Alternating breastfeeding and bottle feeding: our mothers tell their stories!
Living with peace of mind the moment of breastfeeding is not always easy: you often feel unprepared or poorly informed to adequately manage timing and methods, so much so that the alternation between breastfeeding and the bottle can be experienced with great discomfort, despite being part of the natural evolution of things.
Marika, mother of two children, tells us how she managed this phase, sharing the emotions and experiences of her little ones during the first months of life and also giving us some precious advice ...
Riccardo will soon be nine months old and many progresses have been made in this last period. The first teeth have appeared, he has started to crawl and he tries to pronounce his first words. The first year of a child's life is always very intense, there are constant changes and the days are upset but this does not mean that I have never given up on a moment of our own.
Breastfeeding both my children has always been a very important gesture for me, made of cuddles and caresses. I keep these memories in my heart and I still enjoy this moment of nourishment and affection with my little Riccardo. The thing I will miss most of all will be breastfeeding. I had two totally different experiences, both of them. beautiful and unique, which I loved very much and which I still love because, despite the inevitable moments of stress and fatigue, they gave me a whirlwind of emotions.
One thing shared both experiences: from the third month of my babies' life, I had to find an ally for feedings when I couldn't be at home with them. In fact, both Raffaele and Riccardo started using the bottle after three months because I had to go back to work. Between feedings, I pumped the milk and kept it for my hours of absence. At first I was afraid of having to stop breastfeeding but everything went well, I was able to continue! It was not easy to get away from them, the desire to live every moment and be present at every progress has always been very strong but I have, little by little, managed to reconcile time and space. Every day I cut out a moment only ours, leaving the whole world outside: the bedtime story, the song to sing for the diaper change, the drawings to color and games to invent; I'm trying to give importance to every single gesture without making them or myself lack anything, as a mother and as a woman.
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In delicate situations such as the need to alternate between breastfeeding and bottle feeding, it is important to find the product that is closest to our needs. At the time I had not paid attention to some details but then I realized that there are solutions designed specifically for this need, such as Chicco's Natural Feeling Line, designed to simulate breastfeeding and help the mother alternate.
The teats are ultra-soft to give a feeling as natural as possible. The bottle for the little ones has been designed with an inclined shape and with a slow flow that mimics breastfeeding.
The bottles of this line are equipped with a double anti-colic valve and their teat is always full of milk to prevent the ingestion of air, thus avoiding the problem of colic.
Feeding, whether at the breast or bottle, is in fact a delicate and unique moment, and as such, it deserves the right attention and care to make it truly special. In fact, in addition to serving as nourishment for the little ones, it represents a moment of care and affection to be lived with tranquility and love. For this reason, I am very happy that there are products designed to help mothers feel more serene in managing this alternation, while transmitting to the little ones the serenity they need.
Bottle feeding is often seen as a deprivation and a moment to be discouraged, if possible. Yet in many cases, we do not realize the potential that help like this can offer to the mother and the baby, facilitating the lives of both. The experience of Valentina, Flavia's mother, gives us an interesting and sincere point of view, full of tips to better enjoy this delicate and unique moment, without prejudice or feelings of guilt, making the most of the benefits of this special ally. ...
Breastfeeding: what if the bottle was an ally?
When I was waiting for Flavia I devoured maternity manuals, I read experiences of mothers on online forums and of course, like every mum to be, I had my doubts but also my fixed points: one of them was breastfeeding. I caressed my belly and imagined her little body close to me, her fists closed on my chest, my breath joining hers, that moment only ours made of tenderness, comfort and warmth.
Because each of us has an idyllic and romantic vision of breastfeeding, a vision that is the result of a great taboo: no one talks about the difficulties, it is as if a mother who talks about the difficult aspects of breastfeeding was a bad mother. And then we prefer to be silent.
Imagine a screaming little creature, hungry for milk and life, which gets angry with each feed because it doesn't latch on well and when it latches on it never seems to be enough.
Animated by good intentions, you don't give up, you spend hours on that rocking chair, you experiment with the most absurd positions, you try, try again, you get help from a breastfeeding consultant, you pick up the manuals, a "swing of emotions: when it's okay you are in seventh heaven, when it goes wrong feelings of guilt start. But at a certain point what I experience as the third wheel comes into play, the one between her and me: the baby bottle.
And then you learn to use what seems to you an infernal object and then it is not: the breast pump. You prepare a bottle, you don't just put your milk in it, you put all the love you can in it. You tell yourself that the substance does not change and you will have your magic moment even so.
When you tell it super-moms look at you weird, how good they are at making you feel inadequate. What they tell you is that these are transitory situations to overcome which requires a lot of patience, perseverance, adequate techniques to stimulate the baby's sucking. Because they tell you it's done now, she won't want to latch on to the breast anymore, she'll always prefer the teat to you. I would like to say that they were wrong, but if for some time it went well, the breast-bottle alternation made both of them feel more relaxed, after some time Flavia realized that she was having less trouble with the bottle, and the rest is history.
Today I wonder how it would have gone if instead of considering the bottle as a third wheel I had looked for an ally in him, looking for the right characteristics to help me and Flavia. And there are bottles of this type: Chicco's Natural Feeling line, for example, has been designed precisely to favor the alternation between breast and bottle, also allowing those who have a temporary difficulty or, for various reasons, cannot always breastfeed breast, to continue natural breastfeeding. The 0+ bottle has a wide, inclined teat, made of ultra-soft silicone to favor the attachment of the mouth as well as to the breast and a slow flow to ensure that the baby does the same " fatigue".
Someone says that with the ifs and buts you don't make history, I can't help but ask myself, who knows how it would have been if a year and a half ago I had used the right bottle ...
In collaboration with Chicco
