February

Well, the month of February isn't always one of my favorites because I'm usually fed up with winter by then... but this year it was more exciting because of a few events that took place. First, my Mom was here with us which helped and provided more sleep for me. Second, we had a great Romanian Party with my dear friends at Eni's 'casa de pitici'. ;) I like your cute little house Eni! It feels very welcoming. Fratele Geambasu made mici, sora Geambasu cooked cartofi prajiti and my mom made lapte de pasare. It was fun to see everyone and learn about their lives. Third, we went to Tucanos, a Brazilian restaurant as a family and both my mom and Jane loved it. Jane discovered that she loves pineapple. :) Fourth, we had fun during the Super Bowl weekend with great American food (ribs, chips, cheese and crackers). It was my mom's and Jane's first Super Bowl and they were both excited to watch the game; especially Jane who took a nap and was really good. Last, but not least, David and I celebrated Valentine's Day at a sushi place in Orem that I loved. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was relaxed and fun. All the great times are a little shadowed by my mom's leaving to Romania in a few days, on the 20th. She's been a wonderful help and we all loved having here here. We got so used to her being here that the apartment will feel really empty when she leaves. Multumim pentru tot mami si sa stii ca o sa ne fie tare dor de tine.

 Romanian Party

Super Bowl

 I love pineapple!

 My 1st Valentine's Day

 Yummy sushi

 I love you!

Good stuff

My Breastfeeding Experience...

... hasn't been too great. Why you might ask? Well, I think it's because I haven't done it right. The lack of experience definitely had something to do with it. Before giving birth to Jane I was sure that I was going to exclusively breastfeed so, as soon as I woke up after she was born they brought her to me and I put her to the breast. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was from seeing others do it and from what I read in books or online. The nurse was there with me but she didn't help too much. The next day a lactation consultant came by and showed me a few tricks. She said that Jane was latching on properly so everything was great. Except me. I was in so much pain that I cried every time I put her to the breast. She seemed to be constantly hungry too so I had to feed her constantly but she still didn't seem to be getting enough. I asked a nurse what else I could do to have more colostrum and she said that the milk will eventually come in and then I'll have enough but for now I could supplement with formula. This was the first thing I did wrong. I accepted to supplement. The formula would come through a tube that I had to put in Jane's mouth after she latched on. The pain was excruciating especially when the tube would poke me while she was sucking. When we got home from the hospital I decide to take a short break from breastfeeding. Second mistake. I thought that I would pump and give her that milk with some formula in between if I wasn't pumping enough. Of course that all the formula was done through a plastic nipple. After about a week both my incision and the nipple pain started feeling better but I wasn't making much milk so I thought I'd continue supplementing not realizing that only by Jane sucking I would get more milk. Every time I had let down though the milk came out in a huge gush and Jane always choked with it and cried afterwards especially when after that gush of milk nothing else came out. After about a month of doing both, my milk supply was so low that I thought that I just can't make milk. My Mom said that she never had any milk for any of us so that's probably why I'm not making much. Misconception number 3. I kept on pumping because Jane would get really frustrated when nothing came out, and I also fed her formula. When I tried putting her at the breast again she wouldn't take it. By now she got used to the bottle and didn't like what the breast felt like in her mouth anymore. I tried to force her but she would just scream and refuse to take it. I looked online and asked people what I could do to make more milk and tried to follow all the advise I got that seemed pertinent. I have to confess that I didn't pump as much as I should have even when Jane wasn't crying or my Mom watched her. That would be mistake number 4 and the last one. Currently Jane is 3 months old and mostly formula fed. I rented a hospital-grade breast-pump that I use twice a day to get about 1oz of milk that I call "Jane's daily vitamin". I don't know how long I'll keep this up. I really feel bad and don't want to give breastfeeding up even though she's not really breastfeeding. I'm determined to do things differently next time but for now I'll just work with what I got.

I'm Three Months Old!

Jane, Mom and Grandma Lucy
at Riverwoods on a sunny, warm winter day

Today Jane is three months old. She's grown so much. I can't believe it. She holds her head, smiles a lot and even laughs at times. She follows us with her eyes when we walk around the room, cries when we don't pay attention to her or if she wants us to hold her and always lets us know when she needs a diaper change, some food or sleep. She's such a smart little girl and we love her so much. She only cries when she's uncomfortable or when she is upset with someone. One time she got really upset with me. I tried to nurse her but she absolutely hates how the nipple feels in her mouth so she doesn't nurse at the breast. So, after a good cry she refused to look at me or even take a bottle from me even though she was hungry. My Mom took her and fed her and eventually she fell asleep but even when she woke up she wouldn't look at me.

Jane is pretty drool-y. 
She might start teething soon

Her two months Dr. appointment was good. She weighted 11lb. 12oz and was 24in long. She got her first round of shots and even though she was scared she only cried for a little bit. As soon as I took her in my arms she got better and eventually stopped crying. Later that day though her legs were sore so she cried and was fussy but within a couple of days she was all better.

Three shots in her legs 
and one vaccine through the mouth

This month we also changed her formula a few times. First the doctor told us to give her soy formula to help stop the diarrhea. When that went away we tried regular Similac, which they gave her in the hospital to supplement the breast milk and she started spitting up a lot. We gave her Enfamil and she liked it but after a box of it she started having really bad colic. We gave her Similac Sensitive, what she used to drink before the diarrhea but the colic got worse to the point where she couldn't sleep so we went back to Similac Soy and everything got better. Now that's all she eats and it seems that it's what she needs. She's calm and happy, only a little gassy and is gaining weight all the time. I can see that she's already gotten bigger and taller than four weeks ago. We're proud of our little vegetarian baby! :)
One thing that Jane hates with a passion is tummy time. She would not do it without a cry that eventually turns into loud screams. When we put her on her tummy she lifts her head but she hasn't figured out that she can use both of her arms to pull herself up. She uses her left arm but holds the right one straight and tight by her body and pushes her bum up with her legs while screaming. It's funny to see her but it's also a little sad cause she gets so unhappy. She likes doing stretches and exercises with her legs and arms though and she kicks her legs and moves her arms a lot when left on her back.
She loves watching "Myth Busters". She would sit with David and watch on the TV or on the iPod. I don't know why she likes that show or how much she understands but she seems to really enjoy it. We don't let her watch much though. I believe that babies shouldn't watch any television until they're two and after that only watch about an hour or less a day, so we try to be good about it.

Watching 'Myth Busters' on the iPod with Daddy

So, Jane is growing beautifully and is a very good baby and we feel so blessed to have her. She makes us happy and we just can't imagine our life without her.