Toothy Grin
Enid cut her third tooth last night (left top incisor) and her fourth is clearing on it's way. I don't know if I'm ready for the teeth grinding phase yet. Apparently, her little buddy, Maxine went through that phase when she got her opposing teeth.

Progressive Weaning
I am currently trying to wean Enid. It's a very emotional time I think for both of us. I've decided to wean her though because I would like my body back for a time before number two. I would really like to be free to run again. I have the jogging stroller all rip, roaring and ready to go!! Unfortunately, I am prone to mastitus and vigorous exercise is one of my triggers. I'm also still mostly on my pregnancy diet (eating less, but similar). I would really like to indulge in an alcoholic beverage without the guilt that currently comes along with it. And I long for the day that I won't need the accoutrements that have taken up residence in the nightstand. Oh, and to be able to go to bed when I'm tired without having to spend ten to fifteen extra minutes attached to a pump. I end up procastinating pumping when it's cold and then I'm only going to bed later and later.
I am going to miss the feeling of closeness that comes with breastfeeding. She has become so independent with the bottle that is really not the same. With the bottle, I'm only there to assist her (in her eyes anyway....I actually am bearing most of the weight), but with nursing we are sharing the experience. There isn't anyone that can replace me in that way. She's so serene when she's getting her drink. She will still often relax right into a nap on the tail end of a nursing session. You've got to love those naps (they are so rare in this house!!).
Enid definitely prefers breastmilk over formula though. She will drain a bottle of breastmilk or a boob, whereas she will sip on the formula like I'm giving her pickle juice! Luckily, she only has a few more months until we can introduce milk. I'll bet she will enjoy drinking that almost as much as her father will enjoy having something other than Silk milk in the fridge!!

Baby Houdini
No, I'm not talking about a new Baby Einstein video. I'm talking about Enid's little attempt to escape her crib yesterday after her nap! When I didn't get into her room to get her after her first call, she pulled herself up on the side of her crib. She was so proud of herself. Her eyes were shining and her grin was beaming! John had to come home early to lower the crib because I didn't want anything scary happening on our night out. Sneaky little girl! Yesterday was such a big day in her life. She started crawling and pulling up efficiently all in one day!

Knit-Wit
Tonight is a TV night (new LOST and invasionepisodes) so I am hoping to get some knitting done. I have been working on a 9-12mo baby sweater for Enid from The Baby Knits Book. I just have to knit the sleeves and sew the pieces together. It should be pretty cute. It's just a simple raglan sweater, but the interesting thing about it is that it's made solely using stockinette stitch. The collar and sleeves will have rolled edges since there's no border on the stockinette stitch. I think this will be the last sweater I'm going to make for her this season. I need to finish my afghan and start some projects for myself. I have a few gift items that I need to start on as well. Time to stop the talk and knit the knit.

Camouflage Cheese

Well, I decided to break down and introduce a new food today to Enid. She seems to be feeling better and the length of time between new foods is getting ridiculous. We tried cottage cheese today, which didn't go over as well as I expected it would. We tried it as a finger food, which she merely threw on the floor for the pups. I grinded it up and spoon fed it to her and you would have thought I was trying to poison her. She started fake gagging (I can tell the difference now after the "pea episodes"). Finally, I mixed it with plums and she ate, only while giving me a very knowing look "You aren't fooling me, mama. I know they're in here, but I'll eat them anyway." At least today's brekkie was a success in that she ate her dairy and fruit allotments. I'm becoming a professional at getting her to eat things she doesn't like.

It's official. Enid started crawling today. She crawls like a little inchworm, very accordian-esque movements. It took me a while today to find something that would motivate her to get her locomotion kick-started. The Sassy bug jar came in very handy. I emptied the little bugs onto the floor and spaced them a couple of feet apart. The lightning bug was the furthest away since he's the favorite. As soon as she was able to grab the bee, she was so elated that she continued on to the next bug, and the next, until she got the ultimate prize...Mr. Lightbulb!

Grrr....

I'm getting very frustrated with the name-picking for grandmothers. Originally, there was a Meemaw, a Granny, and a Gigi (all fine), but now John's mother wants to be called "Maw" instead of Granny. I probably shouldn't have a problem with it, but I want to be called "Mama" (or "Ma" when she wants to shorten it) and I feel it's too similar. I'm sorry, but it's my personal opinion that there should be certain terms reserved only for mothers and that falls into that category. I'm NOT pleased at all. I completely feel like she's stepping on my toes. If we didn't have such a tumultuous relationship to start with, I would definitely say something. I just feel I'm always walking on broken glass with her (and with John when it comes to her since he's so protective of her). She has a knack for doing things that I completely find inappropriate and offensive, so I guess I should have seen it coming. Well, I think I might have to do some elusive work and train Enid to call her something different. *cackles* My darker side is starting to become more apparent daily.

Little buggy is really making progress on her crawling. She can even move forward about a foot when she is in the crawlling position. It's funny I have noticed over the past couple weeks that she practices crawling even in her sleep! Enid is a back sleeper. She has been for 8 months, but the last 2 weeks she has been experimenting with other positions (it might actually be due to the cold...maybe side and tummy sleeping help her breathe better). I went in to check on her the other night before bed, and she had her legs tucked underneath her and her little bum was sticking up in the air!! Take about a funny site!

We had a great day today. Her midmorning nap nice and lengthy, which hasn't happened in a while. It was very refreshing....to both of us! I have a feeling the decongestant that I was prescribed was making her jittery on top of her own cold medicine. I stopped taking it today and -surprise, surprise- she went down for a nap. I don't think doctors really think about what they are prescribing you....or care for that matter. I mean, okay, so technically the decongestant is safe for me to take while nursing, but obviously if it's going to make her feel like she's taking trucker's speed after she's eaten it's not good for her. They need to clarify when they give you the meds that it will make you feel better, but your baby isn't going to get the sleep she needs to get over the cold. Healthcare is on a decline these days that's for sure. The doctor's foot is out the door before she even lays eyes on you. If only my OBs could see me for mundane stuff like colds....

I can hardly wait until Enid is feeling better. I have been holding off on introductions until she gets better. It's been almost a month since her last new food. I didn't want to introduce anything over the holidays since we were traveling, then we brought home this illness *merry christmas to us*. I really want to get her eating more finger foods. She isn't very keen on anything but crackers, Cheerios, and fruit puffs at the moment. I don't think she likes the feel of fruit on her fingers because they're wet and sticky, so she generally passes on them even though she likes the taste. I have been thinking about coating them with wheat germ or rice flour, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

So our whole family is still dealing with the remnants of our cold that we caught over the holidays. Enid is at least sleeping through the nights again, although I can hear coughs emanating from the monitor intermittently through the night. This is Enid's first cold and I don't think we were truly prepared adequately for the sleepless nights. Hopefully, we won't experience another one until we are fully caught up on our sleep.

Enid started feeding Shiloh her unwanted Cheerios from the table during her cold. She had problems eating finger foods with her stuffy nose so I guess she might as well make her food useful. Shiloh has thoroughly enjoyed it and was very disappointed today when she ate most of her fruit puffs. It's funny to see her lean over her booster seat to watch the Cheerios fall on the floor and dog scurry to eat them up.