Thank You Playtex Nurser!!

So we've had a bit of a battle here in the Hill House for the past few days. Last week while I was feeding Joseph, he got a bit anxious and his teeth rubbed me raw. It bled. It hurt!! He hasn't had a bottle since he was about 2 months old. I've been giving him sippy cups to try and hopefully get used to as we are getting close to the 1 year mark of nursing. He's wanted NOTHING to do with it. He just chews on them. I tried to let him nurse and grit my teeth, but I just couldn't do it anymore. And every time he ate, it would break the wound open again and so I wasn't healing. And it hurt! I decided that I would pump and give him a bottle so I could heal quicker.

So Sunday we broke out the bottles. I don't remember Daphne having a hard transition, so I didn't have a clue what to do. My genius solution was he'll get hungry enough and eventually take it. Well, I nursed him on the good side and gave him solids at his 8am feeding. At his 12pm feeding we gave him the bottle and tried squirting some milk in his mouth to let him know it was OK. His little brain must have been saying, "This tastes right, but it's not coming from the right source." He just fought the whole time. We put him down for his nap and tried again at his 4pm feeding. Still no luck. By his 8pm feeding he still hadn't taken it and I was getting a bit worried. We looked up online on how to wean a baby and the first site we pulled up basically said it's not a good idea to starve the baby into submission. (BTW- the reason we hadn't looked online thus far was because we went to Temple Square and were gone most of the day. Just so you know I didn't intentionally wait 12 hours before I did anything.) Another site suggested you offer the bottle at 1 feeding everyday so you know that they are getting food at the other feedings. I liked this idea much better. So I nursed him and gave him solids to fill his little tummy, and put him to bed.

Monday's bottle time was a bomb. Still didn't take it. Today I looked at the different bottle nipples I had. They all look the same, but when I actually held them, I noticed that the one I'd been trying to give him was pretty stiff. I had a Playtex Nurser bottle and that nipple was quite soft. I thought, "This feels more like the real thing! We'll try it!" So I got the bottle all warmed up and braced myself for another round of "What the heck are you trying to give me?!?" It wasn't as bad though. I just kept the bottle in his mouth and his little tongue would push it around and it would squirt in his mouth and he cried. BUT ... he finally settled down and drank it!! Now it was my turn to cry. Cry for joy!! He drank 3 ounces and fell asleep. (He missed his nap because I went grocery shopping so he was already tired.) But he drank from a bottle!! Now, I don't think I will be as lucky tomorrow, but I know he will take it and now I have LOTS more hope that this *ordeal* will soon be a thing of the past.

So Thank You, Playtex Nurser. Thank you for being there in my drawer with your supple softness and desirable texture for my baby. May he appreciate you again tomorrow.