Anti-Bottles
Let me clarify one thing: I’m not against the use of bottles to feed babies. I know that some women have no choice but to feed their babies with formula, and I know that other women pump their breastmilk and use bottles for when they’re away from their babies. I’m not here to judge anyone for the decisions they make when feeding their babies as long as their decision was made in an informative and loving fashion.
No, I’m not against bottles. Do you want to know who is against bottles? Both my babies, that’s who.
I nursed my daughter exclusively for two weeks and then introduced a bottle of my milk. We waited two weeks because that’s what the books told us to do. We did everything the books instructed; I left the room while my husband calmly tried to feed her from the bottle. As I sat in the living room listening, first I heard her fussing. Then I heard her crying. Pretty soon, she was the maddest two-week old you’d ever heard.
We tried several more times, and each time it was no dice. We tried different bottles with varying nipple sizes and textures. We tinkered with the temperature of the milk. No matter what we tried, it didn’t work. She wasn’t buying the concept that my milk could come out of a bottle. After many frustrating tries we decided the effort wasn’t worth it, and I would just be the Amazingly Available Lactator until she eventually weaned.
When my son was born, we didn’t even bother to try bottles. I already knew that I could get away without them, so why go through all the stress? Yes, it was a huge hassle sometimes to not be able to get away for more than a few hours at a time, but I just considered myself lucky to not have to work outside the home because that would have been a nightmare. I know some women who have nannies bring their kids in to their work every few hours for a nursing session, but that can’t be easy.
Besides, I never liked pumping anyhow.
Jessdel27 says...
My son was also anti-bottle so I understand exactly what you are saying. While not having anything against anyone who uses bottles, I am a strong advocate for breastfeeding. However, we were determined to breastfeed for six months exclusively before introducing him to any formula, so I’ll never know if that was the raeson he hated bottles.