Saturday, February 26, 2011

Extended bottle feeding

Ok, I know this might sound crazy to some... but it's sort of bothered me since Deacon was a baby.  We all hear about extended breastfeeding- in a lot of circles it is highly encouraged and considered a good thing for both mom and baby... mostly for the health benefits- but the emotional benefits are great too.  So why is it that when people see a toddler with a bottle they look at you, as the parent, like you're crazy?  I'm pretty much of the belief that unless it's harmful, who cares?- but clearly not many all people think this way... I've had many people voice their opinions on Zac & Deacon's extended bottle usage... and it has me curious- why is that?  My boys have always used the bottle for comfort... it makes them so happy.  I guess moms who breastfeed for an extended period of time get the same weird looks and the same questions... which is why it *really* surprised me when I got the judgmental attitude from an avid breastfeeding mom one time.

Anyway... just ramblings.  Zac is down to only "needing" a bottle at sleep times when he's home... he's completely off the bottle at daycare (yes, I'm well aware that this is purely a comfort thing to him at this point- the bottle is not a necessity).  But tonight he fell and hit his head REALLY hard... poor thing had an immediate goose egg- I thought for sure there was going to be blood.  So when my sobbing baby asked for a "ba-ba" I immediately obliged.  Poor baby :(

And honestly... I am so much more "concerned" with getting him to sleep through the night- He can stay on the bottle until he's 10 for all I care... just SLEEP!


Melissa said...

Whatev. It's a way of comforting your child. It's a hell of a lot harder to comfort them once breastfeeding/bottle feeding is over.

LisaBrownDesign said...

Wow - I never even thought of it that way - good insight though! I'm even to embarrassed to even say anything to his pediatrician about it. And, we had a "slip-up" the other night too... Phoenix was hysterical the other night... and between him having pneumonia and two ear infections, I totally caved, and gave him a bottle to go to bed with. On the other hand, it's actually reassuring to see we're not the only ones in this situation.

Cate said...

I think part of people's problem with extended bottle feeding is how bad it is for the child's teeth. breastfeeding doesn't have the same impact on dental health. Also, depending on what you put in the bottle it could add unnecessary calories to the child's diet. Don't get me started on the lady at McDonald's i saw putting Dr. Pepper in her kid's bottle. Only in Lincoln.

Natalie said...

Abby used one till about 15 months, and Daniel gets one now if he cries inconsolably in the night (this happens about once a week when I don't feed him enough during the day.) But he's a lot less into bottles than his sister was at that age...keep doing whatever works!