As a 32 year old woman, I never expected that my dad could have much more to teach me. Well, again...I was wrong. My dad has been trying to tell me for 2 months that I needed to give Taylor formula and baby cereal. He said that once she gets full she will sleep better. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend giving solids before 4 months so I decided to wait until then to start. She turned 4mo on Oct. 2nd.
I also decided to stop breastfeeding and switch Taylor to formula. She is only taking a bottle now. 2 of her feedings are formula and I am pumping the rest. Tomorrow I will bump her up to 3 formula bottles and increase to 4 in 3 days. By the end of next week she will only be on formula.
As a result of the formula and solids, Taylor is now sleeping almost through the night. She went to bed at 8pm last night and she slept until 5:30 in the morning. She woke up again at 7am. After eating, she still acted sleepy, so I brought her to bed with me and we woke up at 9:30am. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!
So, this post is for my Dad. I wanted to say first that after all this time, you are still right. Second, I love you for sitting quietly by and letting me learn on my own. Now that I am a parent, I know how hard is. Even now I want to hand Taylor her toys instead of watching her get frustrated trying to reach for them.
Because Taylor is now on a bottle, I am finally regaining my independence. For the last 4 months I couldn't leave her for more than 2-3 hours b/c she was breastfed. Now, Brodie is keeping Tay so that I can get out again. I have joined a Mom's group and we have weekly play dates at the Park or someones house and many other weekly outings. We had our first play date at the Park today and Taylor loved it. She sat in a big-girl swing for the first time.
For the last four months I have felt like someone was holding my head underwater and now I have come up for air. So, thanks for your suggestion Dad. I wish I would have taken your advice when she was 3 months but I am glad I didn't wait till she was 5 months. Taylor and I are both happier girls...and that makes Brodie VERY happy! ;)
I LOVE YOU DADDY!!! ~your little girl~
