The Journey of Bottle Feeding

This was one of our very first bottle feeding attempts that was semi-successful.

I should really have Mike write this post. He's the one doing it, afterall. Let's just say, that if we win the lottery I will be staying home...heck, we both will be staying home...and I will be feeding the baby with my breast and Mike will use all the baby bottles we have to drink whiskey with...because bottle feeding has been a struggle, to say the least. We are not alone in this either. Apparently other people's children have struggled to accept the bottle as well. The two ladies in my birthing class - their boys seemed to take the bottle with much more ease - perhaps they introduced it earlier? Maybe they accept change more easily? Maybe Aki Bear just really likes hanging out with me and snuggling? I don't know what it is. All I know is that it is taking time for us all to adjust.We first introduced the bottle to him at 6 weeks - that is what was recommended. We weren't very consistent about it. We would skip 5 days completely. Now that I'm back at work part time he has been fully immersed in the baby bottle way...and he's not taken to it well. I've purchased two different bottles. The first ones are Tommy Tippees with a number 1 nipple which basically means it has the smallest hole possible...so the baby needs to really suck to get the milk. Then I bought some Avent glass bottles with a number 2 nipple which has a bigger hole therefore the milk comes out more easily. Then I bought a bottle warmer which warms the milk evenly and consistently. He has successfully eaten from the Avent bottles so we primarily use that one. It takes about 4 minutes to heat 4 oz. of milk in the bottle warmer.

On my first half day at work I called the lactation consultant (who works at he Birth Center) when I got home. I thought that if I could get as many helpful hints for Mike as possible the better off the boys would be when I was at work. One of the main questions that Mike had for her was, "When does it become dangerous for the baby; if he only takes 2 oz. of milk can't he become dangerously dehydrated?" She answered that question and more. Here are the questions we asked:

How much should he get at each feeding?
Since he is about 16 pounds he should get 35 oz. per day. He feeds about 8 times a day which means he should get about 4 oz. at each feeding. (Dr. Sears has a formula for how much a baby should be getting at each feeding or per day here.)

Any tricks to get baby to take bottle? Or is it practice makes perfect?
Practice makes perfect. Although you can try different sized nipples and make sure that the nipple reaches his soft palette. As he is feeding you want to gently tug at the bottle so that he continues to suck. You can also make the hole in the nipple bigger by poking a needle through it.

I read about offering breast milk through a cup? Would it be a sippy cup? When should we try this?
Yes, it would be a sippy cup but I would try your hardest to get him to take the bottle before you move onto the spoon, syringe or cup. Give it some time.

Is there an ideal position to feed him in? Is mimicking a nursing position good?
You should sit him up at an angle. You can hold him up with one arm, your hand supporting his neck and head or you can rest him on your bent knee and hold the bottle in your other hand. Try to hold the bottle parallel to the floor.

This isn't Mike or Aki Bear (duh). I just thought it was a good image of a father and son bottle feeding in a good position; not completely down on his back but up and at an angle with the bottle semi parallel to the floor. It's from Parents dot com.

She also told us to check out the website kellymom.com where there are all sorts of breast feeding and bottle feeding tips. When I got home from work on Friday I saw these two windows open on the computer that Mike had looked up and read:
Bottle feeding and bonding
How much milk do babies need?

Our goal is for him to like bottle feeding. He doesn't have to love it but we'd love for him to adjust to it and understand that this is just an alternate way to receive food!