Daily Archive

Bottle bonding with Elisa – September 27, 2015

Hello, everyone!

Todd the Toddler (AKA #minivegan) is almost 16 months old, and he recently finished his LAST serving of his LAST can of Earth’s Best Organic Soy Infant Formula…on December 11, 2015.  As you know (if you’re a regular reader of this blog), Todd has been formula-fed (i.e. My Bottle Baby) since he was just a few weeks old.

I kept track of the number of cans consumed, and the final tally was 74 cans!  At roughly $25-28 per can that means that up to ~$2000 was spent on formula feeding for Todd.  I’m thankful that my mom helped out with the majority of the cost.  I have a wonderful family!

The last can!

At Todd’s 12 month doctor visit, I was told that Todd didn’t need to keep drinking formula, so I started mixing his formula with a combination of organic fortified soy milk, hemp milk and my homemade cashew oat milk.  At the time, I had 5 cans of formula left, to use up.

Now that his formula days are over, I wanted to write this “official” post because I want to say THANK YOU to formula!  For me (and especially for Todd), formula was a wonderful thing!

It doesn’t take a “rocket scientist” to figure out that formula is widely considered sub-standard when it comes to infant feeding.  Anyone who reads the most basic list of “benefits of breastfeeding” will naturally worry about all of the opposites…the “risks of formula feeding.”  It’s easy to walk away thinking that formula is akin to poison. 😦

Now– I’m 100% pro-breastfeeding.  I’m not going to deny that human breast milk is 100% designed for human babies.  I wanted 100% to breastfeed!!  But…some of us aren’t successful with breast feeding NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY.  It’s the truth!  Sadly, I know that some people can’t believe that breastfeeding just does not work for everyone.

Some women deliver all sorts of easy advice, packaged in an unmistakable attitude of “failure is not an option.”  These women seem to believe that breastfeeding should be pursued “all costs.”  I do realize that most of those advice-givers are probably very well-intentioned, but I still find such an attitude extremely harmful to those of us who did faithfully follow all of the advice yet still struggled.

Personally, I complied with all the recommendations that I received from the lactation specialists that I saw, and yet I still had a hungry baby at my breasts.  The more I followed advice that just didn’t work, the more exhausted, heartbroken and defeated I felt.

The solution for my hungry baby was FORMULA!  (The answer wasn’t that I needed to “try harder.”)  The solution for me was accepting that formula was helpful, effective, and a GOOD thing for Todd.  It wasn’t poison.  He loved it.  How I can anyone argue with a thriving baby?

1 month old – September 26, 2014

5 months old – January 23, 2015

7 months old – March 23, 2015

~10 months old – June 18, 2015

13.5 months old – October 4, 2015

So before I say my final goodbye to Todd’s formula, I shall compile a list of every good thing I can think of about our very positive experience with formula feeding using Earth’s Best Soy Formula (in no particular order):

• Todd gained weight on formula…after losing weight with attempts at breastfeeding
• Todd took very well to bottle feeding…after demonstrating an inability to effectively suck from the breast (and he increasingly pushed away at my breasts)
• Todd loved his formula
• Todd’s always had regular, easy elimination…no digestive problems whatsoever
• it’s just as easy to bond with a bottle baby than a breast feeding baby
• many people who love Todd got to bond with him while feeding him
• I was sooo glad to get rid of the pump
• my stress level went way down once I made the decision to stop trying to breastfeed
• it was nice to “reclaim” my body as my OWN…after going through a rough childbirth, followed by a rough breastfeeding experience
• I was eager to get my periods back and to get back into good hormonal balance
• I’m glad I didn’t have to figure out how to breastfeed in public (it’s not for me!)
• drinking coffee (and alcohol) without thinking about how it would end up in my milk
• feeding Todd during long car rides was very convenient

I’m probably forgetting some things but those are definitely the highlights!

As of now, we still call Todd’s non-dairy milk blend his “Formula Milk.”  He joyfully responds to that phrase!  Currently, his “FM” contains 2 parts organic EdenSoy Extra (fortified) Original soy milk, 1 part Tempt Unsweetened Hemp Milk and 1 part homemade cashew oat milk.  The transition has been seamless.

The times every day that I spend “bottle feeding” Todd (now it’s technically a sippy cup) are among my most cherished moments with him.  I love rocking him in my glider chair first thing in the morning as he drinks his first bottle and I read him books, and I love my time with him at night, when he sips water, we read books and he falls asleep in my arms.

We are blessed.

Here are just a few photos of Todd’s bottle bonding moments!

Bottle bonding with Eric – October 5, 2014

Bottle bonding with Ashley – October 14, 2014

Bottle bonding with Eli – October 16, 2014

Bottle bonding with Grandma – October 5, 2015

THANK YOU, FORMULA…AND GOODBYE!

Bottle bonding with Elisa – August 30, 2015