Frustration is the name of the game.

Ryan is being a jerk. There I said it. My son the jerk.

He refuses bottles now with formula in it. Before he would eat anything and everything didn't care who was giving it to him or what it was.

Now he is a boob snob.

The reason we are trying to get him to take a bottle is I will not always breast feed. (or have enough pumped for whoever is watching him) I know some women do it for years. That's not for me. 

A few weeks ago I noticed Ryan was sleeping longer without the before bedtime formula bottle so I stopped giving it to him. I was very pleased with myself that the breast kept him full for almost 3 hours at night before waking up to feed again. However by doing this I shot myself in the foot. Hell both feet.

Now when either Neil or I try to give him formula he freaks out. (He will take bottle of boob milk though.) He cries until he passes out. Lately nighttime has been fussy time and after the joy of screaming at me for an hour last night while trying to give him formula, we decided to try to reintroduce formula during the day when he is happy.

Well my first try did not go over at all. He cried and is now sleeping. I know he is hungry because he hasn't eaten in over 2 1/2 hours and during the day he eats about every hour.

When he wakes up I will give him boob and in 1/2 hour try to give him a small amount of formula when he is not starving and in a good mood. Maybe it didn't go so well because he was so hungry?

I know boob milk is sweet and this formula we use is metallic and tastes horrid but isn't 10 weeks old a little early to be a picky eater?

We have to get him to take formula because I can not always leave enough milk for grandma when he watches him. Saturday we have a wedding to go to and Ryan is having his first overnight with the grandparents (Neils folks). I will make sure to tell Gabi to save the breast milk for nighttime and when he wakes up to eat in the middle of the night and use the formula for afternoon and morning. Maybe alternate between breast and formula during the day.

I know the canned stuff is sweeter but its also very expensive. Then again for how much we give him it might be worth the try. I will ask Tara for a can to try it out on him before we buy any. (It worked for Sloane when Tara was no longer able to pump/feed)

I really think breast milk has some sort of addictive chemical in it for babies cause they go crazy for it.

Also Ryan eats so often I thought it got better when they got older. He still eats about every hour during the day and every 2 1/2 hours at night. A book I read said he should be sleeping 6 hours at night... I wonder if my breast milk is not fat enough. Then again we gave him formula the other night and he slept 3 hours and last night he got breast milk and slept almost 4.

Well he is gaining weight and peeing/pooping a lot so I am doing something right. Trying not to get the first time mom worries. (and failing)

:)

I really love my son with all my heart but a part of me is really looking forward to Saturday and having an over night break.

Ryans Shower and his first round of shots.

Ryan's shower was this past sat (the 18th) and it went great.

Friday we headed over to Sherry and Roland's who were sweet enough to host the shower in the back yard (with help from Rita, Tim and Gabi) We set up the huge tent (thanks again to Chris and Anand for helping!) and hung out a little.

Saturday the weather was perfect. Warm and sunny all day. Bad news was because our Ryan is so little he gets over heated fast so we had to work some magic and put a fan on him and take some clothing off of him. However he still had a bad event.

Because there were so many people and Neil and I were distracted we didn't pick up on the cues that Ryan was close to a melt down till it was too late. Neil pointed out to me he hadn't eaten in a while (over an hour) and was showing signs of hunger. I took him downstairs to feed him and that is when the melt down happened. We think because I was hot and he was hot when I put him to my breast it was just too much heat. He freaked and nothing I could do would calm him down. Time to get help from Neil! Neil came downstairs and held him and got him calm enough to take some cold breast milk. We took his clothing off and put a cool wet cloth on his belly to cool him down a little. I think that mixed with the cold breast milk calmed him down.

Side note... you can feed a baby cold breast milk, its perfectly safe. Some babies might spit up a little more from it but its great if you are not able to breast feed (like in a car driving) and need to get food in the little one before they freak out.

After eating and cooling down he was fine. We put him in the pool for a minutes to cool him down more but the water was too cold and didn't care for it.

Too COLD, do not want.

However he took to the breast after that so I was happy. We had a good time, a great night and it was a blast to spend time with so many friends. I think we dropped the ball on introductions though since Tara thought Christina was a co-worker! (she is Robins girlfriend and all and all an awesome lady)

Neil posted photos on Facebook. 

 He has so many friends!

And so many gifts!

Neil hanging with Big and Little Ryan

There were even some pretty ladies there for Ryan!

Today was Ryan's first round of shots. He did great. He was a happy camper till the needles when in his legs. (one in each leg) I feel bad because Neil said Ryan was looking at him and gave him this "why would you do this to me I trust you" look. So in two months when we go for the next round I will be the one he looks at. Its only fair. 

 Before the shots...

 After the shots

Neil did say something that made me smile. As we were putting him in the car Neil said something about taking him to McDonald's when he is big enough.

Back story to his is as a kid Neils mom took him to McDonald's when he was good at the dentist or doctors. So that way he would not DREAD the doctors offices. He knew at the end of the pain and discomfort he would get yummy bad food he never got to have other wise. I think its an awesome tradition we will do with Ryan. I remember my mom doing something like that, we would get milkshakes at McD's and having a burping contest.

Daddy Time

Neil has off since last Friday. It has been pretty damn nice to have him around. Friday we started off the 'staycation' with a trip to the Toronto Zoo. Those of you that are not living in Toronto or the GTA and read this its a pretty nice Zoo. Not sad. Well the Tiger was sad cause he was looking for food to eat but it was still pretty cool.

We had a pretty damn good day and we were there from 11:30-4:30. Just in time to hit rush hour traffic. Thank goodness I had the pump on me and I was able to pump, put it in the bottle and feed him in the car cause WOW the traffic was bad and took a little longer then an hour to get home. 

Pictures are here.

http://www.neilbank.com/gallery/zoo-2011/

He posted more on his facebook with funny captions.

Neil rented a 70-200 lens from vistek which is what makes the pictures sharp on the focus of the subject and all blurry background. So nice... we both want it but the lens is $2,200.

We went to the Royal Botanical Gardens Sunday which was a let down. We were too late for spring flowers and to early for roses. Neil and Ryan were in 'eh' moods so we didn't stay too long. We also had a family dinner to celebrate Robins 34th Birthday. 

YAY ROBIN!

Tuesday we visited Tara and Sloane and hung outside in Port Credit at this awesome spot Tara found that is under a huge tree, not a lot of people go there and its right next to the water. No I will not tell you were it is. :P

Sloane is crawling now like crazy. I don't think it will be too long before she is running. Poor Tara!

Wednesday I lucked out and found a dress for both weddings this year that I can pump in, found it a Winners which is awesome. (its like a Ross) Name brand clothing on sale.

Yesterday Kimberly came to visit. It was so nice to sit and chat with her. Ryan really liked her and kept giving her smiles. Though it figures after we tell her how lucky we are cause he is such a good kid he starts to cry and gets in a bad mood the whole time she is here.

Today we are going to set up the tent for the shower. Pretty excited about the baby shower tomorrow. I hope it goes well and Ryan is in a good mood. We have noticed he is getting bored now. I really hope we get some toys for him. He does well when we take him outside. He also likes going to stores because its new stuff to look at. I find he sleeps much better at night when we do take him out someplace. Either to a friends house or even just a long walk.

 

And for your enjoyment Sink Bath Baby. (Rita took this picture and I posted it on here because it makes me laugh)

He likes tub baths a lot more.

I am looking forward to the bath tonight with him (he sleeps GREAT after a bath). He likes being in the water without the baby chair Chris and Tara let us borrow. He likes to kick under the water. Which means one of us has to be in the tub with him.

I am sad he is growing up so fast (almost 9 weeks old!) but I am also looking forward to all the cool stuff he gets to experience soon (and has been so far).

OH and another milestone for him is he has been mimicking us. And loves it when you mimic him. Yesterday Neil and him were going back and forth. It was pretty cute. Still waiting for that creepy baby laugh though. I don't care what you say the sound of baby's laughing is fracking creepy.

Tips and Tricks for New Moms and Wedding Outfits with BF

Tips (items to get) The Schick Intuition Razer  was made for preggos and women that just has a kid and want to shave while in the shower but don't have the time. I fell in love with it when I was pregnant and bending over to shave was a work out all on its own. Using this I didn't have to put shave cream on as well. One less step. Which is what makes it so great when you are pressed for time.

Application must have.
If you have a iPhone or iPad download this application (its free) 
What to Expect Tracker.
Because those first few weeks are HARD. There were times when Ryan would wake up in the middle of the night to feed and I would swear he just ate and one quick look at my phone told me he had been sleeping for 2 hours and I had to get my butt out of bed and feed him!

Tricks Pumping on the go. I was out and away from Ryan from 9am till Midnight Saturday so I learned all about pumping on the go. We went to Niagara Falls and after that hung out at a friends house for a BBQ.

Items to have

Pump, bag for pump, Ziploc bag for dirty pump parts if you can not clean right away, bottle of water to do a quick clean while out (if you are pumping on a road trip this is handy), breast milk bags, a marker to write on the bags, a clean cloth to wipe down the pump or any spilled milk, boobie cover so you can pump in the car or anywhere, cooler, ice packs (a lot of them) and a few paper towels cause you never know.

I knew I would have to plan ahead. I would be out with a group of girls for most of the day. And I knew I might not have access to a bathroom to clean the pump (bottle of water really comes in handy).

I pumped as much as I could. I can not go more then four hours without pumping. Four hours is really pushing it. Its better to do it every two. I pumped in the car between activities. I would pump into the bottle. Then pour it into the breast milk bag. Label it and put in the cooler under the ice packs. Then I would put away my boobie cover, rinse out the pump parts and the bottle, clean it with my cloth and put it away to use again. If we were driving I would put the dirty pump in the Ziploc bag.

Good thing was I was able to pump A LOT and have it frozen for the wedding we are going to July 2nd. Ryan might be staying over with grandma so she will be needing all that milk! The wedding is at 3pm so I can feed him for most of the day at least.

I am trying to find an outfit for the wedding that I can pump in. I am fine going to a corner (or my car) with my cover or a pashmina and pumping. I don't want to have to go into the bathroom to take off my whole outfit every time I have to pump. Like I said about every two - three hours. And if I pump both its about 30 min.

Maybe this one will work? also check it out, I have hips again!

I have a nice skirt and I have a nice pair of tan pants. Now just have to find a top that will go with either of them. Something tells me finding a dress I can pump in will be hard.

EDIT
Also I lost more weight, I am 4lbs away from my pre-baby weight. Though I don't feel it because I have that belly pooch still. All you moms out there know what I am talking about. So I am going to keep on walking/jogging to burn it off. I hope to lose another 15lbs by Fall. I think it will not be that hard because I am pretty heavy. I could really stand to lose about 30-35 lbs. So to lose 15 should be easy. I was talking to Neil about how losing the last 10lbs will be hard as long as I am BF because your body stores on to that little bit of fat for the baby. After I stop BFing though there are no more excuses.

Geocaching Blog and Awesome Kid

Our friend Angela (who I have mentioned before in this blog) started a blog about Geocaching. Its a pretty interesting read and goes more in depth about the joys and adventures when you geocache. Check it out and make sure to check it often for updates (and super cute pictures of her and Joe's puppy girl Tumbler)

http://angela-hodge.blogspot.com/

So yesterday was Ryan's first really awesome day. He was just in a great mood all day and really well behaved. He still has a lot of gas but he just sticks out his tongue and turns purple with pushing. Then he will fart, smile and go about his day. Much like his dad when he has gas (I tease Neil!). We hung out with the Parks and Janet kept saying how good Ryan was. She has two daughters so she understands when I tell her he hasn't been like this for the past six weeks.

Today is another awesome day with happy kid. Could this be the end of screaming gas fits? Could this stay at home mom be SO LUCKY as to have a happy gas passing kid?

My hopes are up!

 Ryan and Alexandra

She kept giving him kisses it was pretty cute.

Tomorrow I am going to Niagara Falls with a small group of girls for Vanessa's bachelorette party. I have a cooler and a crap ton of ice packs so I can pump my breast milk. 9am-6pm. I have no choice I have to pump, this kid eats every hour, sometimes more. I can't go more then 3 hours without pumping or it really hurts. Good side is I have loads of milk for the kid, bad side is when I am not with him it can be inconvenience. I am pretty sure I am set though. I also prepped the bag for Grandma.

Neil will spend a good amount of time with Ryan but Grandma is looking forward to having him over at her house too. I have nine servings of breast milk... and a container of formula. They should be okay.

I really hope Ryan's awesome mood and gas passing sticks around for Saturday!

Rock on Ryan... rock on

(also Neil is my best friend, sorry Ry (his shirt))

This will be longest I have been away from him. I think its a good test run for July 2nd when we MIGHT leave him with grandma overnight (for a wedding) yikes. I am excited about that and really nervous! Good news is the wedding is close and I doubt we will get a hotel room. We live ONE BLOCK from grandma. It really comes in handy!

Also we are checking out X-men First Class with Ted, Joe and Angela on Sunday. I am pretty jazzed about that. Haven't seen them in a few weeks and miss our geek talks. I got my big purse out so I can sneak in treats and drinks. This is going to be my first non-preggo movie trip which is awesome. I won't have to get up and pee during the movie. SCORE.

Enjoy this viedo of Ryan dancing with Neil.

Kid LOVES music.