Feeding Made Simple - Flipbook - Page 8
and the oneness with the tiny being you created and are caring
for. Honestly, it’s like a drug.
When I think of those moments, the one that stands out to me
the most is after the 2-weeks I spent trying to 昀椀gure out why my
baby was taking about an hour to 昀椀nish her bottle. She would
cry, whip her head around, try to swallow, gulp frustratedly while
showing all signs of hunger, but refusing the bottle in the same
moment. I was so confused. I began dreading feedings. I would
count down the minutes until her next bottle with apprehension,
and a tinge of guilt and shame that I felt this way. What was I
missing? I felt like I was failing her.
Had she developed an aversion to her formula? I’d been using
the same formula since she was born! It couldn’t be that.
Was the glass bottle too heavy for her little head? But she
had taken to it before.
Was she swallowing too many bubbles? I was using an anti‑
colic bottle, and I had perfected my bottle‑holding angle.
Was she just full? I know she’s hungry! She isn’t eating enough!
Was I using the wrong nipple size? Surely not. She’s only 10
weeks old.
A mom friend of mine has a son exactly 1‑week younger than
my daughter, Scottie. She is a second‑time mom, a wealth of
knowledge, and a vital resource for me. She suggested I switch
out the nipple from a size 1 to a size 2. I said, “Scottie’s only 10
weeks old! Anyone I’ve asked has said de昀椀nitely not, she’s too
young.” My friend replied, “I’m already using a size 2 with Liam.
Trust me, just try it. If it’s not the solution, then you just switch
it back.”
I eagerly same‑day ordered some size 2 nipples and sterilized
them in anticipation of her next feeding. I was unnaturally
excited to give it a try… Maybe this was the answer. When it
came time for her next meal, I popped a size 2 nipple onto the
collar of the bottle and lo and behold… She latched perfectly
and took to it with complete ease. All I could hear was the
sound of her breathing in between sips, and the beginnings of
the excited shrieks I held back so as not to interrupt or disturb
her 昀氀ow state. I exhaled. I embraced the quiet. I smelled her
head. I wept. I had cracked the code! It feels silly to write this
out and read it back, because it all sounds so trivial. But it was
the most important thing happening in my world, and I had
gotten to the bottom of it.
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