Breast or bottle?

Dylan, in his costume, and Arley Rae hang out.

With my first child, Dylan, somehow I missed the memo to start offering him bottles of breastmilk between four to six weeks of age. So, at seven weeks, my husband gave him a bottle and my son never wanted to nurse again. Even still, he continued to receive my breastmilk exclusively until his first birthday. My breastpump and I became very close – I never went anywhere without her!

So when my second – and final!!! – child was born on June 17, 2010, I was determined to make her a switch hitter.

At six weeks, she reluctantly sipped an ounce of her bottled breastmilk while her Daddy held her. I swear she was giving me a “Go to H-E-double hockey sticks” stare the entire time!

In order to prepare her for day care/my return to work after 12 weeks , a family member attempted to give her a bottle once a day while I nursed her the rest of the time. Arley Rae “complained” the entire time, but my husband and her grandparents managed to get a couple of ounces in her tummy each feeding.

It seemed that my plan had backfired. She only wanted to nurse! I knew if she got hungry enough, she’d find a way – but I couldn’t help but be concerned that she’d never drink from a bottle. After several different types of bottles, we finally found two that she remotely “liked.”

Thankfully, at 15 weeks, she is finally starting to get the hang of drinking from a bottle – and she continues to nurse well, too. In fact, she’s more than doubled her birth weight and is wearing size 6-9 month clothes. (She’s my chunky little Junebug!)

It just goes to show that even so young they have their own personalities and desires. I’m curious to see how else she’ll differ from her big brother.

What helped your baby adjust to drinking from bottles?

Mandy Forbus
Sr. Marketing Specialist
Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford