Last Sunday Amber left me home alone with the kids to go to a card making party with Becca. The plan was that she’d feed Jillian, go while both kids slept and I’d have some alone time before they got up then I’d feed Jillian with some milk Amber pumped earlier in the day. A nice happy afternoon hanging out with dad.
The plan went wrong almost from the beginning. Jillian only slept a short while and then her crying woke up Wesley. I gave Wes his snack and then tried to feed Jillian. This is where things went from one crying sleepy kid to two. Jillian refused to take a bottle. I tried a couple of different bottles with five different nipples. Nothing going. She looked like I was trying to hurt her. Actually she kind of looked like I imagine someone does during a rectal exam. She had a very unhappy look on her face. A look that said I know you are trying to help me, but I am hating and resenting every minute of this and although I’ll act friendly enough to you when I see you in the future I’ll actually hold a grudge against you forever. Both of her hands were clenched and she never did relax. It seems that the idea of a pacifier leaking milk was not appetizing to her.
I tried to get some milk into her mouth for about an hour. She kept fighting, crying and screaming. Meanwhile Wesley wasn’t getting any attention and took to tearing apart the house. He focused most of his attention on the kitchen where I was trying to feed Jillian.
Eventually we all just kind of gave up. Wesley got tired of making a mess and I got tired of trying to feed Jillian. She was clearly tired of fighting me and my evil plastic nipple.
So we all just went into the living room and hung out and then drew with some chalk on the driveway. Amber was gone about five hours. Far longer than Jillian ever goes during the day without eating. She never fussed after the whole bottle incident. It was an unspoken agreement between us. If she didn’t cry I wouldn’t be forced to try and make her feel better. She ate like a pig when Amber got home.
It wasn’t easy, but I would do it again. It will get easier when she eats solid food and I can feed her without making her scream. Amber is a saint for being with the kids alone nine to ten hours a day.
A pacifier leaking milk really IS unappealing, don’t you think?
I like this post; you said “nipples” and “rectal” in the same graph. That’s talent!
Keep it going, yo!