Thursday, November 1, 2012

A Journey: Breast to Bottle to Spoon


Up until two weeks ago breast milk was all Wyatt knew. Everything was going great with the breast pumping and I had no complaints. He was getting everything he needed and happy as a lark. Then out of the blue, as always, MASTITIS! Wham-o. Urgent care here we come. I thought this time would be just like the previous two. Some I.V. fluids and a script for anti-biotics. Nope, the doc said I HAD to stop breast feeding or in my case breast pumping! Let the tears and the heartache begin. Not the F word…FORMULA. I thought, my poor baby. He was doing so good and now he’s going to be up at night crying, he will be constipated, no more giggles, no more happiness. He won’t need me anymore. WRONG!
I don’t know why I had all these terrible thoughts. Maybe I thought Wyatt was going to grab his plastic play keys, put on his booties and walk out the door cause he was going to be all grown up or something. The formula transition has been great. Other than the diaper changing (SHEW). I’m praying it continues to go well if not we will get through it. Just like every other obstacle. The Lord guides us and we move on. Wyatt still sleeps through the night. He still smiles and giggles and plays and rolls over and his eyes still twinkle when he looks at me. YAY!
Getting my milk to dry up, however, is not an easy feat. Man alive, it hurts. Cabbage compresses, nursing pads, tylenol and ibuprophen have really been the ticket. I had pain for about 4 days with the first two being the worst. Now the engorgement has passed but I’m still leaking like a sieve. Which sometimes makes me want to start pumping again so my boy can have breast milk, but that is a closed chapter in our lives. They say stopping cold turkey is not a good idea but if you do it gradually it takes soo much longer. That is just the type of gal I am though; do what you have to to get something done then its over with and you can move on!
Since I stopped breast feeding and Wyatt was almost five months old I figured it was a good time to start cereal. He loves it. We’ve done it about five times now and by the second time he was eating from the spoon like a professional. I’m so happy with the transition. They say to mix the cereal in with the breast milk, or in my case formula, gradually. We did that a few times which is so very messy; get your bibs out. Today I gave him a full serving which is four tablespoons of rice cereal in about two ounces of milk. He ate about half and was full. So I’ll give him the rest tonight for dinner. I’m really looking forward to fixing him his baby food soon. I’ll be making my own so be on the look out for recipes and tips.
Wyatt has grown so much in the past five months. It has definitely been a journey; which is no where near over. A beautiful journey at that. Being a mommy is such a blessing. Nothing could possibly compare. I could never see myself being a parent a year ago but God knows what He’s doing. I thank Him for not letting me make those types of decisions in my life.
Have a great day readers
Grow every day!

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