Why Drink from a Glass When You Can Have Crystal?

Emily has always been an avid breastfeeder. When she was first pushed out, I pulled her up onto Julie's chest and she went immediately to the breast and latched on. She fed for two hours straight! The midwives had never seen anything like it. So needless to say, and unlike with Chloe, we really haven't had to work very hard on the breastfeeding thing with Emily. She likes breasts. She's into authenticity.

The problem is, she likes breastfeeding so much that she absolutely refuses to take pumped milk in a bottle. We tried about a month ago. Julie was out, and we thought it would be a great opportunity to get her used to the bottle. So when she woke up crying and hungry, I offered her some nice warm milk in a bottle. She took the nipple happily at first, and felt it between her gums (I guess she figured Dad could have breasts too - why not?). Then suddenly her demeanor changed. She looked at me as I'm sure Caesar looked at Brutus - stunned, betrayed, angry, scared, and then spat the nipple back at me. I knew what was coming next - the calm before the storm. She took a Poseidon sized breath while shaking her head in tyrannical anger and let loose with a torrent of screaming. I tried a few more times to put the bottle back in, but to no avail. She wasn't taking to any fake nipple  Fortunately Julie came in the door soon after and was able to feed her. No, bottle feeding is not for Emily, and as a result, the Breastaurant is open 24/7.

For quite a long time, this didn't pose much of a problem. Emily sleeps relatively well at night, and she was portable. She'd sleep almost anywhere, especially in a carrier. Unfortunately, she's not so portable anymore. For the last couple of weeks she's needed to take her naps at home, in her crib. And since her naps are only 45 minutes in length right now, followed by an hour of wake time, Julie doesn't have much time to get out either with or without Emily. Today, I went shopping with Julie so that she could run into stores while I kept driving with Emily to keep her sleeping. It worked pretty well, but Emily's environmental footprint will get pretty big if we keep that up.

It's been a bit frustrating, and I feel terrible because there's little I can do. Julie has a work event to go to next Friday, and she'll only be able to stop in for cocktails. I wish I could find a way to let her enjoy the whole evening.  But all we can do is tell ourselves that this won't last long. She'll soon be taking longer naps and won't need to feed as often. And before we know it, she'll be able to drink her milk from a sippy cup. Until then, I suppose we should feel lucky to have such problems.