Formula Weening

The staple food of any baby that is not breastfeeding is more times than not, some sort of formula. Because Cicely was not able to produce enough milk for Zoey we had to go the formula route. Something we did not plan on doing to be perfectly honest, we planned to do formula, pumping and all of that.

At times things are not in the cards for you and you have to go to 'plan b'. Yes, we did try every bit of advice from lactation specialist to Internet forums and all things in-between. It was not easy on Cicely either, as a mom I think you feel less of one if you are unable to breast feed your baby. Maybe you feel as though you are missing out on some bonding time and so on.

Honestly they are buddies and this did not affect their happiness in the least. Going to formula was the best choice for us and it's worked out great since starting. We used everything we could find from the most bare bones natural to the mainstream brands until we found something that Zoey liked, we were comfortable giving her and so on.

In the end it all worked out and we have a great routine in place for her, for how much she gets and so on. The stuff is not cheap either, it's pretty damn expensive, like powdered gold really! Although it's worth every penny to keep baby happy with a full belly.

Why All The Formula Talk

Last night we had to stop after work at Babies R Us to pick up diapers and a few  other things and it hit us that this was possibly the last trip we will make there for formula. Other stuff will still need to be purchased there but not the formula any longer. No more scouring the Internet for $5 off coupons, signing up for freebies and so on. Trust me when I say, it helps a ton to do all of that as well, I was not kidding when I called it powdered gold.

Now we will begin to transfer her to milk and begin weening her off of the formula. Some kids still need some formula in the milk to make the taste transition. If so we will do that as well.

The odd thing too is that they recommend getting the whole milk, in our case it's the stuff with the red lid from our local dairy supplier. I did not think they would want us giving them all of that fat and calories. We were told by the pediatrician that it's very important at this stage for growth along with the vitamins in it therefore that is the direction we are going with the transition.

This also means that she will be coming up on her 1 year set of shots, booster shots and related. From what we have heard, these are not very fun and there are several shots necessary even if only doing the main, well known ones as we are and have been doing.

I'm thinking that we may have to take that day off and spend it with her possibly. I'm not sure if I want her to go through that only to then be dropped off at school feeling abandoned after a crazy morning like that.

Anyway, more on all of this later and as she gets closer to the big 1 year old mark. It has went by so fast I can't believe it to be honest! Let's hope that things go as well as they have this first year and for many years beyond!

Photo: This is a photo of the new juice bottle that we picked up for Zoey at Babies R Us yesterday after work. They are a little advanced for her at the moment, mostly because she has to suck harder like you would out of a straw, she will get the hang of it. Plus when she gets some of the juice it's a huge reward because she loves it!