Amber Necklace

At the last December babies get-together, I noticed one of the babies was wearing a necklace. When I asked her mom about it, she told me it was an amber necklace to help alleviate teething symptoms. I had never heard of this in my life and was fascinated. She said her baby was at a point where she couldn't even take the necklace off because she would notice symptoms right away. Since then, I've talked to a few other moms who have used the necklace on their babies. The believers outnumbered the skeptics, so I decided to get one for Gemma.

So today we drove out to Babes in Arms in Calgary (I'll probably never go back there again just because the parking was absolutely horrible!) and spent $25 on a cute little amber necklace for Gemma. Surprisingly she didn't fuss about it being around her neck. Whether it works or not, I guess only time will tell. Although she didn't have too hard of a time with her bottom teeth, I figure if it can or does help her at all, it would be worth the $$... and if it doesn't work? well it still looks pretty darn cute on her.

No-Soother Update

So it has now been 10 days since we said (rather, I said) bye-bye to the soothers. By the end of the week, it got really difficult. The naps were getting worse and even her night sleep was affected a couple of nights. I could see her fatigue was catching up to her during the day in her play and I felt so horrible for making her like that. I also struggled with guilt about taking away something she found so comforting... I considered letting her have a soother for her naps, but in the end I decided not to because I wanted to be firm - guilty or not guilty...

The weekend came and things started to look up. I could calm her a lot more easily before sleep and she would cuddle with me as long as I was wearing my robe (she is really attached to one of my bathrobes). And I found that putting her right back to sleep at 6 AM instead of letting her wake up for the day at that point really helped. 

Last night was great. I put her down at 7 and she didn't make a single peep until 6:30 AM. This is the longest she has ever gone I think, 11.5 hours. She was actually only awake for an hour before she was tired and wanted to go back to sleep.

So I think things are looking up now. I think she is either forgetting her soother days or accepting the fact that she isn't going to get one. I notice she is gnawing on her fingers a lot more than before, but as long as she isn't sucking her thumb, I can live with that. Cross your fingers for me that things continue to get better!

Swimming!

I finally got my butt in gear and took Gemma to the pool. I was kinda scared because she isn't a fan of the sound of water or the big tub (guess i didn't take it slow enough). Well we got there and she did fine in the change room until some girls wanted to come and say hi to her... For some reason, Gemma particularly doesn't like kids. That really sucks because she has so many cousins under the age of 9. Anyways, she wasn't sure about the pool at first and whined, but she watched Olivia just go nuts and eventually warmed up to it. By the time we left, Gemma was splashing herself, kicking as if she was actually swimming, and really loving it. She would make this really funny face if the back of her head touched the water when I tried to lay her down.

The showers are unfortunately very hot and that made it challenging, especially when she doesn't like showers in the first place. I just washed her off as quickly as I could and then dressed her in a sleeper - because i heard from many moms that swimming just tires their babies right out. As soon as I got home, I put her down and after like 2 small wails, she is now quiet. Hopefully she will sleep for a bit. If this gets her to sleep, I may take her swimming everyday!

But seriously, I really enjoyed this time with her and will try to go more often. It would be nice if Jesse had a day off so we could go together.

Gemma forgot...

...how to nap. 

My once phenomenal put-down-to-sleep-awake-and-will-sleep-2-hours-easy baby seems to have gone elsewhere. While she has become an even better night sleeper (without waking once and sleeping 10 hours or longer), she seems to have lost her ability to nap. Poor, poor baby is so incredibly tired and I can see it affecting her now. It has been 2 days in a row where she has not slept more than 1 hour in TOTAL in naps, including the first morning nap. Her eyes are glossy, she is whiney, cranky, and constantly rubbing her eyes and pulling at her hair. When I hold her, she is busy burying her face into my chest and shoulders.

Seeing her so incredibly tired is making me wish I could give her a soother for naps. Unfortunately I threw them all out (because I knew I would be tempted) and have nothing to give her. I have tried to give her another lovey, but she won't take it. I even went for a drive today to see if she could sleep in the car a little - anything to get her to sleep...it didn't work.

I know it will take some time before she gets used to this new routine, but it sure is hard.

Baby & Me

Today was the last B&M of this cycle - it's like a school year, running from Sept to June. I have to say I am sorry I didn't start going to it sooner than I did. I was so afraid of going out and being judged by others, but I am so glad that I was able to muster up the courage to go. I have gone pretty well every week since I started when Gemma was 3.5 months old. And I guess Gemma feels comfortable with everybody there too because it's the only place where she doesn't make strange. She lets other moms hold her and will now get in there and play with the toys and interact with other babies. Truly all the moms I have met there are awesome - i don't have anything negative to say about any of them and they have never made me feel judged or unwelcome. They are still going to hold 4 classes throughout July and August and I hope I can fiddle around with my schedule to keep going once I start work again.

Now what will I do on Tuesdays?

Sootherless Day/Night #3

When we woke up on Sunday morning, we felt encouraged that this was working. She slept 2 nights in a row very well without her soother and her mood was overall good. Sunday was also Father's Day and we had plans for brunch at 11. 

Normally, because she woke up around 6:30, she would be back down by 8 and sleeping until 10ish. I must have missed her sleep cues because she was still awake by the time we left at 10:15 and, according to my mom, only slept half an hour while we were gone. I put her down once we got back and again she only slept half an hour. So I let her cry - 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes. After that, I just brought her out of her crib and let her stay awake. So she napped a total of 1 hour yesterday - but she never looked that tired. She just wanted to play ALL day.

We put her down for the night at 7:30 and she cried out an hour later. I just went in and stroked her hair and she seemed to fall back asleep. Then again maybe 20 minutes after that, but she put herself back to sleep. Then I didn't hear from her until this morning, although earlier than usual, at just before 6 AM.

It's 7:30 right now and I've just put her down. She is crying on and off (and at this moment, it's off), but I'm hoping she can sleep and get back into routine.

I must admit that I am feeling frustrated today. I think back to just last week when I could pop her soother in her mouth and she would nap over 2 hours with EASE and I wonder, what have I done? I am just trying to tell myself that this is better for her in the long-term...but it sure is tempting to rummage through the garbage to find those soothers...LOL

Sootherless Day/Night #2

Day #2 was Saturday, the day she got really sick. But once she got some sleep, she was pretty well back to her old self and by evening, it was as though nothing happened that day. I know that it may seem kinda heartless to take away her soother while she was sick, but I had already begun the process and felt I should just continue. If she was sick BEFORE i actually took the soother away, then I would have postponed it until later.

Saturday night, she went to bed a little later, I think closer to 8:30. She again slept until 6:30 without a peep. 

So the nighttime sleep is looking alright. Naps, however, I noticed are definitely shorter. Even when she was exhausted from vomiting and could barely keep her eyes open, she didn't quite make it to 2 hours.

A Helpless Moment

Today is Saturday and we had plans to go to Blessings to pick up some Veggietales CDs for Gemma. Unfortunately, the closest Christian bookstore to us is nearly an hour away. Anyways, Gemma woke up from her morning nap, ate a breakfast of cereal and egg yolk (which she has had before and had no issues with) and nursed about 20 minutes after she ate. We got ready to go and my mom was holding her when Gemma spat up - a little on herself, but mostly on mom and her new Coach purse... Mom went and changed and I put Gemma in her car seat. She spat up again... We had just driven out of the neighborhood and down the road when she spat up some more. At this point, we were getting concerned because the amount was increasing each time. The road we were going to take was closed due to a parade today, so we had to turn around and detour around town to get where we were going. Gemma quickly fell asleep and we thought she was feeling a bit better. 

Then she threw up all over herself. I'd say there was about a cup or more of throwup. We pulled into a park and got her out and while Jesse was holding her, she was heaving and continuing to throw up. There was so much liquid. There was a huge pool of it in her car seat. Of course we just came straight home. I took her upstairs to bathe her and change her when she threw up even more. Poor baby was just exhausted from all the vomiting and she could hardly keep her eyes open. I quickly washed her and put her in a new sleeper, and held her for a bit. She was so tired and could barely lift her head. I swaddled her and as soon as I did, she was out like a light. I hovered over her for a few minutes to make sure she was okay and left the room door open. We all took turns checking on her every 5 minutes. She slept for almost 2 hours and woke up mostly like her old self, but tired.

This is the first time Gemma has ever been sick. I have never felt so helpless in my life, watching her be so sick with nothing that I could do... I think it must be the worst feeling in the world...

Sootherless Day & Night #1

Okay. So Gemma was napping (with her soother) when I wrote my last post. Once she woke up, we went to Wal-Mart. Usually I give her the soother in the car to keep her from crying (though it doesn't always work). Well, she didn't have one and she did fine. Even at Wal-Mart, she sat in the shopping cart, curiously looking around and trying to snatch my shopping list from my hands. On the way home, she did good too. 

So when the time came for her nap, I put her in her sleep sack and tried to do the usual ritual (sleep sack, cuddle, some kisses, and down on the crib). She didn't want to be cuddled AT ALL. She just kept crying and squirming. She soon began screaming. So whatever, I put her down anyway. I stroked her hair for a few seconds and left. Screaming, screaming, and screaming. Three minutes later I went in and stroked her hair again. Screaming continued. Five minutes after that, I went in and stroked her hair. Screaming continued. Ten minutes after that, I went in and stroked her hair. She turned her head to the side and became quiet. When I turned my back to leave, she started to cry. So I turned back and looked at her and she had her eyes wide open, batting at her ocean aquarium. I turned the music on, but left the light and bubbles off. She squealed and looked at the aquarium. I left, thinking "whatever, she can play if that's what she wants to do". After she was quiet for about 20 minutes, I went in to check and she was passed out. She slept and hour and a half. Woohoo!

At her next nap, I just turned on the aquarium and left. She made a few wails, but then just stopped and slept. When Jesse got home, Reggie barked and so she woke up, but I didn't go in. She was quickly quiet again and went back to sleep. Another hour and a half.

Bedtime came and I was nervous. I planned to go to sleep as soon as she did so I could catch some extra Z's if this was gonna be a hard night. At about 7:30, I put her down. She screamed for about 5 minutes or so and when I went and stroked her hair, she turned her head to the side and went to sleep. She woke up this morning at 6:30 and I didn't hear a peep out of her until then. I kept on waking up though and looking at the clock, being amazed each time that she hadn't woken up.

So day & night #1 was a success!

Bye Bye Soother!

First of all, we had a terrific night last night. I know this sounds odd with us trying to take the soother away and all, but two nurses had told me what they did for their children when it came to them crying out for soothers in the middle of the night: they put five or six of them in the crib so one was always within reach for the baby. 

Well, just for the heck of it, we tried it last night. We didn't hear a peep from her from 8 PM until 6:30 AM. Not a single peep. 

It's lovely and all, but I think our decision is still to take it away. Last night was just an experiment. 

So apparently 3 days is the rule when training babies. It takes 3 days to sleep train, 3 days to potty train, etc. Today conveniently happens to be Friday, which means it's the perfect day to start this as we will probably lose a lot of sleep in the next 3 days. This is what we're gonna do: take the soother away cold turkey. 

Six months is a perfect time to take it away as they no longer NEED to suck and are not as strongly attached as they could be at a year old or so. I think Gemma is already quite attached to it, so it might prove to be more difficult, but I think (and hope!) that we can pull this off. Luckily she gave us a great night's sleep last night to start this feeling refreshed.

I shall keep you posted. If not, it's because she isn't sleeping at all and I don't have the time to be on here blogging anymore. Again, wish us luck!

Sleep Class

1. Times like these, I am thankful for this town and all its helpful (and free!) resources. 

2. I went into it thinking I won't learn anything new... just wanted to tell myself I was doing it all right. Boy, was I wrong.

3. There will be some challenging and sleepless nights coming up...LOL.

This class was offered before, but I didn't go because I didn't think I needed to. Gemma was a terrific sleeper from the beginning, though we did have some issues with napping when she was 5-7 weeks old. Once I got her into a routine, however, she began napping and sleeping very well. I can put her down drowsy and she falls asleep on her own. If she wakes at night, we only need to put her soother back in and she goes right back to sleep. She doesn't eat during the night and she doesn't fuss or wake up wanting to play (except for last night, lol).

I was mainly curious on how to get her to stop rolling over and how to take away her soother.

HOW TO GET HER TO STOP ROLLING OVER:

Well, apparently she can roll over if she wants. I get frustrated because for some reason she has forgotten how to roll from her belly on to her back and she cries out. Either Jesse or I go in there and turn her over on to her back. Kim's (the instructor) advice: STOP ROLLING HER BACK. Help her practice during the day rolling over front to back again. Even if she cries at night because she can't get back on her back, let her figure it out. don't turn her over. (of course, make sure she is safe and not stuck in some weird way or something)

HOW TO TAKE AWAY THE SOOTHER:

Babies have sleep associations that help them sleep: a lovey, a soother, a rocking motion or bounce, a lullaby, white noise, a repetitive sound, etc. Gemma is addicted to her soother for sleep. When we are at home, that is the only time she gets her soother and so she associates her soother to sleep. I don't need to rock her, I don't need to sing to her, I don't need to hush her. All I do is put her into her sleep sack, hold her in a "cradle" position, and put her soother in. Then I give her a quick kiss on the forehead and put her down. She is off to la-la-land. Easy Peasy.

Until she wakes up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep because the soother is no longer in her mouth. Weirdly enough, she spits it out when she wants to actually sleep. She just seems to need it to help her get there. So she will whine or cry out and Jesse goes and puts her soother back in. She then turns her head to the side and back off to la-la-land.

Most nights this is only once or twice at most. But there are some nights when she cries out four or five times. So you can imagine poor Jesse can't get a good night's sleep when he has to constantly go in there (I don't get up during the night because Gemma will not go right back to sleep if she sees me).

Kim's advice was to change her sleep association from the soother to something else - something that Gemma can do herself. Gemma likes having her hair stroked, so I am gonna try to teach her to stroke her own head to help her fall asleep. This isn't going to be easy as I think she needs something to SUCK, but I don't think I can get her to suck her hand without her isolating her thumb somehow. 

------------------

So what is the big deal with getting up a couple times a night to stick her soother back in? Well actually Jesse doesn't mind at all (or so he says), but I have a feeling it will be easier to take it away now at 6 months rather than at a year. 

Anyways, wish us luck. 

Here are some other interesting tidbits of information:

• The first morning nap is crucial for brain development. The afternoon nap is essential for rest and rejuvenation, stress relief.
• Nighttime sleep does not make up for lost naps. Babies NEED to nap.
• Babies 6 months old (and under) should only be awake for 1.5 hours to 2 hours at a time. 
• A baby's sleep cycle is 20 minutes long, while an adult's is 90. 
• A baby falls asleep in REM, an adult falls asleep in non-REM, which is why babies awake so easily soon after they've fallen asleep.
• A new developmental milestone is one of the causes of sleep disruption, as well as growth spurt, teething, travel, illness. These developmental milestones include making strange.

where is my sleeping beauty?

That was the worst night since Gemma was born. She went down for the night at about 8, her usual time, without giving me any grief. Then at 1 AM, she woke up and when Jesse went to put her soother in her mouth, she kept on crying and crying instead of going back right to sleep. So then I went in, stroked her hair a bit, and she quietened down. But when I tried to leave, she started crying again. After a few more rounds of hair stroking and trying to leave, I picked her up and changed her diaper, which felt very full. We had put on Pampers Cruisers on her before bed because we thought we had run out of Swaddlers and I wondered if that was bothering her. After changing her diaper, she quietened down and went back to bed. 

An hour later, she woke up crying again. This time when I went in, she was fully awake and when she saw me, she just wanted to play. I told her it was time to sleep, not play, and left the room. She cried and cried and cried and several times I went in to put her soother back in her mouth. Well after what seemed like forever (though probably only 30 minutes), she quietened down. Another hour later, same thing. I let her cry and went in after awhile to put her soother in.

I didn't think about it at first, but in retrospect I think she was hungry. She hadn't pooped in 2 days (which was a first) and so I only gave her solids once yesterday. But then she had two small poops during the day and a huge poop in the evening before her bath, so maybe she needed to catch up on her calories. The fact that she may be hungry didn't even cross my mind during the night, as she hasn't done that since she was 8 weeks old.

Anyways, hopefully that was a one-time thing. Interestingly, we are headed to a sleep class today... maybe I will learn something new.

Dedication

Gemma is over 6 months old now and even before she was born, Jesse and I talked about whether or not we should have her dedicated and still haven't come to a decision. 

Initially, it was a No. The idea of standing in front of hundreds of strangers and them "agreeing" to help us raise our kids in a Godly manner seemed odd. 

Then, my mom's pastor (who is reformed presbyterian) suggested we get her baptized and gave us a lot of information on why we should. After much thought Jesse and I decided maybe we would do that, but my mom's pastor didn't want to do it. He wanted us to find our own reformed presbyterian church and get her baptized there. ... ..... so we went around searching for a reformed presbyterian church to call home... but eventually we came back to our alliance church, which we like very much. and of course at the alliance church, they don't do infant baptism. 

So back to a dedication. Should we do it or not? Neither Jesse nor I have strong opinions on this and would love to hear from YOU. Perhaps we don't know enough about a dedication to make a decision. Can you help us?

"Crawling"

Gemma has been doing this for awhile now - sometimes she is REALLY good and fast, sometimes she seems to "forget" and gets more frustrated trying to move forward. This one is kinda in between...

Enjoy!

Earwax

here's an interesting tidbit of information for you:

Asian people have powdery earwax. Caucasians have gooey earwax.

Jesse's genes have won the battle of the earwax in Gemma. She has gooey earwax.

Don't Look At ME!!

Compared to what i could have possibly imagined before Gemma was born, I think i'm really getting myself out there, meeting people, talking to people, getting to know people, etc. We go to Baby & Me every Tuesday, Rhythm & Rhyme every Thursday, Wednesdays we usually hang out in the city with my mom, Mondays and Fridays I usually see a friend or have a walk-date with another mom, etc. That, plus we spend the weekends going out into Calgary or Edmonton and seeing people...

...and yet, Gemma makes strange TERRIBLY. I was hoping all this exposure to people would eliminate this or bring it down a notch, but it seems to be getting worse with time. She can't even handle people making eye contact with her - though she always looks at them first and then starts to cry if they look back at her. Don't even think about holding her unless you want your eardrums to shred into pieces from her screaming into them. 

Any suggestions? Is it a personality thing or do all babies do this? I don't hear about it being a problem from other moms... Will she grow out of it? or will she be the kid always hiding behind my legs when we meet someone new?

the other blog

yes, there is another. 

gkonnert.blogspot.com

Not nearly as cute as this one as it is not really Gemma-related. But if you're bored... go check it out.

Covergirl

I found this neat little thing on the Today's Parent website that allows you to upload a photo of your baby and put it on the cover of their magazine. I guess it's available to the first however many people and you can get an issue of their magazine with your baby on the cover in November. 

Doesn't Gemma make such a pretty covergirl? 

Go here to make your own cover!

6-month vaccinations

So yesterday we took her in to get immunized for the third time. She weighed 16 lb 4 oz and was 25.75 inches. The nurse commented she is perfect in terms of weight/height ratio. 

Jesse and I apparently were due for tetanus shots (you need one every 10 years) and so we got those first. Then Gemma got her shots and did very well. She only cried briefly, but really looked at that nurse like she was the most evil woman ever after that, LOL.

Music...Cue!

We have a stereo in the livingroom that Gemma absolutely loves. Even in the first weeks of her life, she could always be calmed by someone cuddling her in front of the stereo while swaying... she would watch the lights and be mesmerized. 

Now, when we bring her downstairs to the livingroom, Gemma will lean towards the stereo (no matter where we are in the area) and make sounds, asking us to turn it on. and when we do, she will sometimes "sing" along or just squeal in delight.

Anyone know of any good children's music CDs??? like a sing-along type of thing...

Babies - The Movie

Jesse and I got to sneak away for a couple of hours yesterday to go see Babies, a documentary film about four different babies in four different countries - US, Mongolia, Japan, and Namibia. It starts from their birth until pretty much their first steps and has pretty well no dialogue, except for the babbles of the babes or their parents talking to them. 

I think the American and Japanese babies (Hattie and Mari, respectively) were cute to look at, but not all that "interesting" as their lives are very similar to those of Gemma and her friends. But there was one really adorable part in the movie with Mari - where she is throwing a tantrum over a toy - that really made me laugh and realize that was probably how I was at that age and I am guessing Gemma will be similar...

Bayar and Ponjiao (Mongolian and Namibian babies, respectively) were super adorable as all babies are and while they were living in different environments, I think the message was that essentially all babies are the same - curious, curious, curious.

For the entire 1 hour and 20 minutes, I missed Gemma TERRIBLY and could not wait to go back to her.

Go rent the movie when it comes out on DVD. Check out the trailer if you haven't yet.

Mommy...where are you???

As mentioned, we were in Edmonton on Sunday for my little cousin's birthday party. It was a full house with 20 kids and parents of those kids, plus uncles and aunts of the birthday boy... not to mention two rambunctious dogs and one super fat cat. 

Sunday was a very long day. I think it is singlehandedly the most Gemma has cried in one day in her entire life. Crying in the car on the way there. Crying once we got to the birthday party because she was so overwhelmed by all the "strangers". She pretty much cried the entire time we were there other than the one hour that she spent sleeping in the basement. Once she woke up, she resumed crying whenever someone would talk to her. Then we left the party to go pick up my mom from church. and guess what happened when we got to the church? that's right. More crying. Then it was pretty much nonstop until we got home with the exception of a few breaks where she slept a little. 

I thought that with us going out so much and socializing so much, Gemma was better equipped to handle people. I think maybe she just got off to a bad start with a 3.5-hour car trip, and then a "stranger" (my cousin) snatching her away as soon as we arrived. She didn't have any time to take it all in, i suppose. 

I guess she is more like me than I think. I am socially retarded, yet I really love my immediate family. Gemma always wants one of us to play with (actually, I think she always wants her harmony to play with). If we even turn around while we're playing with her, she whines. If she sees us leave the room, she then calls out to us. But when we're out in public, she kinda freezes. She would rather sit and observe everything rather than get into it and play. 

Guess we just have to take things slow...slower...

More Traveling Woes...

Yesterday, we made our monthly trip to Edmonton. and while i know that car seat laws are there to protect our babies and keep them safe in case of an accident, sometimes i can't help but think it would be so much easier if I could just hold her while we drive. NOT THAT I EVER DO THAT - i would NEVER do that. 

do they have car seat laws in Europe? i know they don't in many countries in South America, Asia (Korea being one of them), and even Australia. 

It kinda sucks because we have two weddings this year and Jesse's family reunion. One wedding is in Victoria, the other by Smoky Lake, AB where I grew up, and the family reunion is at Good Spirit Lake, SK. Say what you want, but I will not have Gemma on an airplane before her first birthday and driving 12-13 hours with Gemma to Victoria and to the reunion just seems unfathomable... The Smoky Lake wedding is in October and if Gemma is weaned at that point (I still haven't decided when I'm going to do that), I think Jesse and I will go and ask my mom to watch her for the weekend.

I really hope that she will be better once she is turned forward facing... which of course isn't still for a LONG time...

Houdini

Last week, my mom put Gemma down for a nap, swaddled, on her back. When I went in there an hour or so later once she woke up, Gemma had completely freed herself from the swaddle, rolled on to her tummy, turned on the musical aquarium, and "crawled" over to the other side of the crib. 

dang. i should've taken a picture...

6-month appointment

I cannot believe my little baby is gonna be 6 months old on Sunday. We had her well-baby checkup today. Her weight was 16 lb 2 oz and i have already forgotten the height. Anyways, she has gone down a bit both in weight and height percentiles. 

At 6 months, Gemma can:

Sit up on her own.

Roll over back to front (but somehow forgot how to go the other way).

Rake a cheerio with her fingers. 

Look for objects she has dropped (she looks SO cute when she does this).

"Inchworm" across the floor on her belly. 

She understands "bath time" and "ppa-ppa time" (meal time). 

She definitely knows her name.

She loves to sit and read with Harmony.

She loves to be outside, but hates stepping on grass.

She is getting more used to people and is interacting with other babies more.

Yay Daddy!

Jesse was given a work truck on Monday - a brand new F-150. It was kinda neat because there were two other guys who had dibs on this truck, but neither wanted it! One was happy with his old truck and the other preferred his van over a truck! 

Mid-week, Jesse was given a job offer from another plumbing company. The guy he used to work with left A&S (the company Jesse works for) and is overseeing another company and wanted Jesse to come work for him. The pay is a bit better, but Jesse is just going to stay with A&S. 

I am not sure if his boss at A&S was aware of this or what, but yesterday they gave him a raise!

I hope this good fortune continues... we were kinda worried because on Tuesday Jesse ran over a magpie that was sleeping under the wheel of his truck. Magpies are bringers of good fortune in Korean mythology (I know that many Westerners have much different thoughts on magpies) and so we were like "he rolled over our good luck!"...

Thank you God for blessing our little family.

Okay. That Really Hurts.

Remember how I said I'm gonna miss Gemma's toothless mouth?

Well, I do. I miss it terribly. 

Biting me with gums hurt, but I never would have complained if I knew biting me with these tiny teeth could hurt THIS BAD. 

At my cousin's advice, I flicked Gemma on the cheek yesterday when she bit me. She looked at me with a look of terror and screamed bloody murder for like 5 minutes straight. She was crying so hard that she could hardly catch her breath.

Then she bit me again at the next feeding, so the flicking thing didn't work. 

Shouting "No!" also doesn't work, nor does taking her off when she bites me.

Any advice?