Bottle Boot-Camp

Both of my girls have been pros at nursing. They both latched on right after birth and never looked back. For that I am thankful. I have a good milk supply that keeps my girls growing healthy. For that I am thankful. They both LOVE their mama. For that I am really thankful. They both LOATHE bottles. For that I am not so thankful :)

Getting my girls to accept a bottle has been the single most stressful part of parenting them as babies. I'll be honest it's difficult and stressful. Especially because a baby who won't take a bottle means a mama who doesn't get a break. EVER. Not to mention the guilt that I've had leaving them because they WILL SCREAM UNTIL I RETURN WITH FOOD STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE.

Leighton flat out refused the bottle at 8 weeks. REFUSED. I introduced it at three weeks just like the books said and gave it to her about once every couple of weeks. She always took it well until the day she refused it. It was like a light switch flipped over in her head and she refused, and once she refused it there was no convincing her to change her mind (we spent a lot of money trying to find that "magic" bottle that would change her mind). One day, when she was eight months old, she decided to end her bottle strike, but, not with breastmilk. She decided she would take a bottle of formula from my mom, and not a full bottle, only a tiny 2.5 ounce bottle.

First photo EVER of mama feeding Leighton a bottle.
Eventually, I could get her to take a full bottle of formula (and thank goodness because feeding a 20lb baby a 2.5 ounce bottle was a tad ridiculous) but I never did get her to take a bottle of breast-milk. So I ended up supplementing with formula a few bottles a day and nursing the rest of the time. By 11 months she was totally weaned from nursing and formula fed. I've always wondered if I would've made it to a full year of exclusively breast feeding if I hadn't had the whole bottle issue.

Fast forward to baby Gracen and all the memories of refusing the bottle have come flooding back. I talked to the lactation consultant in the hospital about what to do to avoid this issue. She advised that we give her a bottle every two or three days regularly. At first that seemed to work okay. She was never a fan of the bottle but would eventually take it if she was hungry enough. The last few weeks though she has become even more stubborn about taking it and I feared I was heading down the same "bottle strike" road. My mom (Grammy) can always get her to take it and Toby is pretty good too. But, since I can't convince my mom to be our live-in Grammy and I usually want Toby to go with me when we need a babysitter, I need to conquer this once and for all! Enter bottle boot-camp...

Gracen's been in boot-camp since Saturday and oHHHHHeMMMMgEEEE it's been rough. We are making progress (I think) but she by no means enjoys a bottle. I swear I think her switch is halfway flipped and just waiting. Just waiting for me to slack on giving her the bottle to flip to OFF. Sigh. Here is what my bottle bootcamp consists of...In a nutshell it's only bottles of pumped breast-milk in the day and normal nursing at night. I do nurse first thing in the morning and after feedings if she still seems hungry. My day looks something like this...

Wake, nurse, play, nap, pump, feed bottle, play, nap, pump, feed bottle, etc. Repeat every three hours...

That little *feed bottle* part? Not so simple. It can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an HOUR AND A HALF to convince her it is the same milk she eats ALL NIGHT LONG. Did I mention it's only 3 ounces? I do let her nurse after she has finished the bottle if she still seems hungry. But since I can't bear the thought of pouring breast-milk down the drain (can.not.bear.it!!!) I only offer 3 ounces in the bottle. Not to mention I have a toddler to also take care of and keep entertained. Did I mention that said toddler has the attention span of about 2.3244 milliseconds and her favorite toy is the breast pump?! The process is ex.haus.ting but will totally be worth it if I can get her to take the bottle with ease and I think I'm headed down that path.

Some things I've learned...

-Standing helps. Don't even try to feed her in the chair where I usually nurse her. The diva will not be fooled!
-Movement helps. Especially pacing back and forth down my foyer hall. She likes looking at the lights down the hall.
-Singing helps. It distracts her so she doesn't think about the bottle. "Wheels on the bus" , "ABC's", the "UK Fight song" and Lady Gaga's "You and I" are all favorites. I am PRAYING my neighbors can't hear me lol.
-Temperature helps. She likes it warm. If you think it is maybe TOO warm to feed her then it is just about right! I heat it up in a cup of water from my keurig (probably my favorite kitchen item, evah!).
-Hunger helps. Stretching the feeding to every three hours helps to make sure she is hungry and more eager to eat from the bottle.
-Prayer helps. I sometimes feel funny praying about something so little but it helps keep me from getting overwhelmed in the stressful moments and I know HE hears me!

We have a couple of days left before Nana and Grand-dad (Toby's parents) come to visit and babysit. I would love to make the visit enjoyable for them and for my sweet Gracen. Say a little prayer for us. Maybe if I can conquer this I can move on to own-bed-boot-camp :)

Raise your hand if you hate bottles love your mama :)