>I have the impression that parents who mention bonding with father as an
>advantage of bottle feeding, are either parents who are not as committed to
>breastfeeding at the outset, or who recognize it as an unexpected benefit
>after having to forego breastfeeding for other reasons.

i don't know, that wasn't my personal experience, in any case.  i fully
intended to pump a little and have my husband feed my first baby once in a
while for the bonding experience - mostly because he mentioned it, and i
figured that is what one was supposed to do.  i was always completely
committed to breastfeeding, nad never even considered another option.  i
tried pumping a couple times with a hand pump - got only an ounce or less
- and my baby wouldn't have anything to do with the bottle anyhow (granted
we didn't give it much effort) so i forgot about it.  i wonder how many
other moms have had a similar experience.  i think we go into parenthood
with lots of expectations about what our new reality will look like  and
what we are "supposed" to do.  Some moms adjust to the real deal more
quickly or smoothly than other moms.

i have also known and/or worked with many moms who did believe that the dad
giving bottles helped with bonding, and helped give them a break - and many
were very committed to breastfeeding, and breastfed much longer than
average.  Now i don't recommend that babies get bottles from dad - and i
don't believe it is ideal - but i don't think it is necessarily a
reflection of the mom's commitment to breastfeeding - just a reflection of
their entrenchment in their culture.   this is all my humble opinion of
course! :-)

Lyla Wolfenstein
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