Taking the “Breast” Out of “Breastfeeding”
It’s time to take the breast out of breastfeeding.
Such seems to be the message from the people at DindleBee, makers of the Natural Bonder Bottle™. Their strangely-outfitted bottle certainly defies the mold of a traditional bottle. Rather, it appears to be some sort of black, pleather-like, strap-on canteen bag.
Natural position?
So how does the Natural Bonder Bottle (NBB) equate with breastfeeding? Because DindleBee’s web site doesn’t provide photos of the bottle’s nipple, we can’t know how that compares to the real deal.
According to the web site, the NBB “supports natural positioning for breastfeeding.” But have you taken a look at the image on the site’s main page? Baby’s brow seems tense, his position would be better described as “slouched sitting” than “reclining,” and his gaze is focused past mom. Mom seems to need to have two hands involved in feeding her baby. After all, given the bulk of product, the mother has to work double-time to bring the baby close to her “body.” And baby isn’t brought against mom’s body at all; rather, baby is pressed against the aforementioned black, pleather-like, canteen bag—which can be used for storage of diapers, wipes, and even small accessories. All nestled conveniently(?) between mom and her baby. (It actually seems like a baby fed with a traditional bottle might be drawn closer to mom than this baby is.)
The company’s tagline may read, “Don’t Settle for the Ordinary. Do What Feels Natural.” But I am hard pressed to identify any mother I know who has such a strange breast!
Hands-free “breast feeding”?
The site’s interesting image is made all the more perplexing by the company’s assertion further down the page that the NBB is “the answer to hands-free breastfeeding.” Consider the photo and the company’s statement that the product is not to be used lying down. How, then, does this lend itself to hands-free feeding?
Necessary for bonding?
DindleBee is not the first bottle-seller to suggest that bottle-feeding is important to bonding with baby. I’ve objected to that argument before, and I will object to it again. There are many ways that non-breastfeeding parents (fathers, mothers who cannot breastfeed) and caregivers (grandparents, older siblings) can bond with baby that do not include feeding: playing, talking, bathing, engaging in infant massage.
My husband has never breastfed any of our children, and he has bottle or cup-fed them only occasionally, when necessary. (Although I have jokingly asked him to “nurse the baby” while I tend to other demands of our busy home, I recognize that our baby receives many health benefits from the milk I provide and emotional benefits from our predictable feeding sessions.) Yet my husband has always had a loving, close relationship with each of our children. While breastfeeding may occasionally feel like a 24-hour marathon, it never has been; my husband—as well as the doting grandparents and proud siblings—have found many ways to make the most of the non-feeding time to bond with the baby. Luckily for them, they’re not spending that time trying to assemble and put on some strange canteen apparatus!
Interferes with breastfeeding?
Truth be told, I am always concerned about products, like the NBB, which remove baby from mom during feedings. As we all know, breastfeeding is a supply-and-demand operation. Simply put, a hungry baby is meant to be put to his mother’s breast so that her body knows to produce more milk. When people begin minimizing the “demand” for milk, then the “supply” will drop in response. This is especially important during the first several weeks. Too many mothers who intend to breastfeed have their supplies lowered in just such a way for me to be excited about this sort of product.
The best thing for baby? Breastfeeding, at mom’s breast. That way he gets all of the benefits from this breastfeeding session and cues mom’s body to keep making what he’ll need during the next one!
The bottom line
In short, I find the Natural Nursing Bottle to be pretty far from “natural” infant feeding. Don’t believe that this is necessary for bonding or that it replaces mom. It’s a pretty strange and certainly unnecessary substitute.
Wow, I checked out the “Natural Bonder Bottle” and I don’t see anything natural about it! I’ll pass on that item and keep using my “natural breasts” for breastfeeding.
I literally LOL’d when I saw that contraption! How does cuddling up to a pleather bag increase bonding?! I can’t see that product being around long, and I really, really hope no breastfeeding moms fall for the marketing of this thing.
Boobs: the original is still the best!
A very young family member has been told by someone whom she trusts that pumping after baby feeds will diminsh her milk supply. Please help??
It may help to let your family member know that milk production is a product of milk removal. The more milk you remove from the breast, the more milk you will make, replacing what’s been removed.
That being said, any mechanism of milk removal such as breastfeeding or breast pumping will result in an increase in milk production not a decrease.
I hope this helps.
Hi, Irene! Amy’s the expert here, but I wanted to chime in with a word about my experience.
After my oldest child was born, I used pumping after the baby fed as a method for storing up milk before I returned to work. My body just adjusted to “feed” both my baby and the pump. I watched his cues to make sure he was satisfied before I ended the feeding and got out the pump. He grew excellently, and we never had any doubt that he was receiving enough milk! I was glad to be able to accumulate a “stash” of milk in such a relatively convenient way.
Best of luck!