The Baby Bottle Blues

That is so similar to my own experience. I think it taught me to stop being so judgemental of other moms and learn how to support them. Kudos to the UK laws regarding maternity leave, etc. as well. How lucky for you and your daughter. What a great start. I just keep in mind that if it weren't for the wonderful creators of formula, my son would have starved! He is a healthy, happy 7 year old, so something worked out ok.

If you do a computer search for "glass baby bottles", you will find several sites where they are available, and are not that expensive. Even on e-bay there are a lot of listings for glass baby bottles, and I think they are cheaper than most plastic bottles. You can also find very good deals on 100% cotton clothing, including baby and children's clothes, at a lot of places. If they are considered "organic/natural fiber clothing" that you mention, I don't know. But if you wash them well in hot soapy water a couple of times before wear, any un-natural chemicals that may have been added to the fabric, should be washed out of them, and they are still 100% cotton - which is natural. This would be most important with sleeping clothes and bedding that our little ones are laying in for hours at a time. You can buy beef from a farmer, and get meat from cows that have not been vaccinated, etc., and actually by buying a quarter cow, it is cheaper than buying the cuts in the supermarkets. If you cannot afford that much meat at one time, you can split a quarter cow with others. You just have to be thinking about ways you can live healthier, than the reasons you can't. Probably some of the biggest threats are things we often don't consider, like the chemicals in carpeting that our little ones lay on and play on. Wood floors are probably a much better choice, and then you can use cotton rugs. All we can do is try to eliminate the hazzards that we know about, and there usually are affordable ways to do that, I think. If you buy the items that are specifically marketed as "organic-natural", you will probably be paying a lot more than you need to.

I never said anything about babies crawling around with the bottle. What I meant was that a bottle could accidentally be knocked on the floor and break. Anyone who has broken glass knows that it's difficult to clean up all the tiny glass shards on the floor.

NOT ALL WOMEN CAN BREAST FEED! I did breastfeed but my sister did not produce any milk (she tried). In the old days women who did not produce milk would either get a wet nurse or their babies died. Get off your high horse and come into the 21st century.

NOT ALL WOMEN CAN BREASTFEED! I was able to but my sister did not produce any milk (she tried) so do not put down those who can not breast feed or choose not to. In the old days people who were not able to breastfeed would either have a wet nurse or their babies died. We have come a long ways since then so get off your high horse.

Even a breastfeeding mother may need to occasionally feed their child from a bottle, with either expressed breastmilk, or formula. Then they do need to worry about the safety of bottles. Addtionally, this article does mention several times that this concerns sippy cups as well. You should watch your comments.

Do not pay any attention to the comments that are put downs to moms who decide (for whatever reason), to bottle feed. Most likely, it sometimes makes insecure people feel better about themselves to say how much better a job they are doing than someone else. You are absolutely right in your comment. And this is coming from a nurse who use to work with brand new babies and moms. Breast feeding is not always the best option for everyone - every situation has its own issues that need to be considered in the decision.
And...thank you very much for being willing to serve our country. Please know that you are appreciated!!!

I have not ever heard of this, but I do know that you should never rewarm breast milk in a microwave oven. One reason is because you can have hot spots and burn the baby's mouth (so formula should also not be warmed in a microwave oven), but the other reason is because it can destroy some of the "good stuff" in the milk, as you say. The best way to rewarm breast milk, is to heat water in a pan on the stove, or in a bowl in the microwave oven, and THEN place the bottle of milk or formula into the hot water, until it reaches the warmth desired. And so, in the case of frozen breast milk, this may have to repeated more than one time before the bottle is ready to feed to baby. I am not sure about the information you mention, but if breast feeding, the bottles of breastmilk would be an occasional thing, and so definately probably not a problem even if some of the "good stuff" is lost by sticking to the glass - for sure safter than taking the chances of the harmful chemicals in some plastics that this article mentions.

My youngest child is 15, so I am not really sure what products are available, and possibly they already have something like this, but maybe they will come up with some type of light weight covering or jacket for the glass bottles (even like padded quilted fabric ones that can be removed and washed- I almost think that they use to have something like that back when I used glass bottles with my kids, although I am not sure and if they did, I did not use those). Maybe they will make a safe foam type of jacket for glass bottles, that is also removed for washing (or sterilizing) the bottles and stuff. Obviously bottles could still break with these, but you really should not leave your baby alone to take a bottle anyways - it is always best to make sure that feeding time is a time that your baby is held and cuddled, I think. We already know that it is unhealthy to put your older baby to bed with a bottle, for a number of reasons. And if you use stainless steel types of sippy cups for toddlers, you would not have to worry about them toddling around with a glass bottle and it breaking and injuring them. Just an idea.

I think you need to do more research. There are many women out there that cannot breastfeed, they do not produce milk. Not everyone does and it has nothing to do with their culture or social influence. My sister produced drops and she tried for 6 weeks and finally her premie was losing way to much weight, she would have died if it was not for a high calorie formula.

I had to use bottles, but it was not my first choice . Like many women I did not produce enough milk. I did everything the doctor and nurse told me to do to try and increase my milk but it did not work. i felt like I was letting my child down. Not everyone uses bottles becasue it might make somethings easier. Unless you know the facts about everyone who bottle feeds, you should not make remarks about their choices.

I am a stay at home mom and I tried to breastfeed, but my body did not produce enough milk. I did everything the Doctor and Nurse told me to do. If I wasn't breastfeeding I was pumping and it still was not enough. So I had to use bottles, and like many women it was not my first choice. Not everyone uses a bottle just because it might be easier.

I completely agree with you, our culture does no nurture breastfeeding, and sometimes makes you feel that you have to fight against it to provide to your child what is BEST, but also because this culture of "easy is better" is so imbeded in people that a lot of women who may be want it to breastfeed could' not do it because lacked the knowledge or did not know what to do the support of a experienced friend.
Kudos to all mother's who are breastfeed their babies, this is really an act of love and sacrifice, and to the mother's who really tried and couldn't, and also to the mother's who had to sacrifice this beautiful act so they could bring the bread to their homes.

In response to milkyway52: Even women who are able to breastfeed must at one point or another use a bottle, so it is every mother's concern what the container is made up of. Also, maybe you should consider the women who WANT to breastfeed but are unable to do so. Such as the women who cannot produce enough milk for their children or the women who have had premature babies with undeveloped stomachs that have to be put on feeding tubes and have their food intake regulated. Women cannot always choose breastfeeding, sometimes they have to make a decision to make sure their baby is getting enough food to survive and to thrive and be strong.

to milkyway52,

Even with exclusive breastfeeding, you still need bottles to store pumped milk for dad or another caregiver to feed the baby when mom is at work. Stay-at-home moms may have the option of a bottle-free lifestyle, but I would hope even these women would be able to depend on someone else to feed the baby once in a while so mom can take a shower, take a much-needed nap or just have an hour or so to herself!

Plus, even the most motivated mom can find she cannot produce enough milk due to a history of breast biopsies or other surgery that disrupts the milk ducts, or due to hypoplastic breast tissue secondary to a hormone imbalance, etc. Some mothers have medical conditions or are taking prescriptions that make breastfeeding contraindicated. Beleive me, these women are heartbroken when they find they have to turn to formula, even the ones who are still able to supply at least some breast milk. Don't rub salt in the wound by making such judgments about people you do not even know.

As far as BPA is concerned, the Playtex nurser system (with liners) is a good option. The only surfaces that contact the milk directly--liners and nipples--are BPA-free. Easy to pump directly into the liners with the right pump, too.

While breastfeeding offers the best nutrition along with many benefits for moms and babies, we still need to consider moms that may be unable to breastfeed. Consider adopted/foster care parents also. This is really a dilemma for parents in these situations..

I breastfeed and pump during the day at work, which still requires a bottle to feed him the pumped milk. Even if you breatfeed exclusively some babies still need bottles!