Riley's First Bottle!

Today we reached another milestone - Riley took her first bottle. Not only did she take it, but she did so like a little champ. The pediatrician had suggested that this be the week we try the first bottle. I had been a little hesitant because I wanted to read all that I could around properly introducing a bottle for the first time, how to eliminate nipple confusion, and all of that. Yesterday I did a lot of reading, went out and bought a bottle warmer, and felt very prepared for today's task.

I wasn't sure how many ounces to expect her to take, so I filled the bottle with 3 ounces and thought we'd go from there. She ended up taking 2.5, so we weren't far off and there wasn't much milk wasted. I'll use that as my baseline going forward. I think Kevin loved giving her the bottle - it was his first time to get to be part of the feeding process. The books I had read - and advice I'd received from friends - was for him to give her the bottle and for me to be nowhere in sight. If she is able to smell me, it could cause confusion for what the bottle is. I stayed out of the room at first, but quickly came back in to snap a few pictures and video once she took the bottle. We'll continue to give her one bottle a day so that she doesn't forget what it is. I still intend to nurse most of the time, but knowing that there is milk and bottles on hand makes it less nerve-wracking, should I need to be away during a feeding.

This is just a perfect day, following up a perfect night. She had a great night, only getting up at midnight, 3:30am and 7:15am for feedings. What a little champ. Right now she is all tuckered out, napping on my chest as we lie on the couch and I write this. These are the moments I love and that I never want to end.