Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

We made it.

We’re bottle free.

At birth, despite the great packaging, Mason never took to breastfeeding for more than a few weeks, 4 to be exact. Milk was his comfort, and the convenience of a bottle full of milk appealed to him greatly.

It was his nighttime security blanket, serving as a pacifier at night that would get him to sleep. (Sleep is a whole other issue for him)

He took the bottle wherever he wanted.

On occasion, I suspect on purpose, he’d hide a full bottle of milk in some obscure place. I think he enjoyed us playing the game I refer to as “What’s that smell, and where is it coming from?”

A bottle was a big deal to us. It served us very well as it was one of the first things in which he could elicit a word that communicated a need.

So as noted, at 28 days old he was done with breastfeeding. Approximately 1,634 days later (I calculated it) at the age of 4 years, 5 months, and 20 days, Mason kicked his dirty habit. No patch required.

We chose the week of Thanksgiving to quit cold turkey, no pun intended. As we prepared to head out of town to see my wife’s family we took Mason over to the garbage can to have him throw away all 3 of his bottles. We knew if we left town without them there was no turning back. We were going to stick to our guns.

We made a big hurrah over it, clapping and cheering, dancing around the kitchen. He looked at us like we were insane. “They’ve lost it” I imagined him saying to himself.

But it worked.

During the trip, there was protest, and fits of rage, but after being reminded that he was a “big boy” now, he relented and succumbed to the powers of the insulated sippy cup.

I know what he’s thinking… “Wow…my milk now stays cold for HOURS”

Of course with every step of progress there has to be some setback.

For about a year now, Mason’s bedtime ritual was pretty well set in stone. It would consist of potty time, wash hands/brush teeth, and a nice bottle of milk to head off to bed with.

He was content.

So content in fact that we would simply turn off his light and he’d go to sleep on his own.

Now since we took away his most precious bedtime commodity, he’s needed a new bedtime comfort.

Me.

I am now his security blanket. He asks “lay down with you?” every night, and it’s impossible to resist. Such an awesome little boy that has had so many issues with speech is asking me to lay with him.

How could I ever refuse?

It's a setback I can live with.

So I lay down with him, stroke his hair, and enjoy the best 20 minutes of my day.

Then Rashele comes and wakes me up.

:o)