Rob -
I have seen babies become finger feeding addicts very fast before. From my
limited experience I feel this could be just as confusing/addictive as the
bottle (I am curious whether there are finger feeding supporters out there
who disagree). I think putting the tube at the breast would help a lot.
I just did my first cup feeding BTW and was amazed how simple it was. This
was a baby who had lost 1 lb + from birthweight after 2 weeks and was
readmitted to the hospital with dehydration. He was too weak to nurse for
long at the breast (AND constantly sucked his tongue) and fell asleep. But
a few ccs of milk in a cup, he lapped up in moments, woke up, and
reattempted the breast. I had been terrified of choking a baby by cup
feeding but I must tell you all I was amazed at the simplicity, and how
well this very fragile baby did on it.
Anne Merewood