Bittersweet

The one task that I’ve always hated is making bottles. The daily washing/sterilizing/mixing formula routine shouldn’t take more than a half hour in all; but seeing as it’s really three steps to reach a finished product, it ends up taking me several hours.

I no sooner get the bottles in a large bowl to soak that I’m distracted by another more-immediate need, like changing a dirty diaper. Eventually somewhere between making lunch, cleaning up lunch and trying to get Ladybug to take a nap, I get the bottles made and cooled off enough before she starts asking for one.

But tonight as I topped off her bottles with the last of the formula, I’m feeling a little bit nostalgic about it all. Even though she still asks for a bottle every now and then throughout the day, it’s filled mostly with whole milk with a dash of formula mixed in. After this round of bottles, it will only be milk inside.

I can’t say as I scooped the last of the powder into her bottles that I was longing for the old six-bottles-a-day ritual. No, it just made me realize just how quickly Ladybug’s growing up. She’s eating almost all solid food now, another milestone in her journey to independence. What’s next? Potty training?

I should only be so lucky.