Two weeks before getting back to work, we practiced Sofia drinking from a feeding bottle. Although lactation experts do not recommend this, my husband and I still let Sofia to use bottles while I'm away. Luckily, Sofia took the bottles easily and more luckily, still latches on me when we're together. However, feeding bottles made me stressed out because of my fear of nipple confusion and thus might result to less milk production. My husband and I agreed to cup feed Sofia when she turns 6 months.
During weekends few weeks before she turned 6 months, I practice her to drink from a cup. It wasn't easy at all- we had a lot of spills! At six months, we were consistent drinking milk from the cup after eating but she still takes the bottle when she needs to sleep. Until we observed she dropped bottles little by little from 5 to 4 to 3 bottles a day. A few weeks before turning nine months, Sofia weaned herself drinking from feeding bottles. They tried offering her bottles a few times but she really refused (I never give bottles to her but I cup feed her). Now, Sofia drinks from the cup and latches on me. The best part of cup feeding is that your baby is really, really, overly excited when she sees you because she cannot wait to latch (daddy, that's why she's excited to see me more than you :P). And another good thing is less stuff to wash!
A few tips for cup feeding:
1. Use a clear shot glass so you can see if the milk is being lapped by your baby so you won't spill some milk. Feeding bottle caps will also do - we use this if we're out.
2. Hold the cup at the bottom not on the side. But with practice, and when your baby can drink perfectly from the cup, it doesn't matter.
3. Be consistent in practicing. If you're like me who would like to transition your child from bottle to cup, give the cup more frequently than bottles thru time.
4. It's okay to spill some milk. It's just like when your expressing and then accidentally spilled the milk and that's worse! So it's okay to spill some. You'll get over it.
5. Be patient. It takes two to tango. You and your baby need time to master this. Sofia learned cup feeding after a month of consistently offering her milk from the cup.
Good thing also Sofia weaned from drinking bottles when she's teething. They say nipples (or pacifiers- which we didn't introduce to Sofia at all) can cause misalignment of teeth in the future when permanent teeth come out (which is true in thumb sucking). Cup feeding also skips the "training cup" stage. They tried to offer Sofia a training cup but she refused as well.
I wish I have introduced cup to my baby when she was still an infant so I wouldn't worry she'll get nipple confused and her suckling won't change. Although it's not really bad to offer bottles, it's better to offer cups to babies. It's a matter of choice and being aware of the consequences. Believe me, your baby misses you more when she's cup fed the whole day!
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