Mommy's Diary

Month 4 - Refusing bottles - Teething? - Rash on the face

June 2, 1999

He just wants to fly!
Tiger becomes much more mobile these few days. Wherever he is, he tries to reach out farther. When I hold him, he often reach out his arms toward the leaves on the trees, the pictures on the wall, the books on the end table. When I prop him to a sitting position, he would lean forward and move his head and arms around as if he was looking for something. When I put him on his tummy, he makes great effort (and big noises) trying to crawl. He has torn up almost all the baby pictures I hang up on the wall. He likes to touch the leaves. When the wind blows the leaves, he would get all excited, waving his arms and kicking his legs. He started grasp my hair too. He just wouldn't stay quiet. He just wants to move! He just wants to crawl out of wherever he is.

Grandma is leaving in two weeks. I feel sad when I thought about this. We have been so used to this setting. Tiger has such a deep attachment to his grandma and she loves Tiger so much. I don't know how he'll react once Tiger finds that grandma is not around anymore.

June 1, 1999

Martha brought me the book "What to expect the first year" today. I have been wanting to buy this book for a long time but never got around to do it. She is so nice.

May 31, 1999

Last night Tiger slept so tight. We put him on his Boppy Pillow and he didn't mind. I woke up at 3:30 at night and realize that it was so quiet and I was so rested. When I closed my eyes with content, he woke up for his night feeding. I feel very good that we woke up at the same time although we were not sleeping together. It was as if we have some kind of an internal connection. He slept for a full 5 hours for the first time.
We fed him some banana mashed with water. I think we probably went too far by feeding him three different foods in three days. I decided that starting tomorrow we'll feed him rice cereal on dinner time and not anything else for now.

May 30, 1999

Today we went to the Factory Outlet in the Lake of Ozark area. It was a ride of one hour and Alexander didn't fuss at all. We stopped by the lake and took him around. We stopped by the Columbia Airport for the Memorial Day Air Show on our way back. It was very loud when the planes approached and Tiger cried every time when the plane comes. It was so funny when I think back now. But then I really didn't want to see him cry so we left quickly.

May 29, 1999

Tiger is 16 weeks by yesterday. He swallows when he sees us eating. That really makes me feel that I'm selfish for not letting him eat. Today we finally decided that we are going to start him on solids. I made one spoon of rice cereal with three spoons of breastmilk. At first I tried to feed him and when he closed his mouth everything flew out from the corner of his mouth. Then Grandma tried and he swallowed it in. I found that I didn't put the spoon deep enough in his mouth so I tried again and he took it. Harah! He seems to like it and didn't have any allergic reaction. So we got carried away and fed him some watermelon juice in the evening. He opened his mouth when he saw the spoon coming. He took the first and the third mouthful and spit up the second and the fourth. And he seems ok too!

May 28, 1999

I have decided to give up the fight to put Tiger into his crib. I don't have much support from Grandma and Daddy anyway. These past few nights I took Tiger with me and now I know why they enjoyed doing the same thing. Seeing him sleep peacefully beside you is such a bless!
Now we have two cribs and nobody sleeping inside them. How silly!

May 25, 1999

His rash is going away! I'm so happy to see those soft, white cheeks again! And we haven't use hydrocortisone this time. It's going away on its own. The haircut must have helped the rash going away.

May 23, 1999

We bought a bunch of stuffed animals for little Tiger from yard sales. And, another crib! Daddy insisted buying it because he likes its design. I think he is a little silly.

May 21, 1999

Today Daddy gave Tiger his first haircut. He looks so cute with his bald head. He looks like YiSiu, the smart Japanese monk who is very smart since very young.

May 15, 1999

The rash on his face is coming back! We have used hydrocortisone on his face for 4 days and his rash has disappeared but as soon as we stopped it has come back! I don't want to use too much hydrocortisone because I heard that it is bad for babies. What should I do?
We took him to Sears Studio for his 100 days. He was very alert and laughing when it was the time of appointment. But they have been busy with other customers. When the photography finally came 45 mins later, he wants to sleep. We tried two poses and he fell to sleep. One hour later we started to do the rest but he would cry as soon as I held him. We had to let his Daddy and Grandma hold him. I was so embarrassed. It was when everything's over that I realized that he was hungry. He was crying with me because he wanted to eat! I feel bad not understanding him. Poor little guy.
I think his rash comes back because he is too tired from the photo session. I'm not going to use hydrocortisone again. What good can it be if the rash will come back as soon as we stop the medicine?

May 10, 1999

He couldn't be teething?
I always thought Alexander is an early developer. It was not too long ago that he can raise his head (I've already forgotten when was that?), and he rolled over from front to back on the Friday when he was exactly 12 weeks old. He's been cooing for some time, and he started babbling when he was 11 weeks old. Last Saturday, he can finally grasp a ring from his activity gym.
And yesterday, I suddenly found out that he is teething! What a surprise! I didn't expect babies having teeth this early! He has been drooling for at least two weeks and couldn't take his hands away from his mouth. I've been wondering what this is all about until I read from the net that this is teething behavior. Last week the doctor said that they may start teething behavior in the 3rd month but the first tooth will come out later. I felt quite assured that he won't start really teething soon and I skipped all articles about teething when I browse through the net or read magazines. I knew it's something I'll be worrying later. Yesterday I took him to the mall. Everybody who sees him loves him. And almost everybody said "He is teething!" At night, he cried for half an hour at 8 o'clock. None of us can stopping him from crying. That was not like him at all. We decided that he must be feeling pains because of teething. I was not prepared at all! I have this teething ring that my sister gave me and I remembered that I'm supposed to put this into the refrigerator and I didn't even know if I should freeze it or just refrigerate it and for how long. I ended up give it to him without refrigerating and he took it for a few minutes then dropped it. The left end of his mouth became red. I think it may be too big for his little mouth. I tried a teether ball and a soft cloth teeth that I bought from the mall but both seems to be too big and he didn't like either. I tried nursing too but he wouldn't take the breast. Boy were we worried. Grandma was really all sweat. He finally calmed down after nursing when it was his feeding time. He cried again for very long at 4:45 this morning and I finally gave him some infant Tylenol. That really worked and he turned back to his happy and active self. He played for a while before he went back to sleep.
I guess he just wouldn't let us rest. We have been struggle with the rash on and off on his face for quite a long time before we finally decided to use Hydrocortisone on him. (I've been hesitated to do that but it was bothering him too much and I couldn't stand it anymore). His face was just cleared up yesterday when we took him to the mall. And now this! I know sleeping through the night is not even on list. I don't mind the night feedings too much because he goes back to sleep right away. Only if he would not wake up between feedings. That would be great.

May 8, 1999

At last, he can grasp something now. He grasped the rings from his gym with both of his hands. He didn't do it very good yet. But he is still trying.

May 7, 1999

On Wednesday Tiger suddenly decided that he doesn't like bottles. When Fan called and told me that he refused feeding I actually laughed. It feels good that I am preferred than others. From 6:30am to 6:00pm, he only had 1oz that Grandma managed into his mouth with a dropper. He looked pretty happy when I got home though, but very hungry. Yesterday I bought a bunch of stuff for him. Different kind of nipples, bottles, and pacifiers. I also bought a sip cup and a set of spoons. Nothing worked. People offered all kind of suggestions and everybody says that he'll eat when he is hungry. But this one has a strong will. He'll go 12 hours without food if he needs to. I'm starting to worry now. I can't go home to feed him. What could I do? I don't want him to be starved just because I can't feed him.
Grandma said that maybe we have been too happy recently because he's been growing so fast, talking and rolling over and all. There's a Chinese saying "too much happiness can cause sadness".
I talked to Mark's wife and several LaLech leaders and got some more suggestions. Fan just called and told me: He nursed! They put him in his carseat and slipped the nipple into his mouth before he is fully awake. And he drank the entire 4 oz!