Actually, I think it’s probably a terrible idea. But I sure enjoyed making that discovery. It sure has been a week of same-name coincidences<\/a> on the internet!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [EDIT: For anyone who may not get my silly\/lame sense of humor, let me clarify that buying land just for funsies is something we have neither the money nor inclination to do.]<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Holly is doing great. She is getting better at “cruising” (using furniture to walk around), she plays peek-a-boo and LOVES it (we’ll have to get a video of it), she’s added “mamamama” to her repertoire, and she has finally agreed to take a bottle! You may recall that I did a post several months ago lamenting that she would not take a bottle and how this fact made it nearly impossible for me to leave her with Marcus for doctor appointments or other errands. Back in February I saw someone online recommend a brand called Comotomo for breastfed babies. I promptly bought one off of Amazon, tried without success to give it to Holly, and found myself writing it off as a $15 mistake. But then a month ago I decided to try again. I filled the bottle with a breastmilk\/formula combo, and then instead of holding Holly and administering the bottle to her, I placed her in a reclined position against a pillow on the couch, and then let her hold the bottle and explore it. She spent about five or ten minutes pulling at and biting the nipple, and every time a little milk came out and into her mouth, she would pull it out and frown curiously at the bottle. But then she’d promptly start biting it again. Well, after a few minutes, she started suckling on it and ended up drinking two ounces! Since then, I have given her one bottle almost every evening to keep her used to it. She typically drinks between 5 – 8 ounces. She seems to love it; she gets very excited when she sees that I am making a bottle for her. Right now she has six milk feedings a day, and five of them are still at the breast. Even so, I feel relieved and liberated knowing that if necessary, Marcus can give her a bottle if I am at a doctor’s appointment or on an errand. (Hmmm… I haven’t had my hair highlighted or professionally cut in two years. Is there a hair appointment in my future?)<\/p>\n Holly is 26.5 inches long and still weighs about 16 pounds. She had her nine-month check-up this morning, and the doctor was slightly\u00a0concerned that she hasn’t gained any weight since her last check-up. He advised that I increase her milk\/formula intake, and expose her directly to the proteins that she’s already had via my breast milk, such as dairy (yogurt) and eggs. He made the comment, however, that even though she hasn’t gained any weight that she does not look<\/em> underweight or malnourished. He noted her “belly”, “double chin”, and “popeye arms” which are hallmarks of a thriving baby. But her weight has dropped from the 42nd percentile to now the 7th. Hard to say if this is really a problem, but I will follow the doctor’s advice. Personally, I imagine that her larger measurements from earlier checkups were flukes, and that now her growth is balancing out and she’s just a small girl (big surprise!). Also, most babies are taking mostly formula by this age, and formula-fed babies tend to weigh more. So I will try not to worry about it, but still try to feed her more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We love you, our blue-eyed, popeye-armed sweetheart. Hugs and kisses forever and ever! xoxo, Mom and Dad<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shortly after Holly was born, I Googled the name “Holly Belle” to see if anyone else had used that first-name-middle-name combination for their baby. As it turned out, there is a singer named Holly Belle, but luckily she is not well known enough for people to think that I named Holly after her. Then for … <\/p>\n![\"IMG_1151\"](\"https:\/\/marcusandshona.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_1151-1024x768.jpg\")
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