"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." -Winston Churchill

Saturday, June 7, 2014

So Long, Donor Milk. Hello, Smoothies!

When I last left you, faithful readers, we had just begun using solid food to supplement Baby J's diet, and it was going very well. But since we'd introduced more solid food, he was less interested in nursing, so I began to pump every 2 hours or so during the day, and feeding him the pumped milk in the SNS. We were using very little donor milk, and some days, NO donor milk, and Baby J was doing fabulously! But the rigorous pumping schedule was difficult to keep up with 4 children and a LIFE, and I found myself using donor milk a little more. But Baby J was becoming more and more fussy... And then I put it together. Even a small amount of donor milk from a dairy-drinking mom made him feel crummy which made for a very cranky, fussy baby.
I decided to stop seeking donor milk, since dairy-free is basically impossible to find.
So what do you feed a baby who doesn't drink formula?

Smoothies!

And Baby J is quite content with the situation. I use a canned coconut base, and add banana, avocado, coconut water, a handful of fruit, some fresh greens, and offer him sips throughout the day. He loves it.
Today, when I took this picture, we were sitting in the chair and he was nursing. And when I was empty, he started on the smoothie.
Happy growing baby with no tummy ache/happy, relaxed mama. Win/win situation.
We are rarely using the SNS at all anymore (although I do pump a little, and give him an SNS full of milk when I have accumulated enough for a feeding.)

So that's our new routine! So far, so good.