nine months! part 2

once papa got home from Canada, the rest of the month was pretty calm. we went for some walks with your buddy, Mattéo. he can't pull your hair when you're both in strollers.

you are very flexible, Ayva. you like to have your feet up like when you're in your stroller and high chair. sometimes even when you're sleeping, i find you with your foot up on the side of your crib.

we took you to the ostéopath after a second incident where you hurt your arm. thankfully the second was not nearly as bad as the first, but i just wanted to find out what was going on and how we could stop it. the ostéopath (not really sure what this is in English or really what he actually does. he seemed kind of like a chiropractor without all the popping.) was a really nice guy, but he could have been Brad Pitt, you just didn't want anyone touching you but your mama. the ostéopath confirmed what we already knew about your flexibility, saying you were almost too flexible. he gave us some good ideas to help strengthen up your arms so they aren't susceptible to getting out of joint again.

papa bought you a floaty boat thing for the ocean. it even has a cover over it to protect you from the sun. you loved it and why not: the water is the same temperature as your bath. mama didn't want to bring the camera into the water so we don't yet have any pictures of you in it.

you are a super friendly little girl. you flash your big smile at people and they are instantly drawn into your sphere. when we go to a new place it takes you about five minutes or so to acclimatize yourself and then you are good to go. well, as long as i am nearby.

you like to bob up and down when you hear music. i bought a little keyboard for myself on Ebay as i was taking piano lessons. it ended up being to small for me as it's a little bit too hard to play on keys the size of my pinky finger. however, it's perfect for you! you love pounding on that thing with your hands and feet!

you are still not crawling yet, but you are certainly more mobile in your own fashion. and you continue to be not at all interested in standing. we try to help you practice often, but you pick your feet and refuse to play along. silly monkey. papa thinks you're inherited random attention disorder from me as you are quite distracted by anything and everything which is normal for your age. not sure what that says about someone my age, but whatev.

sometimes you still puke up stuff, but we still love you. :)

you like to play peek-a-boo (or cou-cou in French) by yourself. sometimes mommy is mean and scares you when you pull off the blanket. that last picture is you freaked out by mama.

another thing that happened this month was that you went on a five day nursing strike. one Wednesday morning we went through our normal routine of waking up, diaper change, glass of orange juice for mom, and then sit down and boob feed. but no, you started pushing me away. it was really strange. i tried a few more times, but you just got frustrated, so we took a break. this was the story for the rest of the day. thankfully you continued to eat your other meals, so it wasn't like you were starving. the next morning we tried again, and still you were not interested. by this time i was worried and getting a bit upset. we still didn't have internet, so i couldn't Google it or call Auntie Rebecca. i talked to cousin Annick who breastfed her two boys but she never had this problem. i tried all kinds of different positions and places. i tried hard not to take it personally when you kept pushing me away. i tried waking you up in the middle of the night to see if a groggy Ayva would want to nurse. you did for like a minute before you really woke and were like what the heck is going on here? i tried taking a bath with you because someone told me that might help you relax.

Friday i went to a doctor in St. Florent to see if there might be something wrong with you. we had never been to this one, but he turned out to be really nice right up until the end of the visit. he didn't find anything to be wrong with you: no ear aches, dehydration (it had been really hot out lately) etc. i asked him if it happened sometimes when a baby just decides to quit cold turkey. he said that yes, it does sometimes. well, i was a bit stressed and worried and didn't really want to hear that. so i said, " i'm not ready for her to just quit." he replied, "tant pis," which means basically "too bad for you". yeah, that wasn't really the kind of compassionate understanding i was looking for.

i was finally able to talk to Auntie Rebecca, who was compassionate and encouraging. she reminded me about how hard breastfeeding was in the beginning with you and that if i stuck that out for as long as i did, i could work through this with you too. all through the weekend, you steadfastly refused to feed over and over. i did my best to remain patient, but it was really frustrating.

finally Monday morning arrived, and like i had been doing for the past several days, i stuck to our routine. we sat down at the chair and i went to feed you and what do you know: you latched on! i was in shock! it was almost like you never stopped. throughout the day you were still a little standoffish at times, but nothing like you had been. by the next day, everything was back to normal. it was a miracle.

the strike made me realize how much i really love breastfeeding you and how much i was taking it for granted. now i am trying to treasure our time more as now i know what it's like when it's gone. hopefully when the time does come to stop, we can ease into it. that cold turkey business was tough.

you are growing up so fast. every day you are doing something new. you continue to be the biggest blessing and joy in our lives Ayva, and in those around you. it makes me feel warm and gooey inside when i see your smile light up other people's faces. you sure are one special little girl and i'm so glad you're ours. 

Comments

[Sarah]

You're almost caught up!

Natsuki quit nursing all of a sudden one day in June (she was just 10 months). Mercifully she still nursed at night before going to sleep but that only lasted a week and then she was done. I was worried about dehydration but on the fifth day she started drinking a whole bottle of formula and was fine from then on. At first I was really worried but now I am experiencing all the freedom that weaning brings. It's awesome!

[Deb]

Awwww, she gets cuter and cuter with each passing month!

She is going to be 11 months soon right?

Ok....Happy 9, 10, and 11 months little Ayva! =o)

[Alice]

I love how you write out your feelings here about your relationship with your little Ayva, it's so sincere and authentic. Just beautiful. I hope one day to share in the same kind of warmth and happiness...