Now that we've settled into our daily routine, things are really smoothing out. After hearing about Mirabel's anemia, I became overly anxious and stressed out. The doctor suggested that I try to take one feeding away each day. But when your kid hates solids, that isn't such an easy task. I often found that when I tried to skip a feeding and offer solid food instead, Mirabel would scream so much, and show an even greater aversion to eating food. So I started nursing for about a minute or two before offering anything else, just to take the edge off. Then she calmed down enough to actually try something. Initially it was just a few bites, but I tried to stay hopeful.
Then I discovered how much she loved spoons. One morning I made her some cereal, and she ate a good amount of it with her Elmo spoon. It was messy, but it was progress! Then we decided to start eating dinner on the floor. Before, this didn't really phase Mirabel. Then, I guess because I kept trying to offer her food about every hour, she finally figured out that food is for eating when you're hungry. (What a concept!) So she ate dinner with us that night. The next day, she ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner with me too. It was one of the best days of my life! OK, maybe that's an exaggeration. But I didn't know what to do anymore. I felt like a terrible mom because of how anemic she was. But I also felt terrible earlier on when I tried to give her the iron supplement and she'd start to throw-up. Then I figured out that if I mixed it with juice in a syringe (the kind the pharmacists give you when your kid needs a prescription), I could get it down her throat fast enough without inducing any vomiting. Yes, she still fights us, but at least she doesn't gag anymore.
I feel like I've climbed Mt. Everest. Again, I know that sounds like an exaggeration. But I was just so worried that she might be deficient in something else. I was also worried that she would never, ever wean. She is still nursing, but now that she's eating more solids the idea of weaning her doesn't seem so impossible. And, yeah, I know there aren't grown adults who drink breastmilk (ha!), but I somehow felt that I would forever be a milk machine, and that I'd never be able to have another kid as a result. Oh yeah, and that I'd never sleep thru the night again (still not happening, but again, it doesn't seem like such an impossibility at this point. :)
Wow, I never thought I'd write a blog post like this haha!
Anyway, I was feeling pretty low before this pinnacle event took place. And I was also feeling low because I needed to begin establishing my roots here, but I wasn't able to focus much on anything else...until last weekend. We went to a great church. A church that I think we'll call our home church because the people were so sincerely inviting, and the service and sermon were both lovely. And the day before we visited this church, or maybe a few days before, I got an idea. Well, I'd had the idea for awhile but I was too much of a weenie to go thru with it until that day. I started a meetup group! Yep! The first day, only 1 person joined; now there are 23 members! It's a group of moms in the area with similar interests. Our first meeting is this Friday and I can't wait.
Yay! A social life; a social life that also involves other kiddos Mirabel's age! So happy mom and kid! Mirabel is suuuuuch an extrovert. She goes up to random kids and touches their hand, or just their shoulder. This is her way of being affectionate. She really loves people in general. She is also so much happier when she's around other people/kids, so this will enhance both of our lives. I'm looking forward to seeing how her extroverted personality will blossom as she grows up.
