So Owen is a funny little guy. He takes the bottle sometimes (by this I mean 4 times in his life so far) and other times rejects it in a major way (by 'other' times I mean approximately 12-16 rejections). Obviously, as a wedding photographer, I will have to go back to work eventually for ALL DAY. I think it's a good thing that this is inevitable because hopefully it will make him a more flexible baby. We try at least once a day to give him the bottle. I've read up on this, of course, and it seems there are many suggestions including these that I've tried
1) have Dad feed him while Mom is outside house
2) have Mom feed him with shirt up
3) wait until baby is really hungry to try
4) use Avent nipple or try different brands of nipples and bottles
5) use soft cups (laps up like a kitten) * haven't tried
6) do a feeding when baby is calm and relaxed
7) have an experienced bottle feeder feed baby
8) feed baby in a calm familiar environment (ie: favorite nursing chair)
9) make sure to try bottle feeds at various times of day
All in all, I wish I had started with this on week 3 or so because Owen had such a great latch and zero nursing problems. It probably would've been helpful to get him switch hitting early on. The Sears book said not to worry, get him to take a bottle once 2 weeks before going back to work and he'll adjust when Mom's away. What about peace of mind, Sears? Then in the Sleep Lady book it says give baby a bottle every day even if you plan on breastfeeding all the time just in case you have to leave baby for some emergency like surgery (makes sense to me). In another book it says to start as early as 2-3 weeks or you'll have problems because they come to prefer one or the other.
We'll see how it goes this weekend, I'll keep you posted.
I have a short 3 hour work engagement this Saturday from 11-2PM so we'll see how it goes. I don't REALLY go back to full days until June and even then it's only once a week.
Any help/comments in this department would be appreciated. I've already consulted with my pediatrician, midwives, La Leche League
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Aunt Phyllis and I were talking and remembered that some bottle nipples had a hole that was too small. Our babies would get tired and frustrated trying to take the bottle.
We would heat a needle to make the hole a tiny bit bigger and get a better flow. Or we would loosen the cap a little and get a better flow. Just a thought ...
http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/breast/AS-botspacifiers.htm
I liked this article.
Post a Comment