Nursing Diaries (Part Three)

"Introducing the Bottle"

As the saying goes: "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you get your prince."  Well my Princess had to drink from many bottles, before finding the right one.

Within the first couple weeks of having my daughter nursing became second nature.  Getting up for nighttime feedings were tough, as you parents already know.  But, I knew what I was getting into and complaining about it was out of the question.  Nonetheless, my little Princess and I were doing just fine.  That was until we had our first doctor visit.  I told the pediatrician that I planned on returning to work, and asked about the best time to introduce the bottle.  He told my hubby and I that we basically should start right away.  He then said, "If you don't, she may never take the bottle!"  The thought of not being able to go back to work because my daughter wouldn't take the bottle was absolutely terrifying.  That actually happened to a close friend of mine.  After a few weeks of exclusively breastfeeding, her daughter refused to drink from the bottle.  So she had no choice, but to quit her job in order to nurse.  I applaud her for doing that because if it came down to it, I'd do the same thing.  But, I also made a commitment to return to work after my twelve-week maternity leave.  It wouldn’t have been an easy decision to become a stay at mom.  So on that note, my hubby and I took the doctor's advice and got the baby bottle introduction rollin'.

I didn't realize that it would be so difficult.  We had tons of bottles that were gifted to us at our baby shower.  We first went with the Tommee Tippee newborn starter set.  I read good reviews and figured it would be the right choice for my baby girl.

I also read that the bottle was designed with a woman's nipple in mind. It has a wide nipple base, it's flexes and stretches like the breast, and produces less air build-up.  Princess had already been dealing with a lot of gas, so I thought that this would definitely help.  Not!!! Milk leaked everywhere, and it was clear that Princess didn't like drinking from this bottle. It was a complete mess! I ended up having to return the set. I knew that introducing the bottle would take some time, but I never really thought we would have to go through a bunch of different ones.  

My sis had also given me left over unused bottles from our baby shower. We tried those and Princess wouldn't drink from it either. There were a bunch of others that also didn't work out.  I was beginning to lose hope when I remembered the bottles that came with my Madela Pump.  I filled one with breast milk and my hubby gave it to her. She loved it! 

  Who knew that babies had a bottle preference? It was like auditioning for a role! Finally, everything was working out. My hubby and I even develop a system where we would give her one bottle every other day, and he'd be the one who fed her. Since I was nursing, it was only right that he experience feeding time.  It also further strengthened their daddy daughter bond.

Nursing was still my top priority and I didn't want to overdue the bottle-feeding in the beginning. I heard that some babies end up losing interest in nursing completely, if that happens. That's when nursing and pumping became my routine. I began expressing milk and storing it in the freezer.  

I am a planner who likes to keep things in order, call me crazy. But, you never know what can happen. I could be sick and need to take medication (which could affect milk supply and/or my baby), or I could have to work late.  I believe it's great to have extra breast milk handy.  Besides, pumping and nursing kept my milk supply up. 

Princess still prefers drinking from Madela bottles, and I am still nursing.  Of course, every baby is different and I am in no way endorsing any of the products mentioned above.  But whether you're a stay at home mom or work outside of the home, I think it's so important to let your baby be the judge.  Some nursing moms may choose to introduce the bottle with formula, while others pump their own milk.  Either way, you may have to go through a few bottles before finding that right one.