You remember Valentine, our newborn. Well we've been attempting to bottle feed the little one since she was born. We figured that since she hadn't nursed it would make the process a bit easier. HA!!! She throws a complete tantrum (throws herself down and everything) when you try to get that nipple in her mouth.
Now, I personally wouldn't want a hard piece of rubber being put into my mouth but they are yet to make the nice soft silicone version for calves. :( Each day she seems to be taking more, though I feel like the bottle is self filling - every time I get done (and I hear her swallowing the milk) it seems like nothing has been drank. :( She has gotten used to the noises of the kids and calls for us when she is bored or lonely. She slept through the night last night, as opposed to the constant trying to get up and walk around - she may have been trying to leave, anyway she woke up and called for us. Figuring she was hungry I got her a warm bottle ready, well she was not willing to take this one much better than the last. We are holding out for the week and will evaluate our options then. Pray she gets better with this, she has figured out how to suck on it, and she like the milk better than the colostrum (think formula, yuck!) but she is like a kid with ADHD, far too distracted to stay to eat much at anyone time. So we are feeding her often to keep her hydrated.
2 comments:
Good luck on the bottle feeding. She is a darling.
Not sure what you are feeding her, so I will share all of my thoughts to save you time, and if none of it applies, I don't mind, it might help one of your readers, LOL
...if you are giving her milk, she may just do better on a bucket. If you don't know how that works, let her suck your fingers (palm side of your hand up), and slowly lower her head to the bucket until she ends up sucking milk in while sucking on your fingers..I know, YUCK!, but it works well. We have had some that won't take a bottle.
If you are using milk replacer, I would suggest sacrificing some of your own milk from Treva if you are still milking her, because they really do Soooooooooooo much better on real milk. Some of our bottle babies were sickly this summer, and it honestly only took one bottle of real milk to turn them around. I had no clue it was that significant for them.
Really, another tip that we learned is that calves love vanilla. Vanilla yogurt is like a miracle drug for them..if she hasn't eaten much, she will need not only the fat, but the good bacteria to help her guts get started... Also, if she hasn't eaten much yet, I would consider using a turkey baster or large syringe and forcing her a bit. She may just need to get a really good taste. They get so weak so quickly, it really is tough to know the best thing to do some times.
Stacy
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