Hey guys! Wow, this is a busy week and I’m falling behind!
Last night, in preparation for Aiden’s First Communion this Saturday, we went to what our church calls The Bread Workshop. Basically it’s an evening where the kids learn about how bread can be made, they make a loaf of unleavened (un-risen) bread, they listen to four Bible stories then the kids and each parent draws a picture representing those stories to be displayed at the First Communion Mass, and the kids try a bunch of different kinds of bread, grape juice, sparkling grape juice, Communion Hosts and Communion Wine. It was a fun evening. Watching the kids try Communion Wine for the first time was quite comedic! Aiden told me it made his tummy hurt, ha ha! I bet these kids don’t remember how ‘awful’ wine tastes in 10-12 years!
Since it was First Communicants and parents only that meant I left Tate for the first time. My wonderful mom came here to stay with Brennan and Tate, that totally put me at ease knowing it was ‘Mama’ here with my little man. I nursed him right before we left, then prayed he’d either take the bottle or hold off until I got home 2 hours later. For most babies, going 2 to 3 hours between feedings is no big deal, but for Tate he eats almost every hour in the evenings, filling his tummy so he’ll sleep all night long (yes, we have an all nighter now!!!). I was pretty nervous for my mom since Tate STILL will NOT take a bottle. We came home just before 8 and he had just woken up from a nap and was fussing for a feeding, which Mom was holding him off for until we got home. So it worked great leaving him for a couple of hours, and all involved survived!
Today I tried feeding Tate a bottle again, which was quite the traumatic event for both of us. I just feel so bad forcing the bottle on him because he does NOT want that darn thing. I am about to resign myself to the fact that he’ll never take a bottle. At the moment I am okay with that. In 3 months time he’ll be starting solids and won’t be needing to nurse or take a bottle quite as much. And I can then introduce a sippy cup for when he’s having his cereal and baby food (if he’ll take it). So what I’m saying is, I can make it 3 more months. I don’t have anything coming up where I need to leave Tate in the foreseeable future so I think it will be okay.
Andy, on the other hand, wants to keep trying to get him to take the bottle. He feels left out, I think, where feedings are concerned. I totally get that, and I feel bad for him. Changing his diaper just to be near him isn’t that glamorous. Andy wants to keep trying with the bottle. I told him if he wants to keep trying in the evenings that was fine but I wasn’t going to continue to torture him during the day. My little heart can’t take it any more.
Well this post went on a much different track then I had intended. Ha ha! My wandering mind! Oh well, I guess I needed to get that off my chest!
I should say, there is not a darn thing wrong with a Tommee Tippee bottle! If he would take it I think I’d love the bottle. Just thought I should put that out there! Don’t want Tommee Tippee to come down on me!
Have a great Thursday, chat soon!
I remember trying to get my little one to take the bottle. It was so hard, finally I told dad and grandmas they could try but I was not going to do it. Finally she figured out that if I was around I would feed her but with anyone else she would get a bottle (and she did take it though not happily) and it seemed to work ok for the most part.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you and Andy can meet in the middle... you don't have to swear off the bottle for the next three months, but maybe just give Tate a break for a couple of weeks. Try introducing it every couple of weeks. That way it's not all or nothing for Andy - ?? Idk, never had this issue because my kids were bottle fed... I'm sure it's frustrating for you! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy sister-in-law is having a real hard time with my 6 month old niece right now. She went back to work and my niece went to daycare. She has previously only been nursing. They are trying to give her the bottle now and she won't take it. So she is having milk in the morning and when she gets picked up from daycare 9 hours later with very little milk from the bottle during those 9 hours. I'm sure she'll get over it by next week and start taking the bottle but I imagine it's something a lot of nursing moms go through.
ReplyDelete"Get it off your chest" haha no pun intended, right? Give that boy what he wants! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I'm totally jealous of this. My kid wanted NOTHING to do with my boobs (except now he thinks they're fun to honk - kind of like nose honking).
ReplyDeletewe had the total opposite! C would always take a bottle and that was great because my hubby wanted to feed him in the mornings and i got to sleep in but then i needed to feed my pumped milk after every nursing session so his 1 bottle a day turned in to taking it often and he wanted nothing to do with my boobs real quick!
ReplyDeletehave you tried giving him a bottle in the dark?! or dad?! do you use a nursing cover?! maybe he would take a bottle with that so he can still smell you but not see?! i don't know. but you are doing good!
I am so sorry you are having so much trouble going to bottle. I don't have any advice. I started pumping at 3 weeks because I was struggling so much with nursing, and I went back to work at 6 weeks. Once I started pumping I pumped until J was a year old. I think you have gotten some good advice from some other mommies. Sending positive thoughts your way!!!
ReplyDeleteOh boy, good luck!! Both my boys never took a bottle, so I nursed them for a full year. Then we switched over to sippy cups. That was hard, but we finally made it work! And boy, you should see my collection of bottles and sippy cups now! I swear, I tried them all! These boys just love the boob!
ReplyDeleteoh. I hope this all works itself out for you all soon. Poor fella. And poor Erin and Andy. I know all 3 of you must be frustrated for different reasons.
ReplyDelete