Anyone who knows me knows that I follow instructions precisely and do not deviate (one of the many reasons Casey is a much better cook than I am). So, following the advice of a complete stranger (Baby Whisperer) who I have entrusted the health of my children to, we have religiously fed Chase (in his sleep) at 10:00 PM every night since he was born. Truth be told, 10:00 PM has felt awfully late at times. In the early days, we even had to set an alarm so that we could wake up to feed him (how old are we?!?!). Now that we have adjusted to life with two active little boys, staying awake has seemed much less difficult and for the most part, I have taken over this feeding.
This is going to come out wrong, but feeding Chase in his sleep is my favorite part of the day with him. Feeding time is supposed to be an incredible bonding experience between baby and parent, where you gaze into each other's eyes and smile and coo. That is not the case with Chase. I may have mentioned before, but since he turned about 3 months old, the little guy does not particularly care for drinking bottles (and that is putting a positive spin on it). He will eat oatmeal and pureed foods all day long, but he just gets flat out angry when you try to get him to drink a bottle. Who knows why, but he screams and flails around and cries and mostly just refuses to drink. So instead of being a wonderful time for bonding, it is stressful for Chase and whoever happens to be feeding him. It is really quite strange since he is probably the happiest, most laid back baby at all other times of the day. He just hates to drink (oh, if only this would last through the college years).
But at 10:00 PM, he will peacefully drink to his little heart's content. And it is then, as Riley sleeps in the next bedroom and Casey and the dogs are relaxing and the whole house is quiet, that I finally get my bonding time with my sweet little boy. I get to breathe in the scent of him and examine his delicate little features and daydream about the kind of little boy he will become and be so very thankful that the baby I have worried about non-stop for the last year and a half is healthy and full of life. It is the only time of day that I have the luxury of being 100% devoted to no one else but Chase and I love it.
Sadly, as with most things, this phase is about to come to an end. If I am honest, he no longer needs this bottle to get him through the night without waking up, but I have been clinging to it; partly because I believe he needs the extra calories that he loses out on when he makes it impossible to get liquids into him during the day, but mostly because I am going to miss this time with him terribly...
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