When I gave birth to my oldest son, I was determined to breastfeed right from the beginning. My mom had breastfed all five of her children, sometimes for quite extended periods, and I didn’t even really consider not doing the same. I think I assumed it would be easy because it always looked so easy for her, so when I started breastfeeding and my nipples ended up cracked and bleeding, I was upset and confused. About two days after returning home from the hospital, I even considered giving up altogether. But I didn’t. I stuck it out and within about a month, breastfeeding was as natural as breathing to me.

Even so, a time came when my boys used bottles as well. At about one year of age, I would give my children whole milk in a bottle during the day or with meals as I gradually reduced their number of feedings. And I learned very quickly that finding the right bottle was HARD! Most of the bottles I owned had been designed for much younger babies, though I didn’t realize that at the time, and that meant that my boys simply weren’t getting milk quickly or easily enough. They had a tendency to chew on the nipples of the bottles to make the milk flow faster, which of course completely destroyed the nipples fairly quickly. [Read more…]