Milestones

(If discussions on nursing bother you, skip this post)

For a few weeks now little Gunner has been more than characteristically fussy.  I decided it must be teething- after all, he keeps most of one hand in his mouth and drools like crazy.  However, it's been upsetting how little he sleeps and how he insists on crying himself to sleep. It's also been frustrating how fussy he's been while nursing...

Monday night my hubby suggested I offer him a bottle after nursing.  Maybe, he reasoned, your milk supply is falling off like it did with NJ around 5 months.  So, we made him up a little 4 oz. bottle and do you know, the kid drank all 4 oz.!?!  Tuesday morning, I nursed him again and offered him 8oz. He drank it all again!!!  (This is especially surprising to me because I have my most milk first thing in the morning.) In fact, he drank a full 8 oz. at all 5 feedings, in addition to the nursing 3 of the feedings!  So, I think it's safe to say that my milk supply is waning, just like it did with NJ.  Really, now that I think about it, I should have recognized all the signs. At least someone did.  Poor NJ got the point that he would outright cry on and off while nursing (which meant I was crying on and off with him) for a whole week before we thought to give him a bottle.

I think I'll continue nursing a little, just to wean Gunner and let my milk supply stop on it's own, but I'm also starting solids.  I figure, if the kid can put that quantity of milk away, he's probably ready for some cereal as well.  This morning, after his 4am nursing and his 7am bottle, we tried cereal for the first time.  He didn't do great with it, but didn't do all that bad either. He was actually uncharacteristically stoic about the whole thing, so I'm glad I managed to get a least two happy pictures. It probably didn't help that I was yelling off and on at NJ to stop this or that. About half way through I remembered to smile and say "yuuuuum!" Poor guy. I think more ended up in his tummy than on the bib, but I wouldn't swear by it.

At least he seems happier overall.  Yesterday, he went to every nap without all the fuss and is sleeping longer.  Plus, he seems content to be on a 4 feeding schedule. Yay!  He's also making at least twice as many wet diapers for me to change.  Poor kid, I guess I should have noticed how few he had before! 

I'd been a little worried about weaning (my original goal was to make it 6 months nursing) because Gunner seemed to enjoy nursing sooooo much, but he seemed pretty happy today to be able to watch his brother play while drinking and he's definitely happier with a full tummy!

So, here begins the endless make food, feed, and clean up cycle. I'd forgotten how much work this is! Maybe I'll ask my mom to help me make up a stash of baby food for the deep freeze. When I started solids with NJ, I was so excited I could hardly wait! Plus, there was the fact that since he was my only child, I could clean up and prep the next meal while he napped. (Parenting a single child is soooo wasted on first time parents!) So the endless cycle didn't bother me quite so much.

The tips and tricks I had learned are slowly coming back to my memory now- like have a wet washcloth on hand, get his hands pinned down, and get him to laugh a little so he'll open his mouth.  I definitely remember rejoicing when he could do some finger foods and hold his own bottle.  (Maybe I'll write an ode to the day that he learns to feed himself.)

I suppose the moral of this story is that I should try to remember how it all went down with the first son and see if I can learn from it!

As if Gunner's first solids and a move to formula aren't enough milestones for one week, I think this also means I need to start seriously considering what I eat and how much exercise I get.  Without the extra 500 calories a day being spent on nursing, my current habits are NOT going to work for me. Serious Bummer.