Max meets the Rangers

Max got to go to his first MLB baseball game!!!  But first...

July 26th was a sad day.  It  was the day I used up the last of my frozen pumped milk.  Now there is only what I pump each day which isn't enough to meet Max's needs.  I really wanted to go a whole year without giving Max milk other than breast milk.  But, I was three weeks short.  Believe me, if I could have, I would have but I just am not pumping enough.  It's hard to not beat myself up about it.  I feel like I failed even though I know that going for 11 months, 1 week is pretty awesome (especially since after I went back to work when Max was 3 months old I pumped at least 3 times a day).

It's jumping ahead a little bit but I don't know if I'll remember to talk about this....  So, once I ran out of milk we tried using some formula to help supplement.  Max wanted nothing to do with it.  He would touch it at all.  I tried putting it in a bottle (serving it warm, cold, room temp), putting it in a sippy cup, putting in a regular cup, sucking it out of a straw.  I also tried giving him cow's milk.  Still, he wouldn't touch it!  I even tried a few different types of formula.  After about a week of trying and failing, we came across the magic solution.  We started mixing 1/2 formula (Enfagrow for Toddlers by Enfamil - - I got a bunch free at work!), 1/2 breast milk and TA-DA! he drank it!  So we went with that and over the next couple weeks lessened the breast milk and increased the formula until eventually he would take a formula bottle.  So until we moved, I still pumped 3 times a day, nursed in the morning and at noon, and then used formula wherever we didn't have enough milk.

Once we moved (so Max was 1 yr and 1 week), I stopped pumping 3 times a day.  I now nurse in the early morning , at noon, and at night before bed.  We do formula in a sippy cup in the morning while Peter and I are getting ready for the day, Britt gives him some when she gives him food around 10 am, when she feeds him around 4 pm, and then sometimes at night if I don't nurse or he seems to want more.

Back to July 26/27

Max and Landen playing through the sliding glass door.

Happy to be reading books

Sweet sleeping baby - he still gets swaddled at Brittany's and sleeps in the swing with the white noise going.

Landen trying to feed Max a bottle of formula which he was NOT interested in and threw down.

Our awesome friend Crystal was in town and we were excited to be able to spend time with her.  We have known Crystal since Rising Star days so that's like 13 years ago!  She had been offered some free tickets to go to the Rangers game so we all went - what a fun thing to do while connecting while an old friend.

Max wasn't sure he was happy to be out when he his bed time was fast approaching.

Peter and Max in front of the Texas Rangers ballpark.

Us and Crystal - Man I love her!!!

Yeah for baseball!  I was happy to be there but the noise and energy scared Max just like at the FC Dallas game.  Again I nursed him (Max doesn't have a binkie or blanket that he has for comfort, just nursing.  What am I going to do when he stops nursing?!).  A few innings in he was able to calm down and got used to the noise, the crowd, the energy...

2 boys at the game!

Come here, let me kiss those cheeks!

Max and Momma at the game

Max even let Crystal hold him for a short bit

This is the face of a tired boy who is hanging in there past his bed time.

This is that same face later in the night when he's REALLY ready to go to sleep but as I've said before, Max doesn't go to sleep just anywhere.

After the game there were fireworks.  It was a great show!  I was really impressed and they did the show to rock n roll music, which was fun and odd at the same time.

Max started freaking out so Peter held him close and covered his ears.  And I wouldn't have guessed what happened next in a million years...  Within a couple minutes, he fell ASLEEP!  DURING THE FIREWORKS!  I guess once the lights in the ball park went out, that was enough.  I actually felt really bad about it because it meant that he must have been super super super tired.  (It was around 10:30 and he usually goes to bed at 7:30.)  Bad parents... but it's hard because I want him to experience new things AND I don't want my life to end at 7:30 pm every day.

Crystal, I adore you.  Thanks so much for letting us know you were in town and giving us one of your evenings.  I loved catching up with you and wish you lived closer.  You are one awesome woman!