Bottle

Just so there is no confusion, our newest daughter will be referred to as Gwendolyn or Gwen.

A few days ago, Arial had a dentist appointment and left Gwen and I alone for the first time. She was kind enough to supply us with a small bottle of milk. Enough to tide Gwen over until Arial returned.

I waited to use the bottle until what I thought was the optimal time, less than halfway through the alone time but before Gwen became really upset.

When that time came, I warmed up the bottle by pouring hot water over it from the faucet (which works really well). The whole time telling Gwen that she would appreciate having the bottle and that this effort was totally worth it even though standing in one place like that made her cry.

With the bottle warm, we sat down. In an attempt to make her understand what we were doing, I tried to hold her like Arial does when she feeds her.

Then, I put the bottle in her mouth. She was crying and didn't really notice/care that something was in there. I squeezed the bottle to let some milk out, hoping that she would recognize the sensation of taste. She didn't.

After a bit, Gwen stopped screaming long enough to realize that something was up. A test suck on the bottle resulted in a tiny bit of crying. Probably because the world was not behaving as it should.

Soon after though, Gwen decided to give the bottle a real try. The whole time that she slowly ate, she gave this look that expressed how dubious she was about the situation.

Gwen fell asleep after nearly finishing all of what Arial had left for her. I finished watching the episode of Supernatural that was on and lay down on the couch to nap with her.

That's where Arial found us when she returned, happily sleeping after a triumphant experience with a bottle.

As an addendum to the story, the next day, I was trying to entertain/distract Gwen with a fish-rattle. She gave a tentative look and opened her mouth hoping it was another bottle. I think that was a disappointment for her.

mwz