Dear Cherie,
       You ask, "Do any of you have any ideas for a hands-on teaching
strategy illustrating the difference between the breast and bottle in a baby's
mouth?"  From the sounds of your question, I figure you think there is a difference.
 All bottle-feeding is not the same, and I would like to suggest that it is
not fair to lump all bottle-feeding into something negative.  The shape of the
nipple that is on the bottle, the position the baby is held in for
bottle-feedings, how the nipple is inserted into baby's mouth and the flow-rate of the
nipple all affect how the baby sucks on a bottle nipple.  (And he is actually
sucking on the *nipple*, not the bottle.)
       Although I have not had access to ultrasound equipment to test my
theory, I have developed a style of bottle-feeding that I have frequently used to
teach babies how to breastfeed when they are having difficulty.  Since babies
can so often breastfeed better after bottle-feeding in this manner, I figure
they suck on the bottle-nipple, when using this technique, in a manner very
similar to how they suck when breastfeeding.  If the sucking were not very
similar, the method would not allow babies to breastfeed better.
       For more information, please read "Bottle-Feeding As A Tool To
Reinforce Breastfeeding" in the Feb. 2002 issue of JOURNAL OF HUMAN LACTATION.  If
you don't have access to the JOURNAL, you can contact me privately for a
reprint.
       Dee

Dee Kassing, BS, MLS, IBCLC
Collinsville, Illinois, in central USA

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