Paci's and Bottles - Eleanor's rating

Lots to say about this topic. Today we had two new breakthroughs in the Reinberg home. Eleanor never was much of a paci-lover which we kind of were ok with as we have heard horror stories from friends who have had to take pacis away from their kids when they are too old. So, we never really pushed the issue despite the fact that we have an enourmous bin of every brand, shape, size, and color of pacis purchased before Eleanor's birth. The only pacifier she seemed to be ok with was the ugly one that came from the hospital, exhibit A, the "soothie":They are ugly (though at least they make them in pink) and are huge and hard for her to hold in on her own but it was the only one that would "soothe" her without her making a face at us. We have tried the many different brands and opened way too many packages with no avail. So today, I said decided to do some investigating as to why she was so particular on her pacifiers and I realized how different the nipple shapes were.

The Aggie pacifier I so wanted her to like so she could wear in the fall at/watching football games (I know I am a dork) she once again spit out. I decided to put it in my mouth to see how it felt and realized her disliking it was perfectly valid. The shape was completely different and right where your tounge hits the tip of the nipple is where the molds I guess met becuase there is a sharp piece of silicone that scratches your tounge. I don't know about you but why wouldn't you want a smooth surface for your tongue to hit? Ellie knows her stuff and she is clearly a woman who knows what she wants and what she wants might just be the finer things. SO, I examined some of the other pacifiers and found that (without opening the package to waste another $5) many of them were shaped like the Aggie paci. Hopefully they weren't as poorly made though.

I then found that we had purchased the "Avent" pacifiers, the same brand as the bottles she likes. We also got one for free in one of our registry bags, SO I gave it a shot. We tried it right before Eleanor was going to go down for a nap and oh but did she love it more than her soothie! She hasn't let it leave her mouth which could be a bad thing but it might also be just the ticket to getting her to spread out her feedings from every 2 hours to every 3. So, for anyone who's baby is still stuck on the not so attractive soothie (that also can't be stuck on one of those cute ribbon paci holders that attaches to their shirt so it doesn't accidentally fall in the bottom of their car seat where they might also leave you a little treat that couldn't fit in their diaper), try the Avent pacifiers. They can be stuck on the ribbon, are easier for their little mouths to hold, and their nipples are shaped very similarly to the soothies and a bottle nipple. That is our thought on pacifiers. I might be writing in a year about how I never should have given her this as I am having to break her of the habit and pry it from her little fingers!

On another note...today my mom came to me with some literature on the dangerous effects of plastic. She has been feeling this way about plastic for a while and doesn't heat up/freeze food in tupperware anymore and has resorted to picking up a vintage piece of pyrex everytime we go to Canton to store leftovers in. She did some research on bottles and baby toys with plastic and found some dangerous potential side effects so decided to get us some glass bottles. I looked at these initially but worried about my one year old throwing her bottle and shattering it on the wall in a wild tantrum (thinking that she would inherit my temperment) so passed on registering for them.

After looking, there aren't too many brands who also make glass bottles. I found that Medela does which would be great to hook onto my pump however their nipples are too narrow thus possibly causing nipple confusion from the bottle to breast so says our Bradley Childbirth Instructor/Lactation Consultant. Evenflo makes glass bottles as well and were the least expensive... $5.99 for three 4 oz. bottles. Their nipples are VERY tiny though, so we bought them to store and reheat the milk in. We decided upon the Born Free which were a little more but also are good for colic/ear infection prevention and have the wide nipple for E to drink from. She loved her new bottle today - my only question is once we start defrosting the glass bottles from the freezer, will the glass crack from going from one extreme temperature to the other like Amanda's Iced Tea Pitcher did when she poured boiling water into it? There are so many things to learn with a baby!

Anyway, just thought I would share my findings from today. If anyone else has any input on glass bottles, feel free to share. We are excited for our first "earthy" baby endeavour - much easier than the cloth diaper thing...not ready to try that yet!