Open mouth

For the past year, every time we have presented Julia a bottle, we have gotten one of two reactions:

1 - Instant screaming. "You're trying to kill me!"
2 - Apathy, complete with a sigh and a head turn. "Oh, that thing that you bring out all the time."

So how does she eat? Well, if she's at the first alternative of screaming, you wait until she gets to apathy. When she's at apathy, you present the bottle for about 15 minutes so she's used to looking at. Occasionally you try to put it in her mouth. Most of the time she will purse her lips and turn away. Every once in a while you will have success. She'll suck for a little and get 1-2 ounces. That was the cycle of her bottle feeding for literally a year.

With solid foods, it has been better. She never did baby food, but she definitely does finger food. And if you bring her a little sandwich or puffs, she will get excited and even open her mouth before it gets to her. Unfortunately, Little Miss J can't live on puffs.

This morning she woke up at 4:30am. She looked tired, not in pain, was liking being held but not needing to be held. So I thought I'd make a bottle and try. It's been several weeks since she's waken up at night, and even when she wakes up at night (hungry - since she had usually only eaten 12 ounces during the day), it's usually a fight to feed her.

I make a bottle and come back. What does she do? Julia sits up immediately, gets slightly excited and OPENS HER MOUTH!

I have been waiting for this day for over a year. I never thought it would come.

When I think about it, all her feeding issues were the worst part of her first year. You know she's gotta be hungry, but when you try to feed her, she screams and screams and refuses the bottle.

Unless you've been there, it's really difficult to fathom the magnitude of what a crappy first year we all had & why an open mouth at the sight of a bottle is a milestone I never thought I'd see.

I'm so proud of you, Miss J! You may finally be on your way to a normal-ish appetite!