For about the past week or so I have been able to get Juju to nurse a little every day. There are lots of caveats to this. She’ll only nurse on the right (just once on the left). She needs a nipple shield. She does best with a couple of ounces from a bottle first so she’s not too hungry. She will only nurse skin-to-skin. Etc.

Here’s the best part, though. I finally got her to latch by dribbling melted ice cream from a syringe onto my nip.ples. Yep! C gave Juju a taste of ice cream off of her finger and Juju practically sucked her finger off. That gave me the idea. Darned if it didn’t work! Now I only need to use the syringe maybe half of the time, and only to put a teeny drop and she’s off and running. Not your typical method, for sure, but nothing about feeding this child has been easy or typical.

But still! This is amazing progress for us. The awe and power and love I feel for her when we share this is something I never thought I’d have with Juju. Even if it doesn’t last this has been such a gift for us.

I have lots of logistical questions for all of you nursers out there (which feels like everyone but me), but I’m going to save them for a while and just enjoy my beautiful sweet baby with her milky little face looking up at me and grinning because she finally gets it.

Food

* Describe what and how your child eats: Milk! Mostly breast milk, and maybe up to 6 ounces of supplemental organic formula per day if I haven’t pumped enough to meet her needs. She has tasted tomato and ice cream in teensy bits off of our fingers but isn’t starting solids until her 6 months birthday in a couple of weeks.

Sleep

* Where and how much does your child sleep? Lots! She’s a great sleeper, which almost makes up for the lack ‘o nursing. She goes down at 6:00 p.m. and usually sleeps through until about 6:00 a.m. She isn’t a great napper. C is doing nap training while she’s home on adoption leave. We’re doing CIO nap training where she stays in her crib for at least an hour at a time. It’s going pretty well. She takes about 3 hour naps per day.

* Does your child have any sleep problems? No, she wakes occasionally and grizzles and isn’t much of a napper but is a fabulous sleeper overall. She doesn’t sleep in the stroller or ergo, but she will sleep in the car seat. Other than that she only sleeps in the crib or occasionally with us.

Physical Development and Health

* What is your child’s current size/weight: She was 24 inches and 14 lbs 10 oz at her 4 month appointment so is probably around 16 lbs now. 50th percentile for height and 75th for height.

* What about pee and poop? Juju is a heavy wetter and pees through diapers like whoa. She poops about once every 3-4 days and has had a few problems with constipation. I forgot, I should have put on the food list that she’s also had a couple of ounces of prune juice, which did the trick.

* How many teeth? 0

* What, if any, health issues are apparent: None so far, thankfully.

Activity and Motor Development

* Describe your child’s gross and fine motor skills (how he moves around, grabs things, etc.): She can roll both ways, army crawl/lunge at things (yikes!), sit pretty well unassisted, and grab at anything. She loves grabbing for her bottle and is actually pretty cute about this.

* What can your child do for himself? She loves putting her own pacifier in and grabbing at and mouthing her teethers.

Language and Communication

* Describe your child’s language abilities: She knows her name. She’s stared babbling lots including lots of “mama.” We’re starting some on signs but she doesn’t recognize them yet.

Social Development and Environment

* Can your child follow simple directions? No.

* How does your child react to family outings and visitors? She can be quite shy if she’s tired but is social and engaged when she’s well rested and happy. She likes outings but isn’t fond of the car seat and all of the layers and covers that are necessitated by the cold weather here. She loves the store!

* Does your child play with other children? We visited our friend’s twins and she loved looking at them and would grab hands with them if they were close, which was adorable.

* In what ways, if any, does your child behave aggressively toward you, his siblings, his playmates, or others? She’s a grabber! She also smacks me sometimes while I’m changing her, but she seems to do this more to C!

* Does your child have a strong preference for one parent? Nope. This is one of the great benefits of pumping. Honestly, she probably loves Papa (her grandpa) the best of everyone.

Toys and Play

* List your child’s favorite toys and describe how he plays with them: She loves pacis more than anything, but also loves all teethers (the avent seahorse teether and zoli stick teether are good). She loves the Skip Hop owl toy and the winkle and skwish by Manhattan toy. How does she play? By putting everything in her mouth.

* What are your child’s favorite games? She loves peekaboo and loves having raspberries blown on her tummy. She has a great chortle.

* Does your child have a lovey? Yes, a stuffed dog named Pudgies. She hugs him while she’s sleeping.

Feelings and Moods

* Describe your child’s range of feelings (comfort, discomfort, pleasure, joy, anger, affection, fear, hostility, depression / sadness) and how he expresses them: She is basically a happy baby unless she’s tired or hungry. She expresses her displeasure with squawks that turn into full blown tantrums, so we try to intercept before that happens. If she’s scared of a stranger she makes the world’s saddest pout face and then cries until one of us rescues her.

* What is likely to upset your child? Being left alone, especially on the floor. Being hungry or tired.

* Describe how your child copes with discomfort, frustration, or other distress: Crying.

* What makes him feel better? Snuggles, sometimes a pacifier.