Enter this past week. First, let me back track. We took Ronan to the pediatrician for his 1 year appointment on Friday the 7th! He's doing great, of course. He's stands at 21lbs 13oz (30%) and 31.2 inches long (85%). She asked the standard questions - she wanted to make sure he was sleeping with the crib mattress lowered all the way, she wanted to ensure that he was pulling up, cruising, walking with push toys, etc. Then came the hard part - she wanted us to quit the bottle cold turkey. I was not expecting to hear this at all. Now, I know we don't have to do everything the doctor says in an instance like this. I mean, it's not like the woman is a child behaviorist. She's a pediatrician! Her main job is ensuring my child's health - not whether or not our little sweetheart still drinks out of a bottle at just 1 year old. But then she said something that made a lot of sense. Children need things to be concrete. We shouldn't give him a bottle say, in the morning, but then refuse to let him have a bottle the rest of the day. According to her, that's just confusing and leaving the window open for him to scream, cry, etc until he gets what he wants - the bottle.
So, we certainly weren't going to make this transition on Saturday, the day of my baby's 1st birthday party. So, we started the next day, Sunday. Ugh. I was not expecting what happened next. I was a complete basket case. Ronan, on the other hand, actually handled it relatively well. There was a lot of crying that morning, and a LOT of throwing and pushing away the sippy cup. But I was worse....I just wanted my baby to be able to have his baby bottle. It seemed so unfair to cut off a baby from something they are comforted by and love. I cried multiple times that day. Now I understand why she told us it would be harder on me than it was on him. Isn't that the truth. So, as of today, he hasn't had a bottle in 10 days. It still makes me sad, but I suppose I'm glad we went ahead and did this now...I know the older he gets, the harder it would be to get him to give up the bottle. It's heartbreaking to not give him what he wants though. My heart breaks in half for him; being a Mommy is tough! The hardest part of this change is the reality that I will never again hold my baby in my arms as he has his bottle. How did this happen already? Time goes by way too quickly.
Alright, before I get weepy again, let's move on. We had a GREAT time at Ronan's party. We had a lot of friends and family join us, and Ronan had a really good time. He was pretty overwhelmed by all the people but for the most part, he did really well! He got quite the loot, too. I told Rob, he sure doesn't have anybody that loves him (wink, wink). I'm so grateful for all the people that care about him. I had such a great time with the party and coming up with the theme (inspired by a shirt my best friend Leigh Ann gave to Ronan before he was even born!), decorating, making food, etc. And the weather was perfect. We really lucked out...it enabled us to have a little more room in the house so people could step outside if they wanted. I was really happy with how it turned out, and admittedly a bit relieved when it was over! It was a great success and I loved being able to throw my baby his 1st Birthday Party!
On Ronan's actual birthday, we had such a great family day. We started out by going to the park (poor baby is still afraid of the swing), then to lunch (pizza, of course), took a trip to see Santa Claus, and then last, but not least, we took him to the new Perot Museum downtown. They have a Children's museum where we took him and he went crazy for it! So many places to crawl around and climb on and he had free reign in the infant area almost the entire hour he played! Ronan did great with Santa Claus, thanks to the awesome photographer. He knows about kids at this age and "stranger danger" so he told me to face away from Santa, he distracted Ronan and I literally backed up into Santa and placed Ronan in his lap and jumped out of the way. He was able to get ONE shot (and it was a great one) before Ronan turned around and looked behind him. We had about 3 seconds (during which time the photog got one more good shot) before Ro absolutely lost it. He would not let go of me after that! But, we walked away with a perfect Santa photo. And the best part? He's the EXACT same man from last year. It will be a tradition to go there every year, and I hope that Santa is there for many years to come!
Last but certainly not least in the way of big changes - I have been able to slowly wean down from pumping and I'm happy to say that as of last week, I'm no longer pumping at work! It's bittersweet, but this is a good thing for me. Pumping and nursing have taken up countless hours over the last year....and I've never been able to enjoy a full lunch or breaks at work since I have to use that time to pump. So now it's time to give back to myself! I've gone back to the gym and use my lunch break to do so! I am not able to work out as long as I would like - only about 30 minutes - but it's better than nothing! I tried many times to work out at night after Ronan went to bed, but I am spent at the end of the day and also have way too much to do once he's down for the night. And as soon as I started weaning down from pumping/nursing to less than full time, the pounds have been inching their way back on, unfortunately. Not surprising since nursing burns so many calories naturally and now I don't get that easy calorie burn. But now I need to whip myself back into shape! I have about 6 pounds to lose to get back to where I was. I am down to pumping twice a day and my supply shows it. Where I used to produce about 30 oz a day, I only produce about 6 now. It's amazing how the supply and demand phenomenon works! I finished up last week with 4 days in a row at the gym, and I already feel better. I hadn't done 4 days in a row since I was pregnant. Working out has been very sporadic since Ro was born, so wish me luck! I gotta fit back into my favorite jeans! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment