she should have because she is growing (like crazy!) and is happy.

Output is another story. She poops almost every day but it is still difficult for her and it does NOT look like baby poop. Poor thing. And, ew, guess what? We sometimes have to "help" her get it out. I won't draw you a picture or anything but suffice it to say it involves a flexible digital thermometer. We've also had to resort to a suppository once. Oh! And guess what else? Both my mother-in-law and her sister said they had this problem with all of their kids, but that eventually they grew out of it. Thank you genetics. Sigh. We will revisit the progress with the pediatrician very soon because...

BG will be 6 months on Thursday! Yikes, where has the time gone?! We were in MN for a week right before Christmas and I feel like she learned so many tricks! In fact, when my mom took care of her one day after we got back she called me almost crying because BG "was so big" and had "grown up". It was so cute. She sits by herself but you have to be close by because she randomly falls over. She eats baby food and loves it. She's actually really good at it and so neat. As long as you can successfully get it in, none of it comes out so it isn't too messy. She loves prunes and bananas but is less thrilled about sweet potatoes and pears. That's all we've gotten to so far. She also learned to throw her toys and then look at them until someone gets them. She "flirts" by smiling and cocking her head way to the side. And she has gotten so good at using her hands it amazes me. We had some serious sleep issues in MN because she refused to nap but all in all she did very well. I think a week is a long time for a baby to be out of her normal routine.

Amazingly, tomorrow is the first day in the history of the world that I have a paid holiday and hubby (a teacher) does not. So BG and I will have a day to ourselves and then it's back to reality for me.

I am very excited for what 2011 has in store for my family but also pretty stressed. There's a very real chance I could lose my job anytime between now and July. Or really anytime this year. So that has me worried. We have our contingency plan in place but we absolutely cannot make ends meet on hubby's salary alone so our plan will include using savings until I would get a new job. That would last us quite a while but living on that type of budget is not something I would be excited about. Plus, a new job would probably involve a big move. I try not to dwell on it but it's always at the back of my mind.

But, for now we are happy, healthy, employed, and enjoying family life. I hope that 2011 is good to all of you! May all your wishes, baby and otherwise, come true!

Wait, what is this? How did this get on here? Sssshhhhh, don't tell.

P.S. Thank you for comments on your experiences with soy and typical feeding volumes, etc. It made me feel better!