The more I think about it, the more I realize that what with my fibromyalgia and my risk factors for post-partum depression, I'm going to need more sleep than a new mom usually gets. So, as keen as I am to breastfeed exclusively, I've concluded that I should probably pump a bit and let someone else take over at least one night feeding so that I can get a semi-decent stretch of sleep.
This leads us to the question of which kind of bottles to use. In the spirit of "let's try everything out first", we had a little test session tonight. Too bad squashy couldn't help us out - no mouth, no sucking reflex - we were completely on our own.
Contender #1: The Adiri Breastbottle Nurser
It's shaped like a breast. Soft like a breast. And like a breast, you have to open your mouth wide and use a decent latch. You also have to work a bit to get the liquid out, although gravity will make the nipple drip a bit even without suction.
Contender #2: Gerber Nuk nipple on a really cheap bottle
We probably all recognize the bottle from our childhoods. The nipple shape is pretty different. We had to apply a good bit of suction, and the flow was very slow. I didn't like the size and shape of the nipple... it's too small to get a really good breastfeeding-type latch going, and it flows more easily if you just suck at the tip.
Contender #3: Second Nature bottle
This is the only bottle I've ever seen where the nipple doesn't drip when being held completely upside down. The only way to get a drink out of this one is to suck, suck, suck. The flow is apparently controlled by how hard you suck, which is good, but when I sucked my hardest I got a really fast flow. Wonder how a newborn's sucking power compares to mine? You can get a decent latch on this bottle, although the nipple part is kind of long.
Winner: Whichever one Lumpy will take and still move back to breast in the morning.
Seriously, I know it's going to be trial and error. I can't wait to see what Lumpy prefers... will he side with Mr. December and love the Nuk, or will he agree with me that the breastbottle is the way to go? Stay tuned for the stunning conclusion... in about 5 weeks.
Oh, and if you have babies, or experience with same, drop me a comment and let me know what bottles you liked best.
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7 comments:
We LOVE!!! Dr. Brown's bottles. Really, this is baby #3, and we've tried almost every bottle out there. Dr. Brown's is wonderful for decreased gas, and promoting the right latch. And since Rylan was so small, the latch was a big problem with him. So much so that he couldn't really suck and ended up champing down on the bottle nipples, and then eventually on me since that was the way he was learning. Poor baby.
They take a little bit more to clean, but are very worth it. Check them out.
Ummm, sorry to say this, but if you start bottles prior to 6 weeks after birth, the baby will get nipple confusion, and eventually refuse to latch at all.
If you sleep when the baby sleeps and get someone else to cook and clean and take care of the unnecessary stuff, you will be fine.
Over the years I have known many women who went through PPD and it never had anything to do with breastfeeding and always had to do with trying to do too many things that really didn't matter.
I know I'll be the contrarian here, I always am in these things, but it's worth trying to see how it goes first.
Aurelia ~ it's not just the ppd, it's also the fibromyalgia... which will render me unable to even pick up and hold my baby if I let myself get too tired. It's not a place we want to go.
I found myself thinking about bottles and breastfeeding yesterday too (and working myself into a bit of a panic...)
I truly believe tha we wìll not be able to figure these kind of things out until we are in the thick of it (and have perhaps spent some money on unnecessary things to try out...)
Wish I had some `advice` for you.
Did you get your bag packed...
I liked the Avent bottles. I had a very hard time breastfeeding Elisabeth. I actually stopped breastfeeding when she was eight days old and pumped. She did not have nipple confusion when we resumed breastfeeding four weeks later. I really liked the Avent bottles with drop in liners. The milk was easier to heat up using a cup of hot water. Breastmilk cannot be microwaved because it will destroy nutrients.
Neither of my kids cared what bottle I tried - G would not take any of them, and PB will use ALL of them. G only wanted the breast and PB wants whatever has milk in it. We use Avent bottles because that's what came with my breast pump.
I talked to the LC in the hospital about nipple confusion. PB was born with an insane need to suck and needed something other than just me so I gave her a pacifier. My nurse was horrified and lectured me on nipple confusion. My LC said that it's much more rare than most people think, but we hear about it so often because when it does happen, it can be devastating. It is something you have to think about, but in your situation with such a compelling reason to bottle feed overnight, it's a risk I would take if it were me.
we did exactly what you are talking about doing; we had one of almost every kind of bottle in our house. in the end, the dr. brown's worked best when our DD was very small and battling gas/reflux issues. later on, we used the avents, and even later still, we used a cheap gerber bottle (b/c it was more narrow and she could hold it). my milk never came in, so i cannot speak to nipple confusion.
wishing you the best!
-lori, mostly a lurker
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