SUGAR TIT

I know, I know. It is a shocking title for a post, but I am honoring my grammy with this one. She shared this little tidbit with me when Kelsey was about 3 months old and was fussy on the farm. Her first visit to the old homestead. A bunch of firsts on this trip to Illinois.

Kelsey just couldn't get comfortable. She was squirmy and squacking and just a little miserable. She didn't want to breastfeed, didn't want a bottle, had a dry bottom, didn't like the binky. I was out of options. Grammy came up and said "try a sugar tit." I gave her a shocked expression and replied "what is that?" Grammy went on to explain that her mother used sugar tits to calm all of her babies. It never failed her. Here's the recipe for my grammy's sugar tit.

You need a clean 100% cotton dishtowel. Cut a one inch square of bread without the crusts and one teaspoon of sugar and place these in the dishtowel and twist the towel so that you create a little ball in the bottom. Carefully dip the ball in milk to saturate. Place against baby's lips and gently entice the sucking action . . . voila' . . . a sugar tit.

After using Kelsey as the guina pig, I did occasionally use sugar tits on all my girls. They would latch on immediately and it would keep them happy for a good 15 minutes. I would intermittantly dip in milk to keep the tit damp. It did not interfere with breastfeeding and it was approved by my pediatrician.

My grammy was a genius and I will always carry fond memories of her in my heart.