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We made a big mistake when Jolie was little. Okay, multiple mistakes, but in terms of introducing the bottle to her, we goofed.

Knowing I would eventually have to return to work at the end of maternity leave, I wanted to introduce the bottle early. Some of my baby books suggested waiting 4-6 weeks, after breastfeeding was firmly established. Another suggested waiting no more than 3 weeks to avoid babies balking at their beloved method of feeding being usurped. We decided to go on the early side, and during that monumental event, it was smooth sailing. She took it just like that. SO EASY.

Over the next couple of weeks, we continued to give a bottle here and there, and each time, little Jolie seemed to be very receptive, sucking away. But then, we got a little lax and every other day became every few days and pretty soon, a week went by without a bottle. Maybe two.

The next bottle that was attempted was rejected. I mean, REJECTED. Cries, screams and fists of fury. Uh-oh. Apparently, we hadn't given the bottle enough and Jolie had made up her little mind that she would not be having any of that.

For weeks, we (or I should say JP) struggled to get her a bottle a day, no matter what. I, of course, could not give her one, not as The One With The Boobs, but everyone else endured great pain and suffering to give her the bottle. Sometimes, it would take one hour to get her to take two ounces. Actually, more often than not. What finally had some success was holding her in a position so unlike nursing: held up on one shoulder, but even that was a chore.

It probably took a good 2-3 weeks for her to finally ease up the bottle wall and start taking it without a fight. We also bumped up the nipple size from the newborn size to the next larger size, size 1, with a faster flow. Pretty soon, she was chugging away at the bottle without a problem, even if I was around (I had taken to hiding and not letting my presence be known at all).

So, with JL, I definitely did not want to make the same mistake twice. We introduced the bottle at three weeks, but this time, have faithfully given one a day since. We also started with a size 1 nipple, especially knowing about my seriously turbo-powered flow issues. In the beginning, he took it like a champ, downing 3 or 3 1/2 ounces like that. Yet, still, despite giving it everyday, he started to put up a stink around weeks 5-6. He felt cheated and made sure we knew it! He would cry at the beginning of the bottle and refuse to take it, or take a small amount, like an ounce, and refuse to go on. Stubborn boy!

We kept at it though, and would not relent and just switch to breastfeeding that session. Instead, we let him get hungrier and offer the bottle again until he was done with that feeding. And, it looks like we turned the corner. For the past several days, he's taken it without any fight at all. (He just turned 7 weeks)

Phew! Hopefully, it will stay this way from now on.