Quickly Changing

My baby girl is quickly changing, and although we are moving this weekend into our temporary rental while we build our house ... crazy, so busy & amazing all at the same time ... I just have to post some pictures of her.  Her and I had a bit of a crazy week, and I need to take a second to record it.  

I had a feeling that Kendall was losing / not gaining weight.  I knew my milk supply wasn't where it needed to be, but she outright REFUSED formula - it was ridiculous - we had tried at least 25 times.  We figured if she was hungry enough, she'd take it.  Note that she took a bottle fine when she was much younger, but then we had to give her apple juice to help regulate her stools around 3-4 months, which looking back on this, she may have learned to associate apple juice with a bottle (yummy juice, yucky formula!).

I had no concerns other than her size - she is a very happy, mild-mannered baby who sleeps through the night.  She has had plenty of wet diapers, and seems satisfied after nursing.  But, I finally took her in to get weighed, and she had lost 10 ounces since her 4 month visit (she's now 5.5 months and weights only 12 pounds - she can't seriously be related to Andrew?)!  I felt terrible, but at the same time, for the last 1-2 months I desperately wanted her to be taking formula, but she would NOT take it.  At the office, the nurse practitioner we saw was less than helpful, plus my big kids were behaving terribly - I left the office wondering what I had just paid for.  She told me to take fenugreek and see a lactation specialist to help increase my milk supply.  I told her that I wasn't interested in that, and that I just wanted her to take formula - clearly I haven't been producing enough milk for her.  She had no good suggestions.  Thankfully, my sister-in-law, Kacie, had some good advice; she told us to flavor the formula with some banana baby food to help sweeten it up a little bit.  Golden - it worked like a charm -  my little Kendall must be a sweet tooth like her mommy!  Now I am only nursing her twice a day and she's taking a bottle for the rest of the feedings, and I even have taken out the bananas and she still takes it.  She's getting chunkier already, and I am so relieved.

p.s.  You'll notice we've been in jammies a lot this month!  And she also has her bottom two teeth in now - right on time just like the other kids.  And here's a post of Rachel when she was 5 months old HERE, and here's one of Andrew at her age HERE.  I think that Kendall definitely has her own look!

my skinny minnie sucking on her lower lip

Funny faces of my Kendall-girl, 5.5 months old

playing with her toes - her  favorite game!

Good girl, Kendall!!!!