It was about 2-3 weeks ago, we had gone to
Sallisaw for Spring Break and Ryan was abnormally fussy. I chalked it up to teething, seems like she's been drooling since birth and has been chewing on her fist, toys, etc. Typical teething behavior.
Kipp & I had already started discussing my desire to stop breast feeding. I wanted to give it until May, she would be 6 mo. old and I thought that was a good stopping point. I really, really didn't want to be doing this through the summer, plus my milk dried up with
Kella around 5 months and she turned out okay =)
As we were trying to figure out the root to this fussy-
ness, we started evaluating my supply. How much was she really eating? Who knows, when it comes to nursing. She wasn't struggling when she ate, and usually you gage their eating by weight gain, wet diapers and their overall behavior. I knew something was up, because this little girl never acts like this... I began to only pump and feed her by bottle to see how much she would really take. For about 3 days she would eat 8 oz bottles at every feeding (which is still 5 times a day)! She obviously wasn't getting enough from me, since I was only pumping about 4 oz at each sitting.
I had discussed with our
pedi about wanting to stop breast feeding and since we don't have another check-up until 6 mo. I knew at least by then she would be on formula. She gave us a few samples of a brand that she has had the best luck with, its easy to digest and most importantly has
probiotics. Since she would no longer be getting them from me this was important to us.
Since she was eating such big bottles we went through our frozen supply of breast milk VERY quickly. I started mixing with formula and within a week she was completely on formula. She has made a great transition, but now has completely disgusting diapers -
shoooowheee!!!!
I've continued to pump as needed, but since I've had the luxury of eating what I want I dump the milk. I feel like my duty is done and the sacrificing of the ta-
ta's has now come to an end. I can tell she has gained weight already and the constant worry of "
is she getting enough to eat" has been laid to rest. I now have a partner who can share feeding time, so momma is much happier!
We are continuing to make our standing appointments, everyday at 3pm, with the chiropractor. Her noggin is making HUGE improvements. We have shifted the
occipital's and are now working on the top. Ryan is awesome during the visits and Dr. Shelton says she is one of her best 'baby' patients. Though she probably says this about all her patients, we will take the compliment nonetheless! We have also been given the go-ahead on
Bumbo time, she wanted us to wait til 5 months to start this and here are some pics of her first 'real' time in the
Bumbo!
With Spring comes all the new, fresh flowers! I must say, working in the yard is very therapeutic for me. I've always loved to do it. I can spend all day digging in the dirt, rearranging my plants and making our patio feel more like another room in our house. We LOVE the outdoors. Here's Ryan's typical spot, front porch in her bumbo watching me tackle whatever project I've started.
I.heart.this.pic! Look how Ryan is holding onto Kella. It's so sweet to see her light up when Kella's around. I hope this doesn't ever change.
Kella discovered she could jump off the sidewalk onto the grass. It's a slight step up, so she really thinks she's jumping 'soooo high'!
"No Dad! Jump on 3!!"
Now it's mom's turn! 1, 2, 3......
GO!!!!
"see mom, you gotta bend down like this and jump so high!" Thanks for the lesson pipsqueak! Check out Spanky, he's only wishing he could join in the action.
This lasted for quite some time... jumping again,
