Fischer Eiche & Larken Harold Spiering: He's Got TEETH!!!

Friday, November 14th, at about 2 pm, Fischer's teachers called me in my office and said, "Would you like to come and see your son's teeth?" I was so excited! That explains the past 2 weeks of appetite and behavior changes in our little man!

BOTH of Fischer's bottom front teeth have made it past his gums. Now we're just waiting for them to be more visible. I made several failed attempts at trying to get them on camera--he's good at clamping his lips shut! His cough's improved--I gave him what I hope is his last breathing treatment this morning. His eyes are back to being crusty--guess that's 'normal' for Fischer.

So much for getting a glimpse of Fischer's new chompers..Oh well. I'm still nursing him--I had originally planned on breast feeding until he got teeth, and then continuing to pump so he could have my milk until he started transitioning to cow's milk. But things are still going well, and I'm not ready to give it up until Fischer is...or up to one year. That's the revised plan, anyway.

He's getting rice cereal with fruit in the morning and cereal with a veggie in the evening, now. He takes his bottles pretty well at daycare, although he's definately less interested in them than he once was. When his appetite was growing, I thought we'd be going quickly from 5 oz. bottles to 6 oz., and I started taking Fenugreek--an herb to increase my milk supply. When he was little, the longer and more frequently Fischer would nurse, my body would be signaled to make more milk. Now that he's so interested in everything around him, our nursing sessions are shorter and less frequent. If he doesn't nurse long, I take out the pump and continue. This has been a pretty effective way to a) keep up our freezer stock, and b) keep me from getting frustrated and feeling too full after Fischer's had his fill.

It used to be that I'd nurse Fischer between 5:30 and 6:00am, so he'd be full for awhile before needing his first bottle at daycare. Then he'd have cereal with fruit and 3 bottles while at daycare, and I'd get in 3 pumping sessions throughout the day. Then he'd nurse at home once in the early evening and get his cereal and veggie. Finally, he'd nurse one "last" time before being put in his crib (and once or twice more throughout the night). The past week, Fischer's not been interested in his pre-daycare nursing session. I think he looks forward to his cereal feedings! I've seen this happen with other babies, too, where their interest in milk drops once they start having "real" food.

We've started giving Fischer graham crackers to explore. He gums them until they get slimey, and then they stick to his hands, face, shirt, you name it. We replace the pieces as they get too small for him. He really seems to enjoy them as a special treat. Fischer sits at the table in his tot-loc chair--we don't have room for a highchair! It works pretty slick--although until he's more steady sitting on his own, we put a towel on either side to keep him centered.