Judy,
What I said was I use finger feeding for kids that need the tongue stimulation
(to learn how to extend it); I use cup feeding to teach kids that they can get
food with NO stimulus in their mouth.
Nipple confusion, rubber nipple addiction, whatever seems to be mostly a
result of the nipple being firm and preformed, so the infant does not have to
use their tongue to draw it in and shape it...this sometimes results in their
inability or unwillingness to use the tongue to draw the breast into their
mouth. (Wolf and Glass, Feeding and Swallowing Disorders in Infancy, Therapy
Skill Builders- my fav sucking resource).  Fingers are preformed and rigid as
well.  Cup feeding: leaves the baby wanting to suck; rewards tongue extension;
gets milk into baby without something hard in baby's mouth.  I feel all these
things contribute to wooing baby back to breast.
        I do use fingerfeeding, but judge each baby individually, not all
babies should be fingerfed.
Got it now, or should I go on?
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  nyc  [log in to unmask]