Bottle Success!

Will has been waiting for weeks to feed this child. He's been asking since day one, "How long do I have to wait?" The pediatrician said a month and my trust Baby 411 book said 2-3 weeks; so we waited 3 weeks. It seemed like a happy medium. They try to scare new moms with "nipple confusion," and by "they," I mean everyone you ask and/or read. Give the baby a bottle too soon, and it may not go back to the boob! (Just to let ya'll know, I just really despise the word "breast." I try to use it as little as possible. It's just so.... anatomical and it kinda creeps me out.) Wait too long and the baby may never take a bottle! Geez. I read and research EVERYTHING, okay? Everything. It's something I actually enjoy doing. But sometimes there is too much of a good thing, because when it comes to babies, everyone has an opinion. And a different one at that! It just boils down to doing what you feel is right. I take everyone's opinion, then do what I want. It seems to be working pretty well so far. So, on Hayden's three week birthday yesterday, we gave her a bottle for the first time. You should've seen us! I'd thawed out some pumped milk that I had frozen (this baby will never taste formula, if I can help it. My goal is to nurse for a year. I've been lucky so far, cross my fingers), so we put the storage container in some warm water we heated on the stove to warm it up. Then it was too hot (thank you, trusty ear, water, and food thermometer) so we had to wait. Then Hayden fell asleep. For THREE HOURS. This. Never. Happens. It was like she knew we were about to do something important. Normally, I would be all for this three hour nap, but we were excited! We let her sleep it out until 9:00 (and I was thinking, Great. She's going to wake up when I normally try to start putting her down. She better not be up all night!) We heated the bottle in the bottle warmer (which we had to figure out how to work) and I hid upstairs and turned Will loose on his own. They say the baby may not take the bottle if the mommy is around. But Hayden took to it like a champ! It took a little coaxing on Will's part, and then she went right to it! I think it was a little work for her at first, but once she got the hang of it, she drank it right up! Will was so happy. I was proud of both of them. He says he feels like a more productive part of the family now and not like I have to do everything. I am happy because not only can I get a break sometimes now but we will also be able to leave her for several hours or even overnight with my parents. We are planning our first night out to celebrate our anniversary next month, and I am really looking forward to that. Now I can worry a little less knowing she'll be eating just fine. We're going to practice once a day in the evening everyday. Way to go, Will and Hayden! I'm proud of ya'll and love you so much!

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