Kate Elizabeth: Hiatus

We are still losing the bottle battle. Let me remind you its been 7 days of attempting a bottle at pretty much every feed, everyday. It goes something like this...

Kate starts to stir, so I rush to get the bottle in the warmer. If she's too upset, she definitely won't take it, so we HURRY. Then (if Brett's at work and my mom isn't already at my house) I text my mom "she's up." We live across the street from my parents, and my mother is WAITING on that text because she is bound and determined to get this baby to take a bottle again. In a few short weeks, I head back to work :( and Mom's a little nervous about watching Kate all day if she won't take a bottle. Understandable, because Kate screams when she's "hungry." Babydoll, your rolls and chub prove you aren't starving. Mom comes right over, and the bottle is never warm yet.

It takes 5 minutes to heat, but inevitably, every time, I check it at 3 minutes...just to see. Nope, not ready.

When it's finally warm (and yes, we've tried this with cold and room temp breastmilk) Mom calmly picks Kate up, talks and sings to her, gets her to smile....

and then offers the bottle.

And usually, within 5-10 minutes baby girl is screaming and has maybe taken 1/2 ounce, which has really only happened because it drips in her mouth as she cries and she swallows as a reflex. How's that sound for meal time?!

Then Mom heads outside, because that always calms Kate down. So she spends another 30 minutes or so walking around the yard, singing "take the bottle" songs to Kate and bouncing her to keep her calm. The whole time, I can't even be in the same room, or God forbid, speak, because as soon as I do, that's it. Game over. Kate knows, no joke.

So now it's been about 45 minutes, Kate is hungry and exhausted, and the bottle is still full.

So we're taking a haitus. I need it.

I don't mind a baby's crying, but when she's screaming for her mama to nurse, that's tough for me. Call me a softy (my dad does everyday)! I kind of feel like we "fail" when I end up nursing her, and it sure as heck shouldn't be that way. All that this past week has accomplished is a screaming baby, headaches, frustrated family, and a ~~hot knife slicing~~ clogged milk duct. I've done lots of reading and I've talked to lots of people, and the general consensus is that she'll only take the bottle when she wants and currently, she hates the whole experience. We'll try again Wednesday, and I really hope I have good news to report. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, Kate Elizabeth continues to steal our hearts!