I think we are on the right track...

Recently I wrote a post on Natalie's sleeping habits. Thank you to all of you that gave some insight or advice. Right after I wrote that post, the thought came to me that maybe Natalie wasn't sleeping well because she wasn't getting enough calories from the formula. So, started an experiment. And I think we are on the right track.

Since weaning Natalie in the beginning of November, she has not taken much formula. At first it was because she didn't know how to drink from a sippy cup or bottle (we had been working on it, but she hadn't gotten it...all she knew were the boob and her thumb). So after a few days we discovered that she would drink out of a cup, which is definitely a bit more messy and time consuming. But still she didn't take too much in, for the most part. She has since figured out both a sippy cup and a straw cup...which is great! But Natalie is a HUGE eater and still didn't take in too much liquid after consuming her meal. So, I decided to start trying to give her a "snack" of formula mid-morning and mid-afternoon. I found that often she would take in a significant amount of formula at these times, more than she would take in during the whole day! And, it seemed to increase her appetite even more at meal times (she eats more than I do most days!)

So, after a week and a half of trying this out, we seem to be on the right track. She has only had 1 45min nap during this time and it was on a day that she didn't take in too much formula during our "snack" time. Her naps have been consistently 2 - 3 1/2 hours! And she is gaining weight! She did not gain any weight from 9 to 11 months, in fact she may have even lost some. But she has definitely started putting on some weight. Tomorrow at her 12 month check up we will get all her stats and see how she is doing! But I am so thankful that we seem to have figured this out!

I can't believe that in less than 2 weeks I will have a 1 year old...Wow, how time flies!