February 04, 2010
Minor Milestone
Or, Freezer Freedom
Our moms didn't breast-feed because they were sold on the convenience and new-and-improved-ness of baby formula, and because they were busy at work with no accommodation for new mothers at all. Now we know that breast-milk is still the best way to go, so the wife was worried about providing enough for the baby. It was tough for the first few days, but natural instincts and evolutionary mechanics kicked in and the mom-juice flowed smoothly thereafter. With a little help from the breast pump we were able to stock up the freezer for the nanny to feed him during the day while wife's at work. We shared some with other moms who had trouble producing enough milk themselves. Or even take some expired milk to make cute soaps out of it.
But the baby has grown and been introduced to solid food, and it's tiresome to find time and place every few hours to hide away and pump. So we didn't do much to force the issue as the breast milk began to diminish, and little by little baby began to eat through the freezer stash. Until finally we were done. Two and a half shelves worth of freezer space reclaimed for groceries and popsicles. All that empty space almost tempted me to run out to Costco for bulk packages of... anything. We go to Costco for bulk boxes of Pampers (now in XL!) anyway.
During the day, he thinks he's a big boy and pushes the bottle of formula away. But before he goes to sleep and after he wakes up he still likes some warm soothing milk. With him passing the 10kg mark, even the part-time feedings add up in a hurry in baby formula, especially with the recent price hikes getting close to NTD 1K per can. Good thing he seems to enjoy trying other foods. Started with apple sauce and mashed bananas, moving up to rice gruels from stock with soft-cooked carrots or broccoli. Now that both upper and lower teeth have sprouted we can let him try even more fruits like papaya and tomato. His aunts have promised to take him to McDonalds for burgers and fries anytime he wants, but they'll have to go through us first.
With our mothers' wide social networks, it's inevitable that we'd be regaled with stories of how someone else's kid is already walking/talking/playing/showing off amazing talents at his age. Meanwhile, although our kids is cute and good-natured and all, Baby Einstein he's not. Took him the longest time to even learn to wave goodbye, and even then only occasionally, when he feels like it. Well, he's finally got a schtick of his own now.
Who you callin' a genius now, huh? Can't wait for him to show that off for all the relatives at Chinese New Year time.