What a difference 6 months makes!!

Well, we've finally made it back to London! We went to North Carolina on August 7th with the intentions of staying for 2 months. That turned into about 3 and 1/2 months due to issues obtaining Ruby's UK Visa. Ruby and I both enjoying our time in North Carolina, and while it is nice to be back home in London, it was sad to leave our home and family in NC. Luckily, we'll be able to return for Christmas!

On the day we arrived back to London, I hurt my back quite severely. I have a slipped disk, and before I started taking medication, it was painful to even take a few step, painful to sit, painful to even move. I'm hoping to have this all corrected next week and be back to normal. And yes, I said the dreadful word "medication". That means that breastfeeding had to come to a halt for Ruby. I had planned to begin weaning her at 6 months anyway, but I didn't like the fact that I was forced to do so, I wanted it to be on my own terms. I must say that fulfilling my goal of breastfeeding Ruby for the full 6 months that I set out to do was by far one of my most proud accomplishments of my life so far. I had to overcome many challenges but I did it and in the end, I really enjoyed breastfeeding Ruby. It was a special bond that only she and I shared and I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. But now it's time to move on to new exciting experiences. So while I'm sad to see it ending, I'm excited for what's to come! We had our last feed on the evening of Wednesday November 17th. Since then, we've been giving her bottles of milk I had previously expressed and frozen during the first several months of her life. We want to make that last for as long as possible, so we've also introduced some formula into her diet. We're doing two bottles of formula and two bottles of breast milk a day.

In addition to all of these changes, we've also introduced some solids! Ruby had her first taste of rice cereal at lunchtime on Tuesday November 16th. I've heard of some babies turning away from food and rejecting it, but that was certainly NOT the case for Ruby. She couldn't get enough! Here's a few shots:


We'll continue to increase her intake of rice cereal for the next week or so, then we will introduce her first vegetable, maybe on Thanksgiving Day! I'm thinking that Ruby may want to have a taste of sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving too, right? It's such a joy to watch Ruby develop and learn new things. What a blessing she is to our family!