We took Isabella for her 4-month checkup yesterday, and as expected she’s doing just fine. Everything is in perfect working order.
Unexpectedly the doctor told us that we can start trying to feed her some solid food, maybe rice cereal. That was not well-received news. Then to compound the problem, he suggested that Melanie might want to start pumping milk so that Bella can be fed from a bottle and, in his words, “let some others join in the fun of feeding Isabella.”
You have to understand that Melanie and I have agreed that she will totally breastfeed Isabella. No formula. Now, I have in the past suggested that Melanie might want to pump some milk to allow me to take some of the late-night feedings, especially when she was having difficulty getting the baby to latch on, but Melanie is quite the trooper and was determined to persevere. I didn’t want to push it and, hey, it meant I didn’t have to get up at night. (Although it turns out that she’ll still wake me to change the diaper so I still get to “enjoy” that.)
However, when Dr. Morgan told Melanie that Isabella could start having a bottle or some solid food, mommy got possessive. How could anyone suggest that it’s time for her little baby to start getting her sustenance elsewhere? It’s too soon!
Not that she said anything at the doctor’s office. Melanie is not someone who is very demonstrative of her emotions with strangers. But when we got home and I gingerly brought it up again, I got silence. A very typical silence that I have come to realize means, I don’t want to talk about it. I laughed out loud and said, “Fine, that’s up to you, but I can’t wait until it’s time for weaning.” When that day comes, I think it will be just as difficult to wean mommy as it will be to wean baby. If deciding to give Isabella rice cereal is this hard, how will ending breastfeeding all together be? I hope by that time we have a second child here to make it easier. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to help all that much.
Technorati Tags:breastfeeding, childrearing, parenting
He said you can. He didn’t say you should.
Sheesh.
I think food allergies start when foods are introduced too soon. Stay the course, Melanie!
As a father of three self-weaned children (at around 2 yrs old) that weren’t fed any solid foods until 6 months I’ve got to agree with the commenters. Go with your gut and go with what works.
And as far as Dad bonding with the baby the best times for me were just after my wife had nursed the baby and wanted someone else to hold her/him while she got something else done (usually a shower.) There’s nothing better than having your just-nursed baby sleeping in your arms or on your chest.