Bottle Battle 2011 - Days 8 & 9

Day 8

Yesterday was a busy day, which made giving Adriana a bottle difficult. I finally managed to get her a bottle at her before-bedtime feeding. She did well taking the bottle, but she fell asleep after drinking an ounce. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get her to suck in her sleep. I didn't know what to do. If I put her to bed, she would be awake and hungry in a few hours. If I let her nurse (which I knew she would do in her sleep), I was giving in instead of making her take a bottle. Scott pointed out, though, that I was not really giving in since she didn't throw a fit with the bottle. She took the bottle, but she had a long day, and she didn't mean to fall asleep. So I let her nurse. Even though she was sleeping, I told her that she finished her bottle a long time ago and it was time for the next feeding. Yes, I know she can't understand me, but just in case....

Adriana did not wake up last night. I think that just about proves that her middle-of-the-night-wake-ups are bottle-related. Gotta love our head-strong girl!

Day 9

Since she's been doing well with the bottle, we decided it was time for Grandma to try since she's the one who will give her a bottle when I'm at work. And we found out that Adriana does not like change. She went back to crying whenever she saw the bottle. At one point, we decided I should try, and then hand her off to Sue once she got going. She took the bottle from me pretty easily, but cried like crazy as soon as I handed her off. In the end, she drank 3 oz. in 2 hours. Then she stopped crying and started talking to and smiling at Grandma. We figured that meant she was full, so we quit trying to feed her.

I figure it took her about a week to learn to take the bottle well from me, so it may take her a week to get used to taking it from someone other than Mommy or Daddy. My first week back at work may be a rough one, but she won't starve. She'll learn that Grandma (and others) can feed her, too.