Changes for the Little Guy

Yesterday, just one week after he turned five months, I introduced him to rice cereal.  And boy, did Isaiah LOVE it!  I did want to wait until he turned six months, however, the little guy seems to have an appetite that I cannot keep up with.  He's also been teething for the past month and a half and seems extremely interested when Alex, Isabelle, and I eat "real" food.  I worried for a split second about introducing him too early, but Isabelle took to solids right after she turned five months (because she was also an early teether and so very interested in solids).  Funny thing, they both responded to the rice cereal in a similar way.

At first, he was uncertain of the spoon.  He kept batting at it like it was a toy and tried to grab it from me.  But after several spoonfuls, he realized this spoon was going for his mouth and he hungrily and eagerly accepted what was coming.  :)

He's not quite ready, because he cannot sit up too well on his own (is this proving that boys really are "slower" than girls?).  Still, I might give him this "dessert" of rice cereal every once in awhile.  :)

Isaiah also started drinking formula yesterday.  I am still nursing, but since I have about four and half months left of work (yipee!), I don't think I'll have enough frozen breastmilk to last that long.  So I decided to supplement my nursing with formula.  GASP!  I decided to start introducing formula now, just here and there, so that Isaiah won't refuse the taste when he has to drink it more regularly.

If this situation had happened with Isabelle, I probably would've had a melt-down (from not nursing exclusively), Alex and I would've gotten into a HUGE fight (because he would tell me this isn't a big deal but would've felt like a big deal for me), and I would just be so frustrated with myself for getting upset about something so trivial (because really, it's not that big of a deal).  But, I have learned, this is not the end of the world.  Don't get me wrong... I still do wrestle with the fact that I won't be exclusively breastfeeding Isaiah as long as I did Isabelle.  I still do feel guilty about this.  I think I'm just learning to deal with it better this time around.

The thing is, I just can't pump enough (did I mention I HATE pumping?) and freeze enough to keep up with the hungry guy's needs.  (I might not have encountered this if I were a SAHM, but who knows?)  So, when I come home from work and on my days off, I will happily nurse my baby boy.  (Just please stop biting, Isaiah!)  But while I'm away, when the frozen milk bags run out, he will need to take formula.  And as I've learned, this boy will eat anything!

Sooo very thankful that my baby boy has a great appetite and will take (mostly) anything that comes his way without too much of a fight or fuss!  Isaiah is such a good-natured and easy-going baby!  I need to learn to accept changes in life the way Isaiah handles them... with ease and gladness.  :)

Could he be more lovable?  :)