Millstones and milestones

The last three of the many baby bottles left the house today, moving on to other homes. It’s a wistful moment. Trying to hold our strong and squirmy toddler while he holds his straw cup of milk just isn’t the same as giving our baby a bottle.

We had Playtex drop-ins, and Dr. Brown’s in different sizes, and a variety of nipples and travel caps, and disposable nipples that could go on pre-mixed formula bottles. We knew several patented methods for reducing air intake, each one the only method proven to work. We had cleaning tools dreamed up in a science lab, and a particular stainless steel bowl tucked in the corner of the counter to collect the bottles ready to clean, and a dedicated space next to the sink for the 47 clean parts that made up our day’s supplies. We remember discovering that the Dr. Brown’s mixing pitcher actually did work better than other approaches to mixing the day’s formula, and we remember switching over to milk, and saying goodbye to formula. And while David would have happily continued taking his milk in a bottle even while learning to drink water from an open cup, we took away the bottles one day in June and we don’t miss the work.

But we miss giving our baby a bottle.