Eating Habits

Astrid's eating habits are changing. She used to be able to eat no matter who was in the room or what noises were going on around her, but now she's so aware of everything going on around her that it's difficult for her to eat at the same time. I read that at this stage it's best to go into a dark room for feedings so that the baby isn't easily distracted. So at night that's where you'll find me...in a dark room feeding Astrid.

This morning (hence no dark room available) it took me an hour and 40 minutes to get her to eat. I knew she must be starving because she just woke up, but she just couldn't concentrate on eating. Once she did eat, she fell fast asleep.

Today we made $75 participating in a website study for Nestle'. They wanted mothers or mothers-to-be who were currently or planning on feeding their baby formula. Not bad for 90 minutes of looking at a website and answering questions.

Astrid started to get cranky by the end of the 90 minutes because it was her feeding time, so we quickly wrapped it up and I sat in the waiting area trying to feed her. Every woman who came in the door stopped by to look at Astrid and talk to her. Astrid loved looking at all the new faces but she quickly forgot about her feeding and could not concentrate on eating anymore. I was picturing a long drive back in rush hour traffic with a screaming baby in the backseat. Not a pretty picture. So I tried and tried to get her to eat but after over a half an hour and more distractions, I packed it up and headed for the car.

Once outside the building we sat alone on some benches across from a fountain and I tried one last time to get Astrid to eat. Thankfully she drank the whole bottle and fell fast asleep.

Even though there was traffic driving back home, Astrid was sleeping soundly and I was able to drive in the carpool lane. (bonus!)

Uwe also read that at 4 months (which Astrid will be in 2 more days) babies don't need to eat as often. So I'm keeping that in mind and don't try to feed her if she doesn't act like she's hungry. It's just hard when she's crying because she's hungry and then when I give her a bottle she can't eat. Poor thing. It's amazing all the little adjustments their new bodies go through.