MONDAY 3rd OCT - Nearly weeks ago I attempted to get my 20wks (20wks today - gosh how time flys!!) onto the bottle with regular formula. FAIL.

Not only did she look completely confused when I put the teat in her mouth...I noticed that she had a bad reaction on her face where the milk had come in contact with her skin. *sigh*

At the same time I had started trying to put her onto the bottle, I had also started to feed her Farex (Baby rice ceral). I made it up using boiled water. FINE. :) But when I made it up with formula milk she had the same bad reaction :(

So last Monday I took her to the docs...got her 3 month imms done (yeah I know - she's nearly 5 months LOL) anyway, I told the doc about her reaction to the cows milk and all I really wanted to know from him was which of a soy based or goats milk based baby formula would better to try her on...he said to find the cows milk formula that was recommended for sensitive skin...my initial though was "hmmm...never knew they had one but 'ok".

So being the tight arse I am...I didn't want to buy a whole can of formula just to find out she reacts to that too...so I called Karicare to ask if they had samples for me to try, but when I told the lady on the phone about the reaction that baby had she said NOT to use a soy or goat based formula at all. She said she would send me a can of Pepti Junior Gold to use for baby. They don't recommend soy based for baby's under 6 months. BUT to get this Pepti I would have to have my doc call them and confirm that baby needed to be on it. DONE and all good. That was Monday last week. By Wednesday nothing had arrived so I called them and they said the doc had called them but maybe there was a problem with supply? Kailo...so anyway, by the next day I was desperate to get her on the bottle...so while at Pak'n'Save I noticed that another company do a soy based formula from birth...so I bought a can - $24.00.

I came back home, made her a bottle - she didn't like it...she looked at me with the whole WTH is this - what the hell is going on?? lol. But I didn't give in. An hour or so later, I tried again, she was only taking 20-30mls at the most and most of it was prolly dribbled out anyway...meanwhile my BOOBS were becoming engorged!! I gave her a couple of minutes on each boob to relieve the pressure. By around 10pm that night she FINALLY gave in and sucked a 120ml bottle dry!! PMG the relief from me...FINALLY she took the bottle. BUT she was back up at 4am for another bottle - which she took like a professional!! That's my girl!!

So Friday...apart from the odd couple of minute on each boob to relieve pressure...she was a bottle baby...

B U T ...
By friday evening, she wasn't 'right'. There was DEF something wrong *sigh* She was NOT happy. YES she took the bottle but she was in pain! Every 30 mins - to an hour she would cramp in pain then pass a small thick consistency of poo. I kept giving her the bottle though...by Saturday afternoon I decided NOT to keep giving her the soy formula. I felt a bit pissed off...for selfish reasons of course, but that was short lived as I knew her tummy wasn't agreeing with the soy formula...she was cramping all the time and constipated fgs!!

So Saturday evening and all Sunday I went back to the boob which by Sunday morning felt empty again...she was still crampy...and constipated...but I could see a slight improvement in her mood and bowel motions.

By Sunday afternoon though, she was HUNGRY! My boobs felt like empty bags of nothing *sigh*. She was still grizzly - not sleeping well...*sigh*

After not having napped for longer than 15mins all day, she finally went to sleep at 11pm Sunday night!! ONLY to wake back up at 3am and I mean she was WIDE AWAKE!! I feed her boob and put her back to bed, she cried. I got her up, changed nappy - big poo - feed her - put her back to bed...she cried. Gawd!! So I got up, went to the kitchen, grabbed a bag of cheezles...big drink of refresh...got baby out of her cot and propped myself up in bed with her, ate and watched tv! 30 mins later she's still hungry and still my boobs feel empty! Hubby (bless him) said to give her boiled water...of course I jumped in and said "Would you be satisfied with boiled water??!!" I was tired, grumpy(er than usual lol). So he said give her some farex.. So I got up, made her a bottle of boiled water with a couple of spoons of farex. Luckily I had bought a packet of teats by mistake which was for thicker liquids...so anyway, 140mls of thick farex in a bottle...inhaled in 4 mins!! She ate like I hadn't jus spent the past two hours with her hanging off my boob!!

With the bottle finished, I offered her the boob, which in true Samoan style, she gladly accepted :) 10 mins later she was fast asleep...I put her back in her cot. I looked at the time - 5:30am. GREAT...I get one WHOLE HOURS sleep then I'm back up again to wake the kids for school...

I woke up late...it was 7am when I got up. Miss 16 was already ready and about to leave. I woke mr 13 up...always a bloody mission with him! I ended up having to drop him off at the but station at the mall. I came back home and to my utter relief, on the deck waiting for me was a package...I picked it up and saw that it was the tin of baby formular!! OH MY UTTER RELIEF!! Excitedly, like a kid on Christmas morning...I went straight to the bedroom and woke hubby up and showed him...poor guy (who was up with me through the night with baby) starts at 12pm today...so I told him to get some sleep...

I came back to the kitchen, read through the information. Made up a bottle for her...and now I await her company...so she can try out the latest formula :)

It's actually quite bitter and says in the info pack that I can add a drop or two of vanilla ess or 1tsp of golden syrup for each 240ml till she gets used to the flavour.

WISH ME LUCK.