To Marcia,

A few more thoughts on this subject.  First, although some babies
do learn a tongue-thrusting type of suck with a bottle, I have seen
them feed from a bottle with quite good positioning - mouth gaped,
tongue remaining on the bottom, etc.  It can depend on how you
instruct the mother on using the bottle and which type of nipple she
is using.  I personally enjoy finger-feeding babies and never present
this option in an apologetic fashion, but if I see a mother showing a
lot of apprehension or resistance over this, I let her know that there
are a variety of options.  And though babies have been
supplemented in a variety of ways through the ages with various
types of teats and cup-type devices, I think that fingerfeeding with a
little tube is a pretty new phenomenom and still not used much in
many areas even where the option is available.

Also, although I think that the SNS is a nifty device and can work
really well in the appropriate situation, babies can get hooked on
that little tube just like on a bottle and they also can screw up their
sucking sometimes just to get the tube positioned right where they
want it ( this much more so at the breast than with fingerfeeding,
although as someone else has pointed out, they can get hooked
on the feeling of that nice solid finger, too).

BTW, welcome to LACTNET.  I hope that you will continue to post
and join in our thoughtful discussions.


Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, LLLL, IBCLC
Newark, NY (near Rochester) USA
mailto:[log in to unmask]

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