Mommy Minute: Kason’s 1 Year Update

Hey y’all!

Kason Michael is ONE! December 29 was the big day, and it came and went so fast. I realize that I am posting this update late, and that’s mainly because his 1 Year Check-Up was pushed back to February 11.

Kason weighs 23 lbs. 12 oz. (75%) and is 32 inches long (95%). He now has 8 teeth, and LOVES to use them. He doesn’t bite us, or anyone else thankfully, unless of course you put your fingers in his mouth to check his teeth. He does, however, like to bite his stuffed animals and crawl around with them in his mouth (it’s really quite funny). He’s also, slowly but surely, growing more hair!

Kason was officially off of formula after his birthday and I cannot believe how easy it was. He gradually weened himself over the course of a month (around the 11 month mark), so stopping the formula was absolutely no issue. He also quit drinking from a bottle around the 11 month mark. That was all him too. He naturally preferred to drink from a straw. The last month or so that he was on formula, he drank from his sippy cup. I realized he was ready to stop the formula because he wasn’t drinking the whole serving I was giving him. He went from having three 8 ounce bottles a day, to only two 8 ounce bottles a day (one in the morning and one before bed). Shortly after that switch he stopped drinking all 8 ounces in one sitting, so I bumped him down to two 6 ounce bottles a day. I purchased his last formula refill in December and when it was gone, I didn’t buy another. He’s now on 2% milk and has had zero issues. I started him on whole milk, but it was upsetting his stomach. When we switched to 2%, he stopped have the stomach issues. I give him a cup in the morning, a cup mid day, and a cup before bed. We had a VERY easy time switching from formula to cow’s milk, and it was all because of him. He led the way and I just followed.

He is SUCH a good eater! I can already tell this boy is going to eat me out of house and home. He will eat pretty much anything you give him, but I’ve noticed he is starting to become more selective. For breakfast he has a plain waffle, torn apart into bite sized pieces, with either cut up strawberries or bananas. For lunch he has a variety of things. His favorite thing to have is sandwiches. He eats grilled cheese or peanut butter usually, along with a side of fruit or crackers. He will sometimes have a hot dog, chicken, or whatever I’m having that day. For snack we change it up from time to time. Sometimes it’s goldfish, cheerio’s, fruit, or as of recently cinnamon applesauce. For dinner he eats whatever we are having. He’s super easy when it comes to meal times thank goodness. He also drinks a lot of juice and water throughout the day. My favorite juice to buy for him is Mott’s for Tots. He has had apple and fruit punch with no issues. The only juice I have found that does not work for him is Cran-Apple and Apple & White Grape. He liked the taste, but he pooped all day long and they were giving him diaper rash, so we had to stop those.

This little guy got so spoiled over Christmas and his birthday that we are swimming in toys. He does play with a lot of different toys, and is now to the point where he actually plays. He still, however,  prefers to play with paper, explore around the house, and play with the tv remote. His favorite stuffed animal is still his Scentsy Lion and he cannot sleep or leave the house without it. We went to the zoo for Valentine’s Day, and his Lion disappeared unfortunately. I found one on eBay thank goodness, and that should be in sometime today.

He’s currently in size 12-18 month clothes, and I’m thinking by next month he will be making the switch to 18-24 months. He is not a fan of socks and shoes. He takes them off immediately. I have learned that it’s best to not even put them on him until we have reached our destination, and that when we do put on him shoes, they need laces and we have to tie them really tight with a double knot so that he can’t get them off.

He is finally walking! He took his first step at the beginning of last week, and has been progressing more and more every day. It’s so fun to watch him and cheer him on. He gets proud of himself when he walks for a good while. He is still a bit wobbly, but his balance is getting better every day.

I hope y’all enjoyed today’s post. I can’t believe Kason is already a year old. Like everyone says, they really do grow up SO fast!

xoxo,
Casey

VLOGMAS Day 3 - Mommy Minute: Kason's 11 Month Update

Hey ya'll!

Welcome to VLOGMAS Day 3! Today is all about Kason's 11 Month Update. I cannot believe we are less than a month away from his FIRST BIRTHDAY. It blows my mind that this year has gone by so fast, it makes me miss having a brand new little baby! (Baby fever in warming up...!)

Kason experienced his first Halloween and his first Thanksgiving since the last update. He was a lion for Halloween and was so cute! But he absolutely hated his costume, especially the headpiece. We trick or treated around the neighborhood with the whole family which was a lot of fun. Thanksgiving was really nice as well. Kason got his fair share of our two Thanksgiving feast's and pigged out, both lunch and dinner, on turkey, stuffing, and mac n cheese.

Kason is still not properly crawling, he still scoots around on his butt. He got a new nick name with some of my family members on Thanksgiving, "Scooter". I'd say it's pretty fitting. He's not standing or walking yet, which is the hot ticket question right now when we see people. I think I have a little bit of a late bloomer on my hands, but that's ok, he still has plenty of time to figure out the kinks and will do it when he's ready.

He JUST cut his top two teeth yesterday. What's crazy is that they weren't there when he woke up that morning, and literally sprouted over his afternoon nap, with two little white caps breaking the skin. Yes, BOTH top teeth are ascending at the same time, which explains the Beast Mode he's been in the last few weeks. I'm so happy that he will finally be getting a little bit of relief for Christmas and his Birthday. But that relief won't last long unfortunately, because he still has a lot more teeth to grow.

Kason has been obsessed with Ariel's dog bowls. Any time he gets the chance, he makes a bee line for them and gets food and water everywhere. I have to remember that when he's roaming to put the bowls up on the counter so he doesn't get into them. He's also been having a ball screaming at the top of his lungs, at the highest pitch possible. It's 100% a game to him, and currently his favorite one. He does it when we are out to eat, grocery shopping, and when we are at home. This kid has some serious pipes. He definitely is giving Mariah Carey a run for her money with his ear splitting shrieks!

Kason only say's one thing, "Gah". I've been practicing with him on getting hime to say other consonants like "Ma", "Da", and "Ba", but all he's interested in saying right now is "Gah". It's really cute too because he will repeat you, and will say it if you ask him to. I'm hoping this next month I will be able to get a "Ma" out of him. Maybe that will be his first birthday present to me! He also learned how to clap and say "yay" this month and it is the cutest thing ever. He doesn't actually say "yay", it's more like "aaahhhhh!". He knows when it's appropriate to clap, which is even funnier. If I say "good boy!", he starts clapping. It's absolutely adorable.

Over the next few weeks, we are gearing up for Kason's very first Christmas. We are super excited and can't wait to see his awe and wonder at everything. He's going to be so fun! A few days after Christmas we will be celebrating his First Birthday, which is absolutely insane! I'm so excited for his birthday party. His birthday falls on a Monday, so we are having his party on Saturday the 27th. We decided to do something at the house with our family and friends. I really just want to be comfortable, and be surrounded by loved ones for his special day. His party theme is going to be epic! I'm so excited for you to see what theme I chose and how I'm decorating!

xoxo,
Casey

Glowing Skin, Fresh Faced Makeup Look - Mom Friendly

Hey ya'll!

One of my subscribers recently requested that I do a Mom Friendly Makeup Look and I thought it was a fantastic idea. Sometimes as Mom's, we want to look pretty and put together, but we simply don't have the time to go full on glam. This look is extremely quick, and easy to achieve. My main focus today was glowing and luminous skin, defined brows, and full lashes. These are the three most important things to me when doing my makeup everyday. I hope ya'll like it!

PRODUCTS MENTIONED: Loreal Magic Lumi Primer, Make Up For Ever HD Foundation, Maybelline Instant Age Rewind, Laura Mercier Invisible Pressed Setting Powder, Benefit Gimme Brow, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, Makeup Geek Blush in Spell Bound, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Opal, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in Zero, Covergirl Lash Blast, Dior Addict Lip Glow


xoxo,
Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's 10 Month Update

We're in the double digits ya'll!! I cannot believe my baby is 10 Months Old. Time is flying by so fast.   I feel like there's not a whole lot to update on this month, but then again there is. I think this was more of a "maturing" month for him, and his little personality has really been shining.

The biggest thing that happened this month is that he started crawling. He still doesn't crawl the "proper" way, and I really don't know if he ever will. He still scoots around using his arms and his butt, and he has gotten fast with it. We had to get a couple baby gates because he was going into every room and was all over the place. He's also started pulling up too. He doesn't pull up to standing on his feet yet, but he does pull up and stand on his knees. I've stood him up while he was holding onto his V-Tech Sit to Stand and he stood there for a good minute. Getting his footing and his balance down is the only issue. I really think he's going to be pulling up completely, and standing, in the next couple of weeks.

He's been eating a lot more table food lately, and less baby food. He still just has his bottom two teeth, but has gotten so much better with textures and flavors. He's chewing a lot more, and is getting so much better at feeding himself. I gave him a waffle for breakfast this morning (no syrup), but on  most days he still has oatmeal. Lunch has been the biggest change so far. Normally he would have one to two packets of baby food, but lately he's been having a sandwich. He's had peanut butter, grilled cheese, and turkey and cheese. I just make him half of a sandwich, minus the crust, and tear it into little pieces, and he feeds himself. For dinner I have been giving him one packet of baby food, and then he has some of what the rest of us are eating. He's had chicken, beef, pasta, veggies, etc.  I haven't notice any kind of food allergies either which is good. 

His favorite toy, or thing to do, has been his wagon. My parent have a wagon, and one day while they were babysitting they took him on his first ride and he absolutely loved it. We finally got one of our own so he's been able to ride in it more. He absolutely loves it and it's the cutest thing. He's so observant, and loves to look at everything and to people watch. Not only does he love riding in his wagon, but he loves being outside. It calms him, and makes him so happy. He also likes to go shopping. He loves riding in shopping carts, and loves seeing all the people. I can't go anywhere without him hamming it up with at least two people. 

Now that he's crawling, I can tell he's getting a little more independent. When we are at home and he gets bored or fussy, he likes to change the scenery and play in his room by himself. Normally he's in the living room with me, but lately he's been liking going to his room for 30 minutes or so and playing in there. My grandmother gave me this little three-tier shelf with colored buckets for my baby shower, so that's what I keep his toys in in his room. I set it up in his closet so when he goes to play, I prop open his closet doors and he pulls everything out. I love how I have that set up because when he's not in there playing, I put all the toys back in the buckets and shut the doors, so the toys are out of sight and his room stays clean and organized. He's also been getting a lot more vocal, but still isn't saying any words, or sounds, except for "Ga". I practice with him every day with "Ba", "Ma", and "Da" but he just laughs and says "Ga". He still is screaming, and making other noises, but isn't pronouncing anything else just yet.

I can't believe he's already 10 months old and that his first birthday is right around the corner. Where has this year gone?? It's seriously so crazy to think that almost a year ago he was born. It makes me sad to think about it, but at the same time I'm excited because he's starting to do more. It's really fun to watch him grow, and to see him have new experiences. He is full of personality already, and is very particular and strong-willed. Both Kevin and I are the same way, so we are definitely going to have our hands full with Kason!

I hope ya'll enjoyed this months update. Kason will be celebrating his first Halloween this Friday, so I will definitely have a blog post up of both him and Lexi in their costumes. We are going to hang around and go trick or treating with our families so it should be fun. I'm thinking of vlogging that evening, but I'm not 100% sure yet. Whatever I decide to do, I will definitely let you know here, and on Twitter & Instagram @caferg_xoxo. 

I hope ya'll have a great rest of the week and a Happy Halloween! 

xoxo,

Casey

September Favorites: Beauty, Books, Fashion, & Mommy Favorites

Hey ya'll!

Another month down, another Favorites post to share! I have a little bit of everything to show you today. I don't have a lot of beauty favorites this month because I've really been using a lot of the same products, especially since I wasn't being super spendy this month and buying a ton of new products. I added in a fashion favorite, my book favorite, a random "home" favorite, and my mommy favorites for the month.

Let's start with my Beauty Favorites first.

The first product is the Loreal Magic Lumi Primer. Since we are going into the colder months I wanted to find a primer that would add some radiance to my skin. I have been wanting to find a nice primer that was from the drugstore and decided to try this one. I've tried the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer before, but it was a bit too shimmery for me. The Magic Lumi is a really nice primer that adds a subtle glow to my face without making me look like a disco ball. I have used it by itself underneath my foundation, I've layered it on top of Benefit's Porefessional, and I have also mixed it into my foundation and it worked great all three ways.

My next Beauty Favorite goes along with the Magic Lumi Primer, and it is the Loreal Magic Lumi Concealer. I use this to brighten my under eye area and to highlight my face. I apply it on top of my under eye concealer, to my chin and forehead, down the bridge of my nose, and on my cupid's bow. Like the primer, this concealer add's a subtle glow that's not overpowering or super shimmery. If you are looking to add a little bit of a glow to your face, but don't want to look super dewy, I really recommend the Magic Lumi products.

The lip duo I've been obsessed with lately is the Kat Von D lipstick in Lovecraft topped with Urban Decay's Naked lipgloss in Walk of Shame. Both products look great on their own, and work wonderfully together. Lovecraft is a really pretty pinky/purpley mauve color, and it is completely matte. I was wearing it in my 90's Inspired Makeup Tutorial if you'd like to reference back to that. Walk of Shame is a really pretty, natural looking gloss with a tad bit of gold shimmer in it.

My last Beauty Favorite is my Real Techniques Sponge. I've had this for a while now but hadn't really been using it much. I did a review on it a while back, and it is most definitely a dupe for the Beauty Blender. I really like it for blending out my under eye concealer, and for blending out the Magic Lumi concealer that I use to highlight my face. It's also really great if you apply too much foundation. Just go over your face with the sponge, and it will soak up any excess foundation you may have applied.

My Fashion Favorite is my green plaid flannel. I have worn it a ton this month and really need to go pick up some more. I got this one from Macy's last fall and got it in a size bigger than I normally would. I like my button ups and flannels to be a size larger because I like the way they look when they are a bit slouchy and oversized. Flannels are great for Fall and Winter month's and can be worn on their own, or layered over a cute shirt or tank top.

My Book Favorite this month has been Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor. It's the first book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy and it is so good. If you love YA Fiction and Fantasy, then I definitely recommend checking out this series. You can read the synopsis here.

My Random Favorite has definitely been my Bath & Body Works candles. I have been burning them non-stop and have already ordered, and received, another batch. I love all of the Fall and Winter scents. They make my house smell amazing and makes it feel so warm and inviting. They normally sell for $22 per candle, but they often go on sale for 2 for $22. If you go to the Bath & Body Works website you can sign up for the emails. They always send out an email blast when they go on sale.

My Mommy Favorites this month have been this Mesh Feeder and this Munchkin Sippy Cup with a straw. Not only have I been loving these, but Kason has been loving them as well. They have made my life a little easier these past few weeks. I will talk more about them in Kason's 9 Month Update this Wednesday. If you are interested in either of these, you can find them both at Target.

That's it for this month's Favorites and I hope you guys really enjoyed it!


xoxo,
Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's 8 Month Update

Kason is 8 MONTHS OLD today!! I can't believe how big he's getting and how much he has changed in these 8 short months. Pretty soon I'm going to be planning his first birthday party, it makes me a little sad just thinking about it because time is flying by. I'm going to update ya'll on what he's been loving this month, changes and milestones, and giving an update on the issues we were having earlier this month regarding bottle feeding.

Kason has been playing a lot more this past month. Instead of spending a lot of time in his bouncer, he's really enjoyed sitting on the floor surrounded by toys. He can sit there for long periods of time, go from toy to toy, and be perfectly content. His favorite toys this month have been a set of Infantino Stackable Rings, the Go GaGa Squeeze & Teethe Elephant from Target, and the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Love to Play Puppy. I will set him in the floor and he will rotate each toy, play with them, lick them, and throw them. Throwing things has been really fun for him lately, especially with the rings. The rings are the first thing he goes for. He grabs the base of the stacker and dumps it upside down so that all the rings fall off. He then proceeds to play with just the stacker by turning it over and beating it like a drum. As for the rings themselves, he likes to pick them up and wave them around before he launches them all over the place. The teething elephant has been so wonderful for him. It doesn't have a good squeaker like Sophie the Giraffe, but it's so much better for teething and chewing. The ears of the elephant are what he likes to chew on. He likes to bite down on the ears and tugs on them to rub him gums. It's also super lightweight so it's easy for him to hold. I got him the Laugh and Play puppy at the beginning of the month because I noticed he was starting to play a lot more. He loves it! There's a ton of different buttons and places to press to make the puppy sing, talk, and light up. The buttons are extremely sensitive, so all he has to do is touch it and it starts making noise.

I got Kason a new carseat this month because he had outgrown his carrier. I went with the Graco MyRide 65 Convertible Carseat, purchased from Target. It's rear facing and forward facing, with a minimum weight of 5 lbs and a max of 65. That's one of my favorite things about this seat, you can use it from the time your baby is born all the way through their toddler years. It's also all in one piece, so when it's time to turn it forward all I have to do is unbuckle it and turn it around.  The first time I put Kason in it, he got so excited. I would look in my rear view mirror into his mirror, and he was waving his arms around, kicking, and smiling the entire car ride. It was like he was saying "Oh my gosh! Look at all this room I have now! This is so awesome!". It was so cute and made me really happy to see him so happy. It was kind of bittersweet for me when I was picking his carseat out. It's been so fun lately now that he's getting a little older and is able to do more and play more, but at the same time I'm sad that he's no longer a little tiny baby.

Kason finally got his first tooth!! And it's the cutest little tooth I have ever seen. It came in really fast too. I saw that his gums had a tiny little slit in them, and the next day there was the tiniest little white tooth poking through. As soon as the tooth broke the skin, it's been sprouting more and more every day. It's really visible now, and can be seen when he smiles or laughs. Tooth number two is coming in as we speak. I figured since he hadn't cut them yet that they most likely would come back to back. I saw the white cap right under the skin last Sunday, and his gums now have the little slit in them so that tooth is going to pop up in the next few days I'm sure. He's been handling it really well. He's had his fussy moments and his tantrums, but they are sporadic and don't happen all the time. What I've noticed is that he was mostly irritable for about two weeks before that tooth came in. We went to dinner for my sister's birthday, and normally Kason handles being in restaurants really well. However, this time was an exception. He had a complete and total mental breakdown as soon as we got there, and it was off and on during the whole dinner. I was so embarrassed and irritated, especially when he completely changed his tune as soon as we got back in the car to leave.

After that meltdown, I started having problems with him drinking his bottles. I wrote an entire post about it, if you haven't checked it out you can click here to read about it. Well, I finally figured out why he was doing that. It was because of his tooth! Every baby handles teething differently, and apparently when mine is about to cut a tooth, his bottles go out the window. The day his tooth cut he started taking his bottles again no problem. We went about two weeks with him not taking his bottle, and about two weeks of him taking them before he started refusing them again. When this started back up, I looked in his mouth and noticed the second tooth coming in. The only thing I can figure about why he does this, is that his bottom jaw must be really sore from the new teeth that it makes it really uncomfortable for him to suck. I'm already on the highest level nipple, and if I cut the holes to make them bigger the milk will just pour out, so I can't do that. The only thing I can do is give him smaller, more frequent bottles when he's cutting his teeth, and keep the Orajel and Infant Tylenol on hand. I've found that the smaller bottles work really well when he's sore, because he gets enough to satisfy him for a couple hours, plus he's not sucking for as long of a time which makes him less sore. The Orajel offers him instant relief, and I give him the Tylenol when all else fails. After the Tylenol, he's much more comfortable within 20 minutes. Another thing that's been helping him through the teething process has been more naps. He's been taking a lot more lately, and has been falling asleep within a couple minutes of laying down. Still not a whole lot of luck in the sippy cup department. I bought a couple different types of cups and he's still kind of confused. Surprisingly he's done the best with the Nuby cup. After his tooth cut he figured out how to get the liquid out of the mouthpiece. I've been putting a little bit of apple juice mixed with equal parts water and letting him practice with that.

Something new that I've started doing with him this month is reading to him. I love to read myself, and it's something that I want to raise him to do as well. He has been enjoying our reading time and so have I. We sit on the floor of his bedroom and I sit him in my lap so that he can see the pages as I'm reading. He tries to hold the books, and likes to touch the pages. He will scratch on the pages to hear the sound it makes, and to see what the texture is. He really enjoys all the bright colors and pictures in the books, and likes to reach out and bang his hands on them. Reading is a big part of me, and is one of my favorite things to do. I remember learning to read at a young age, and how much I loved it and still do. I wanted to start something that he and I could enjoy doing together, and to give him a memory that he will always remember.

That's all for this months update! Let me know in the comments below what toys your baby loves, and what activities you like to do together.


xoxo,
Casey

#OOTD & Back To School Shopping

It's that time again! School starts in a week and like usual I put off shopping until the last minute. Lexi is super excited for school this year. She's going into the 6th grade, her first year of Middle School. I can't believe it! Time seriously is flying by. I'm really excited for her. New school, new classes, new friends, new beginnings, and new memories to be made! She's really excited, and I think a little nervous too. We've talked about it for a while now, what it would be like as a Middle Schooler. We registered her, picked up her PE uniform, and her class schedule. I think it really started to sink in when she had that schedule in her hands. She's going to have a busy year, she's in all AP classes! Kevin and I are so proud of her for getting into those classes. She's in choir this year, but she's starting to wish she would have chosen Theater Arts. I told her to stick it out for the first semester, and if she still wants to switch at Christmas then we will talk to her councelor about changing over. She's definitely not excited about PE. She's not a fan of the uniform, or the idea of having to change in front of strangers. I told her not to worry, that PE uniforms are never cute, but that everyone will wear them so all the girls will be in the same boat. One thing she was looking forward to this year was having a locker. We were both so bummed when we found out her school doesn't utilize their lockers. Also, they aren't allowed to carry regular backpacks. Only the string cinch packs are allowed. Thankfully we found a really cute denim one with white polka dots for her to carry.

We are almost done with her school shopping so she's almost ready to go. She found clothes at Abercrombie, Kohl's, Dillards, and Target so far. We also are almost done with her school supplies. The only thing we need to get for that is plain manilla paper, which apparently is a hot commodity because we can't find it anywhere. We are going to go back out tomorrow to get a couple more shirts and she will be good to go. She picked out all her own clothes. When we got home we went through everything and she pretty much picked out all three-quarter length sleeved shirts. But really, that's all that we could mostly find that she actually liked. Tomorrow our mission is to find more short sleeved shirts. She's allowed to wear flip flops this year which she's really happy about, because that's mostly what her shoe collection consists of. She went through a growth spurt this summer and is a size bigger in everything. We went through her closet today and over half of it were clothes and shoes that were too small. Her closet is pretty bare now, so we are going to have to get her more clothes than I anticipated. I don't really mind though, because she only goes on these huge shopping sprees twice a year, once before school and once again in the winter time. I pick her up a shirt or a pair of shoes here and there through out the year, but nothing like what she gets for back to school.

Now onto our outfits of the day. This has been Lexi's signature summer look. Cute tank, cutoff shorts, and a pair of flip flops. She got that mint purse from Forever 21 for Christmas and takes it everywhere we go. She keeps her 3DS and games in it, along with her iPod and allowance money. Her go-to hair style lately has been a bun with a bow. She's starting to try and fix her own hair, and this is what she does to it every day. It's easy, and it keeps her cool with her hair out of her face.

Kason rocked one of his new shirts today from the baby clothing haul I posted a couple weeks ago. This shirt is from Macy's and it's just too cute. His dark gray cargo shorts and from Old Navy. Old Navy is my go to place for his shorts. The baby section there is very small, but the shorts are really affordable and they hold up good in the wash. He rocked his checkered Vans today. This is his second pair, the first pair he's already grown out of. I love these shoes but they are such a pain to put on.

I went with a simple tank from H&M, denim cutoffs from Pretty Little Things, and flip flops from Old Navy. These shorts are so comfortable. They are stretchy and don't ride up. My purse is the Selma Top Zip Satchel from Michael Kors. I got it last year and am still so in love with it. The color is perfect, and I like how sturdy and structured it is. It came with a long strap that clips on so I can carry it on my shoulder or cross body, but I prefer to carry it this way. I normally carry my Rebecca Minkoff MAC when I'm taking Kason out, but since he was in the stroller all day I was able to bring this one and put it in the bottom of the stroller.

I hope you enjoyed today's post. If you have any requests for posts you'd like to see, leave them in the comments below!


xoxo,
Casey

Mommy Minute: Where Did My "Easy Eater" Go?

Hey ya'll!!

Well well well..... Kason sure has been putting me through the ringer these last two weeks. He has been going through some major changes! From his attitude and temperament, to his eating habits, he has been throwing me for a loop and keeping me on my toes. For the most part, these first seven months have been pretty steady, and we've been able to work around changes in feedings and being on a regular daily schedule pretty easily. All that changed about a week and a half-two weeks ago.

Kason has always been a great eater. He's never given me too trouble with feedings and I've always known what he's wanted and how much he's wanted. We've always had a really great, natural feeding schedule going on. I've never forced him to be on any type of schedule, and I've never been strict about sticking to one either. I have always let him lead the way and let me know what he liked and what he didn't like. Once we would get our schedule down, he'd be a creature of habit. If I didn't have his food ready at the same time every day, he had no problems letting me know I was late to the party. He also would eat and drink absolutely everything I'd give him. For some reason, he now has completely flipped the switch and my "Easy Eater" has become extremely difficult and hard to figure out.

He eats his solids no problem at all, but his bottle is a totally different story. He has been fighting his bottles like crazy! The first thing I thought was "Maybe his formula isn't working for him anymore?". When he was diagnosed with Reflux, I switched him to AR and it worked really great. He has been off his Reflux medicine and hasn't had any symptoms in over a month, so I was thinking that maybe the AR was just too heavy for him now. I went ahead and started switching him back to the formula he was previously on. I didn't do an immediate switch and I still haven't. I've been slowly transitioning and he is getting half AR and half Gentlease. When that didn't help, I thought about the bottle nipples. Since the AR is so thick, I had to cut the nipple holes in all my Level 1 and 2 nipples so that the formula would come out, and for months that has worked just fine. I decided to go buy all new Level 3 nipples hoping that was the issue. Nope, still didn't help. Next thing I thought of was "Maybe he's ready for a sippy cup?". I browsed through all the different sippy cups and decided on one by Nuby. It is a no-spill sippy with two handles and a silicone mouth piece. I gave it to him with just a few ounces of water in it, just to see what he would do and if he could get the hang of it. He is more interested in "waving it in the are like he just don't care" and throwing it, than drinking from it. I've been trying to get him to use it for a week now with zero luck. After that I decided I was not going to try and force him to drink a bottle, that I would just try giving it to him and if he refused I would try again in 30 minutes. Literally I have had zero luck with anything I have tried. Sometimes he will take it, sometimes he will drink two ounces and be done with it, and sometimes he will just scream.

I've checked his mouth to make sure he didn't have Thrush or any kind of sore that may be getting irritated by the formula. He still doesn't have any teeth, and his gums aren't swollen or anything, so I've kind of ruled out anything that has to do with being sore from teething. It also can't be an issue with his throat because he eats his solids just fine. I finally decided to call his doctor's office to see if they had any tips or tricks for me. The first thing the nurse asked me was "Well why won't he take his bottle?" I briefly paused and the first thing I wanted to say was "I don't know? Do you want to ask him?" Come on girl! What kind of question is that?! Anyways, I told her everything I had tried and asked if she had any suggestions. I'm sure this is just some sort of weird faze, but when he's going from drinking three 8 ounce bottles a day, to only taking 15 ounces or less a day, and screams bloody murder the minute a bottle comes close to his mouth, I start to get a little worried. She asked about his wet diapers, which he has had plenty of, and she asked if he was eating his solids. She said not to worry about "daily requirements" pertaining to formula ounces as long as he's still having plenty of wet diapers throughout the day. She also told me to try to get him to drink out of a sippy cup, and that I may have to try a few different kinds before I find one that works for him. I've tried working with him on drinking from a straw, but all he does is lick it, so we definitely need more practice in that department. My only other options are ones with the plastic mouth piece, and different shapes and sized mouth piece's. I'm going to go a grab a few different types of sippy's, and keeping my fingers crossed that I find one he likes and will actually drink from. I'm also hoping that this is just some weird faze that he will quickly grow out of, and that there's not a serious underlying issue. I will keep update ya'll on this bottle fiasco on his 8 Month Update.

Did any of your babies ever go through any weird "feeding" stages, or refuse their bottles at all? What kinds of methods did you try? Let me know in the comments below! I'm currently stumped and will basically try anything to get his crazy little butt to drink his formula.


xoxo,
Casey