I find myself amazed day in and day out by how fast and how quick parenthood changes. The skills and techniques that worked to soothe a child yesterday, may not make the slightest bit of difference today. The past few weeks have been that way with Noah. I guess some would call it a transition phase or something but I just called it exhausting.
He started eating baby food 3 months ago and just didn’t really take well to it. He spit alot of it up and just never seemed to really enjoy it. (Except the fruits…he loved the fruits) I was afraid he was going to be one of those babies that you can’t get to wean off of formula. Well, the past 3-4 weeks he has slowly started drinking less and less formula. He snacks on cheerios, animal crackers, goldfish…stuff like that…during the day time. And he has started to really enjoy Apple Juice. I thought the decrease in Formula may have to do with that. Friday night, he didn’t sleep well at all. Up every 2 hours or so like an infant. Whining, ill, crying, fussy…it was awful. I got him up twice during the night when he starting screaming and tried to feed him (something I don’t usually do and try to avoid at all costs) but he wouldn’t have it.
Saturday morning he woke up about 6:30 or 7:00 and was still every bit as whiney and ill as he had been the night before. Again, I went to get him a bottle and he kept pushing it away. I finally just gave him Apple Juice (which, again, I try to save for snack time and stuff like that so he doesn’t get so much sugar!) and he drank it. He ate cheerios and snacked most of the morning but never would take his formula. Despite knowing that all of the Pediatric Books and doctors tell you to wait until they are a year old to start regular milk, I followed my instincts and gave him some last night.
Josh and I both got 8 hours or so of uninterrupted sleep. No upset tummy from the change in milk and this morning I have a totally different child. His entire demeanor is different in just under 12 hours. He slept PERFECTLY and he isn’t cranky and fussy this morning like he has been over the past several weeks. I think that he finally realized that baby formula had no taste at all and decided he didn’t like it anymore. Not to mention, I’m not too sure that it didn’t start to upset his tummy. He had become really gassy (?) and ill throughout the day.
So, needless to say, I think we are done with Formula. Not that I mind, considering it costs a fortune. I haven’t even offered him formula this morning. He had juice for breakfast and a little bit of milk a few minutes ago while he was falling back asleep. (Yes, he went to bed at 9:00 last night, slept till 5:30, drank a little, slept till 7:30, played and is now asleep again at 8:30) Seems to be taking to it very well. I was concerned about it making his stomach hurt, but so far so good. I think it actually makes him feel better than before.
His sleep pattern shifted too. I am accustomed to having to rock him a little to get him to sleep, laying him down and then listening to him whine for 15-20 minutes until he falls back asleep. Last night, I layed him down with a little bit of milk, and he was out in less than 5 minutes. (Without even drinking anything.) I know that is supposed to make a baby prone to ear infections, but I know a lot of moms who do that and aren’t dealing with them. I think motherhood is a give and take job…you gotta give a little in one area to get a little bit more in another. And trust me, 3 or 4 straight weeks of infant sleep patterns all over again with nothing that seemed to work, I was willing to give a little in the possibly causing an ear infection category.
So, our little guy is turning into a big boy. Big Boy Milk, Big Boy Food…now if we can check off Big Boy potty skills at less than a year old I would be one happy mama! 🙂 LOL Hope everyone has had a good weekend, and has a great Sunday!
Courtney Kirkland is a Southeast Alabama Writer & Designer. Since 2011,, Courtney has passionately provided beautiful, intentional design to small businesses & bloggers and encouraged thousands to walk in a rich faith in any situation.
