My return to work is just around the corner (enter sad face here). One of my goals has been to be better/last longer at providing breast milk this time around. For Diego, I lasted about 5, almost 6 months before I made Diego a formula-only baby.
My return to work means that daytime nursing will need to stop for Mateo. So a couple of weeks ago, I started "training" him to drink breast milk from a bottle during the day.
Before that he occasionally drank from bottle when I would supplement with formula. I assumed that he just wasn't into formula as much as breast milk because he would fuss the entire time while finishing his bottle. Sometimes I assumed that he just wasn't hungry anymore. I used the same brand of bottle that I used for Diego: Avent.
So when I started bottle feeding Mateo breast milk a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that he had the same fussiness over the breast milk while it was in the bottle. Could it be that the problem was not the formula? Did he just not like the bottle? This was going to be bad. I was going back to work soon, and he needed to learn to take the bottle.
After a few days of trying to bottle feed him using the Avent bottle, I knew I needed to try something else. If only they made a bottle that was shaped more like a boob! So I went to Target in search of a boob bottle, and lo' and behold I found one! Tommee Tippee and their slogan sucked me in: Closer to Nature (i.e. "boob") Just look at the difference between the Avent bottle and the Tommee Tippee bottle. It's basically a boob!
While at Target I had to make the choice between the anti-colic type or the regular bottle. Since the anti-colic bottles did not cost much more than the regular bottle, I figured I'd try the anti-colic ones.
As of right now, I maintain that decision to be a mistake. I don't think my son is a colic-y baby, and now I have all these extra parts to clean and 3 of them require a small wire brush on the anti-colic attachment (the wire brush comes with the bottles). I'm no scientist, so I still can't understand how the anti-colic attachment works, so since I swear I'm a genius I assume it doesn't work. The anti-colic attachment also has a blue temperature-sensitive strip in the middle that turns pink if the temperature of the milk goes above the recommended 98 degrees. However, the packaging clearly states that you must always check the temperature yourself. Also there is a small nub at the bottom end of the attachment which has a slit. The packaging also clearly states that you must pinch the nub before each feeding to ensure proper ventilation. To be honest, I forget to do this half the time: probably because I decided it doesn't work. At some point, I decided that I'd rather not use the attachment at all. That's when I found out that the bottle will not close properly without the attachment, so I'm stuck with it.
Enough with my complaining, because believe it or not I am giving this bottle a good review. That same day when I brought the bottle home, I was so eager to use it. Mateo took to the bottle right away! Even when filled with formula. The nipple is shaped more like a boob, it is made of silicone for a more realistic feel, and retracts during nursing like a nipple as well (or so the box states). The box also states that the nipple provides slow release: just like nature. This sucked me in too, since Mateo had been using my goods as his own personal dream machine. He would latch for an hour and eventually fall asleep, so I needed something that would deliver the milk slowly. I'm not saying that this bottle lasted an hour, but he does fall asleep after drinking about 5 oz. from this bottle. Hallelujah!
Another thing this bottle boasted was its hour-glass shaped design. Tommee Tippee claims it was made for the comfort of both mama and baby, helping baby learn to hold their own bottle. Well, I personally can hold any bottle: I don't suffer from carpal tunnel or anything and Diego didn't hold his own bottle until he was almost 10 months old, so the helpful design didn't interest me one bit. Although I did like how it looked. But then one day when Mateo (almost 4 months) was really hungry:
I was NOT expecting that. And it wasn't a fluke because he's done it a couple times already. And he even gave me enough time to go get my camera and take a shot. Amazing! I am now a Tommee Tippee convert...
Now if they can just make a boob-pacifier! Anyone know of any? Google is no help.
-Shirley
PROS:
Nipple shape and feel
Bottle Shape
CONS:
Anti-colic attachment has too many parts to clean
Temperature strip is too sensitive, and what's the point if I'm still checking on my hand anyway?
Easy to forget pinching the nub for ventilation
Recommendation: Good for babies that prefer the boob, or if you're worried about nipple confusion. If you know your baby is not colic-y, just buy the regular kind so you don't have to clean so many parts. You know I'll be hitting up my local Target again soon!
P.S. Sometimes when Mateo starts to fuss while bottle feeding on this bottle, I warm the milk and he takes it. Sometimes he's just not hungry.
It's been 4 months! Where has the time gone? At first I was counting down the days to when you would sleep through the night, and now four months later I've gone back to work and you still wake up about 1-2 times in the night. But honestly, I'm happy to have survived the first few months of sleepless nights. 1-2 times in the night? Piece of cake!
After the park, we had dinner at the local Elephant Bar. Dinner was delicious, but by the time we made it back to the city my stomach was aching. Hubby was worried because after I nursed Mateo for his last nurse of the night, I placed him in his bassinet and I crawled up into a ball. I was in so much pain that I couldn't coddle Mateo to sleep. I heard him next to me, crying. It was heart-breaking, but I knew he could fall asleep on his own. And he did.
