Her One Weakness

Alina seems to be getting better at handling her feedings. She used to choke on spit up and give me an occasional good scare. But now after a feeding, she'll get a funny look of concentration on her face, and she'll pull all kinds of faces while she works on keeping the milk down and let the bubbles come up. She's had such a hard time learning how to burp the air out of her little belly, so we cheer her on every time we get a good bubble. I wonder how old she'll be before we stop cheering her on for such unladylike behavior?

So, now that she's keeping her bottle down, I have been noticing that our girl has one weakness. Look at what a messy eater she is! She always has a burp cloth tucked under her chin in an attempt to keep milk out of her neck and off her clothes. But sometimes the milk drips clear down to her belly in spite of our precautions. If I know we are going to see someone who might cuddle Alina, she gets a bath to wash away the smell of expired milk all over her front. So while I feed her a bottle of 4 to 5 oz each time, I have no idea how much she eats. Clearly those cheeks tell us it's plenty.

But then again--see that halo of light around her head? I guess it's a good thing our sweet girl has one weakness--because it keeps her angelic little self content in the imperfect world of our family.

(And just to prove the angelic part--see how patient she is while we snap a picture in the middle of her feeding? No protesting, just patiently waiting for the bottle to come back her way so she can please finish her meal.)