toy dolls and baby bottles

[sweetkisses]

Okay, I may sound totally nuts but dd received a baby for her B-day and it came with a bottle and a pacifier. It really bothers me to let her play with the bottle. I hid it and so far she hasn't noticed.

I'm not anti-bottle, after all she used one at dc while I worked, so she know what a bottle is. I just feel the need to make nursing (not a bottle) the norm in my house. I know one day, when I have another child, she will get that exposure of seeing me nurse a baby.

IDK, has anyone else felt this way? Am I being completley over the top, be honest :hugegrin:.

[lissa52483]

i'm the same way...my mother in law wanted to get ds that new elmo doll. cause he is so in love with elmo but i just can't bring myself to let him play with a doll that is all about the bottle. he only took one once in a while and so far ds2 hasn't had one at all. she breastfed all her kids so she didn't think i was completely nuts....just a little. lol! i don't think your nuts at all!

[RedheadbyChoice]

snort

We took the bottles off of baby dolls when the girls were younger as well. :) We gave them sippy cups to 'feed' their babies or they nursed them. :D

Once they were bigger, though, around 5-6, then they used the bottles but we just casually said, 'what's in there, sugar?' 'oh, it's boo boo milk, momma. I'm the auntie and their momma went out to dinner with their daddy so I'm watching the baby'

*smile*

[ima062002]

Yup. Bought Dd2 two newborn dolls at Target and left the bottles with the lady at the checkout :).

[sweetkisses]

Oh! I'm so relieved I'm not the only one! I was starting to feel a little mean for taking it away but now I think my feelings are justified.

Red, the sippy cup it a great idea. She also likes to play with a bowl and spoon and feed the doll.

[Babyhellfire]

I always let Rory have bottles that came with her dolls,but I worked outside the home-and Dh ,or sitter gave her bottles of EBM almost every day.She always thought/said that what the bottle was.She has nursed her dolls-but its rare.She brought me babies to nurse for awhile...but she ussually said she was the babysitter- sometimes even said she was a daddy ,lol.

[nowinteknicolor]

no I know exactly what you mean, it irks me too. It really bothered me when my daughter was a newborn my toddler received several "I'm a big brother" kinds of books, and not one depicted breastfeeding as the norm, or even as an option. They'd say things like "big brother's help out by giving the baby it's bottle", he even had a book that was all families of different animals, lions, hippos, dogs (cartoons) and the ANIMALS gave their babies a BOTTLE. I was like, ok what the hell? I threw that book out it bugged me so bad. We also tend to skip the pages where the baby is getting fed, not because I'm against bottles, but because our daughter doesn't get one and try explaining to a 22-month old that even though a book says babies should have bottles, mommy is going to use her boobs instead. He finally understands at least, he calls my boobs "baby's cups" or "baby's ba-ba" which is kind of funny to me.

[RedheadbyChoice]

Carp, I don't know where I saw it, but I've seen a 'nursing' book showing all sorts of animals nursing their young.

[pumpkinhead7]

It irritates me that every baby doll comes with a bottle. Unfortunately, it *is* the societal norm and it will probably stay that way until more of us "crazy bf'ers" hide the baby bottles ;).

[threefunboys]

I honestly don't think it makes that much difference. I BF my kids, and I played with dolls that had bottles when I was young. My mom didn't nurse the two youngest (the only ones I was old enough to remember), and I still BF. I don't think it makes that much difference. But I also don't think there is any harm in taking the toy bottle away if you feel strongly about it. I think women in general could stand a little more support in the BFing area, but I think kids learn more from their parents' example and the things they say than from the toys they play with. That's JMO.

[Babyhellfire]

no I know exactly what you mean, it irks me too. It really bothered me when my daughter was a newborn my toddler received several "I'm a big brother" kinds of books, and not one depicted breastfeeding as the norm, or even as an option. They'd say things like "big brother's help out by giving the baby it's bottle", he even had a book that was all families of different animals, lions, hippos, dogs (cartoons) and the ANIMALS gave their babies a BOTTLE. I was like, ok what the hell? I threw that book out it bugged me so bad. We also tend to skip the pages where the baby is getting fed, not because I'm against bottles, but because our daughter doesn't get one and try explaining to a 22-month old that even though a book says babies should have bottles, mommy is going to use her boobs instead. He finally understands at least, he calls my boobs "baby's cups" or "baby's ba-ba" which is kind of funny to me.
Now, THAT does bother me.
Rory got one book that was about "what do babies need?"
"babies need love, babies need baths" - right in between there is "babies NEED bottles" ...um,no no they don't

[klynnw]

I agree with three........I did the same thing as a kid and here I am! And, even though my ds2 gets bottles of EBM while we work on our latch issues, my four year old pointed to my breasts the other day while the baby was crying and said "Mom, Max wants to eat those, then he will be happy". I laughed so hard, it was cute.

[SingingMom]

I let my DD have bottles- but they bug me, too.

However, she was playing with a doll and a bottle, and I grinned and said, "You're not giving that baby juice, right?" And she looked up all seriously and said, "Oh, no, Mom. This is my milk- I pumped it before."

[Tristy]

For DD's first birthday party when people asked me what she wanted and give them the list which included her liking of Elmo and my not liking Elmo BaBa and not wanting her to have it. She doesn't get a bottle and I just don't like how much it encourages the bottle.

http://www.amazon.com/We-Like-Nurse-Chia-Martin/dp/0934252459/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211249323&sr=8-1
We got this book at the zoo during breastfeeding awareness month

[hotlama]

My baby dolls had bottles when I was a child and I still breastfeed. I don't think it's that big of a deal. Girls are so young when they play with babies that I don't think it really matters.

[intokermit]

However, she was playing with a doll and a bottle, and I grinned and said, "You're not giving that baby juice, right?" And she looked up all seriously and said, "Oh, no, Mom. This is my milk- I pumped it before."

That is so cute!

[Pumplicious]

I let my DD have bottles- but they bug me, too.

However, she was playing with a doll and a bottle, and I grinned and said, "You're not giving that baby juice, right?" And she looked up all seriously and said, "Oh, no, Mom. This is my milk- I pumped it before."

The day Mattel starts selling toy breast pumps for our daughters, we will know progress has been made! ;)

[madelsmama]

I feel the same as you, 100%.

[amyamy1973]

The day Mattel starts selling toy breast pumps for our daughters, we will know progress has been made! ;)

Here, here! My daughter plays with my old manual breast pump and is always pretending to pump for or nurse her dolls. She gives them the bottle though, too. I'm happy if she gets exposure to both. We have a couple "big sister" books that talk about breastfeeding, one by Dr. Sears that's good. We also have some that just show bottle feeding. So weird, why isn't even an option in a book??? I can understand it with a doll because little girls just want all the accessories they can get.

[momoffaith]

DH really wanted to get Faith a baby doll for her first Christmas so we search toys-r-us until we found a baby with a sippy cup. It was perfect timing because we were planning to wean her from the bottle and start serving EMB in a sippy after Christmas.

Starting in January both "babies" were on sippy cups during the day and when I was homed I nursed them.

My niece (4) BF all her babies and even taught her preschool class how to feed their babies. Her dolls have bottles and her mama FF, she learned this from her aunt.

[DecemberBaby]

I never thought about this topic until now. hmmmmm."wait1""wait1"

[pumpkinhead7]

My baby dolls had bottles when I was a child and I still breastfeed. I don't think it's that big of a deal. Girls are so young when they play with babies that I don't think it really matters.


It sends a message that the "normal" thing to do is to use baby bottles. How many shower invitations, wrapping paper, gift bags, infant clothing do you see with breasts and breast pumps all over it/them right next to the duckies? I'm willing to bet none ;). Now, I ask you that same question of bottles, pacifiers and diapers and the answer is very different.

I'm not saying that I want to see depictions of breasts on everything associated with babies, but it does send a message and a very clear one. One of the reasons that formula is so widely used and accepted in our society is due to this very clever marketing by the companies that manufacture it. It's simple and no one thinks it's a very big deal and this is why it is so effective.

[CaptHeather]

Bottles bother me a little, but since Johanna only knows of them for pumped breast milk, I don't discuss it too much. Although she thinks I'm feeding the babies milk AND juice from my breasts, so I'm not really pushing things too much.

[Stephanie]

Ds always says they have juice in them. Dd doesn't really care. She is more into covering her babies with blankies.

It does bother me a little, though. I don't think it will affect my dd's decision to breastfeed or not later in life, but I wish that it wasn't the norm.