Earth To Mother Ship

Friday, May 29, 2009

Boobie To Bottle B4 I Model!

So the pressure is on for me to get Finley to take a bottle. Tomorrow marks the first time in 10 years that I am taking to the catwalk. Yes, I have been asked to model in a fashion show to benefit The Turnage Theatre Foundation for fabric designer Alice Stallings of the River Walk Gallery in Washington NC. Alice has become a darling friend and is an extremely talented artist. For Alice and not too many other people, on earth, will I come out of retirement seven weeks post birthing baby Fin to model. Tomorrow also marks the FIRST time Finley and I will be apart for a feeding. Finley will be at home with her Auntie Dee to babysit ... sans moi and my boobies. YIKES!

In preparation for this day Steve and I have been attempting to give Finley a bottle. I have pumped several ounces of milk - I am ridiculously proud of this accomplishment - I think I am still on a high from the miracle that is Finley Mae. On a daily basis Steve and I can be found stating "I Made This" while pointing to baby Fin and now I am holding up bottles of fresh breast milk saying; "I also made this! I wonder if it will make good cheese?"

I am using the Milk Bank Storage System by Dexbaby- which is AWESOME, but, Fin does not like the nipple on it ...maybe as she is older she'll get into it?

So I went to Babies R US

Today and found this bottle by adiri

It was the most expensive on the shelf at $12.99, it is BPA Free and has won a 2008 Medical Excellence Design award. SOLD. It is supposed to mimic the breast and so I figure it can't hurt to try it.

I also bought Nuby Softflex Silicone Nurser. It was $9.99 and is a soft bottle so you can squeeze the milk into the baby's mouth so they get an idea about why this fake boobie has been inserted into their mouth and hopefully suck!

Here's the clincher. Finley does not like to take a pacifier either. So getting her to take a plastic nipple no matter how realistic is going to take some convincing. I figure if she is hungry enough she'll try it.

Wish us luck!

I'll report back on the bottles and on the fashion show in upcoming entries.

(As an aside: Babies R Us would not "exchange" an unopened package of Gerber Onsies with the store's untampered price tag on it for the next size up because they were not on my registry & I didn't have a receipt as they were a gift - so unimpressed! Had I not been having a bottle emergency I would have left immediately. I will, however, attempt to source an alternative store before shopping there in the future.)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Nature vrs Nurture

Since when did trees begin to remind me of bottle brushes?

No I was not eating mushrooms.

I guess I have "teaching Fin to bottle feed" on my mind ... a lot more than I thought.

It's not gone well - she likes her boobie buffet way too much. She screamed her head off at the introduction of a bottle of breast milk offered by Dad Dad. We'll keep trying, we've read all the suggestions by Dr. Sears and will try a few different nipples to see if she has a preference. I love breast feeding Finley but there will be times we have to be apart for a feed. We'd like her to know how to take a bottle. Suggestions welcome.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Finley Mae - Photos of the Day

Finley 6 Weeks & 5 Days

Enjoys sitting in Dad Dad's Chair

She flaps her arms alot now.

(although - she's a little bewildered by them)

Loves looking up at the ceiling fans.

Smiles at her Momma

Smiles and flaps at the same time...she's so smart!

Flirts

Flips me the bird

(total Shipley move)

Gives me the look that says;

"Alright ENOUGH MOMMA put your damn iPhone away!"

Mother Ship's Mother Tongue

I used to be very well spoken in the English language. I used to speak French fluently and dabble in Spanish, now I am hard pressed to string a sentence together in any language. In the midst of a conversation I find myself running into the abyss of my mind searching through the darkness for very common words. I mean common words like toilet and cupboard and refrigerator. All I see before me in the darkness of my once fertile mind is pea soup.

I find I stare at my husband flailing my hands and pointing saying "beside the thing, the ...." my eyes growing wider willing him to understand my crappy sign language, all the while I envision my vocabulary swirling, tiny letters, words and sentences circling the toilet bowl as they are flushed away.

This week while on vacation with my friend Nee', who has a 4 month old, it became very apparent to me that I was not alone in this. Her new mommy tongue was as absent as mine. she and I who usually are not at a loss for words mimed conversations interspersed with a new vocabulary that now include words like:

Hold it - wait for it - I don't believe until 6 weeks ago I ever uttered this word...

Ready?

Here it is: POOPIE.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, stick a fork in my eye now. Please don't tell me it's gonna get worse before it gets better - I make a living with my words!