The Bottle

Lorelei is in our room with her daddy and he is trying to give her a bottle. I am trying to distract myself. She has not had a bottle since she was two weeks old, and because of all the nursing issues, I did not want to try to introduce one lest she decide to prefer it to me and get all confused. However, we decided to introduce one so that we can go out sometimes or so Allen can have a part in feeding her. It is not something that we intend to do every day or anything, and we are still going to fill it with breast milk...we just wanted her to be able to take it if it was ever necessary. Well Lorelei has other ideas.
I am starting to think maybe we waited a liiiittle too long because she cries every time someone tries to give her a bottle (someone other than me...I do not want her to associate me with it.) Allen has tried a few times, and each time she cries after she drinks a little, and then she starts coughing and not swallowing it well, so he gives her back to me to feed her. One time we left her with my mom and a bottle while we went out to dinner, thinking that maybe if I was totally out of the house she would take it, and we came home to her screaming and I had to promptly feed her as soon as I walked in the door. (Thankfully they had only tried it a few minutes before we got home.) We are trying to make it so her bottle feeding is as easy as possible; we got a bottle that is supposed to mimic the breast (so she has to work for the milk rather than it just pouring in and startling her) and I always leave the room so she can't even smell me. But she is just not digging it right now. As we speak, she is crying in the next room with daddy, but at least I think she is drinking a little...

I have to say, while I want her to have this bonding with Allen, it makes me really emotional. I LOVE being the sole giver of her food and love having her nurse on me, and I am still afraid that she will like the bottle more than me and decide not to nurse anymore. The first few times that we tried the bottle, I got really choked up and teary and was secretly kind of relieved when she did not want it...I know that is selfish, but it is how I feel. I don't mind that she is a momma's girl most of the time :-) She is my girl! Now if only she looked a little like me :-) Oh and tonight's bottle = fail. She is fed up and coming out to nurse now. Sigh. Guess we will try another day!

Here are my three favorite pictures from memorial day today: