So, all three of my babies now have been mostly bottle-fed.  It's for reasons that I don't totally understand, although it mostly starts with me being overwhelmed, exhausted, and emotional when I discover at their first and second appointments that they haven't gained the appropriate amount of weight and then having to figure out how to fix that, along with the help of the consultant at the pediatrician.

(if you want to know about the details in Ellie's nursery, check out this post.)

At least with Ellie, I was a bit more prepared for this scenario and started pumping as much as I could, so I've had more success nursing her.  Regardless, it's just never been easy for me.  It's tough, too, when breastfeeding is so understandably celebrated, and it leaves me feeling a bit inadequate, uncertain, and well, sad.  It was especially tough with Vivi; I felt like such a failure, and that coupled with my extreme baby blues led to a disastrous first appointment that I still list as one of the worst days of my life.

(pictured above: Munchkin Latch)

However, because of all this, you could say I'm a bottle feeding pro.  And I just want to let you other mamas struggling with this know that you aren't alone.  I know and understand that breastfeeding is without a doubt the best, but that doesn't diminish the bonding you can still have with a bottle.  I held both Vivi and Brigette at almost every bottle feeding until they were a year old, even though they could do it fine themselves by then, just because I treasured those snuggles.  And Vivi held onto her morning bottle until she was two, as I couldn't let go of that sweet time in the morning with her.  She used to rub my ear while she drank her bottle, and it was just the best.  Ellie likes to hold my fingers while I feed her, and it positively melts me into a puddle.

And, goodness, look at that!  It doesn't get much better than watching my two big girls love on their new baby.  I've mentioned before that I am loving the Munchkin Latch, and here is a bit more why.  As a product designer, I really appreciate the snappy design and the way the parts fit together so smartly and easily, so you can get everything super clean. It also seems to help out hugely with spitting up.  Vivi and Brigette were both big spitters; so much so that I had to change their clothes frequently and have a burp cloth close by and on my shoulders at all times, but Ellie hardly spits up, and I'm happy to credit that at least in part to the thoughtful design of these new bottles!

I also love how neatly all the pieces of the Latch stack on the counter; My strategy is to run them in the dishwasher nightly, and then lay them out in the mornings.  I have five bottles, one for each feeding, and that makes it easy!  I pour pumped milk into a bottle on the counter for use at the next feeding, and keep all the other pieces stacked neatly on a drying rack.

(for more details about our kitchen, check out this post.)

So, that is our story, and the reasons why I love the Munchkin Latch!  I sometimes shy away from talking about feeding, because I know it can be such an intensely emotional subject, but I know I'm not the only one in this boat.  So, to those of you mamas who may be struggling with feeding, know you aren't alone!  Bottle feeding can also be a really sweet time of bonding with your baby.  Let's let go of mom guilt and be confident about doing the best we can with what we have, ok?

And, seriously, this just plain makes my heart explode.

Thank you so much to Munchkin for sponsoring this post, and for their delightful and thoughtful products that we love! (Also, just FYI, Target is having a 15% off Latch promotion on the Cartwheel app right now, running until March 12th!)