motherhood at four months

One thing I've learned about being a mom - just when you figure out one challenge, another one rises up to take it's place.

After a difficult first few days, we finally got the hang of breastfeeding - whew, one challenge down! Fast-forward to the beginning of January, when I was scheduled to go back to work and Graydon was about to start daycare. And he absolutely refused to take a bottle. Big, frustrating, stressful new challenge. The situation was even more urgent given the fact that I had an overnight, out-of-town business trip scheduled for the middle of the month.

And so began our search for the perfect bottle, a bottle that Graydon would latch onto and take willingly.

Jon and I had been able to coax him into drinking the odd ounce or two at home, and his daycare teachers assured me that the first day would be rough, but he would figure it out quickly. Graydon can be very stubborn, though, and he proved that theory wrong pretty quickly. After two weeks of trying to get him to take a bottle at daycare as well as at home - we tried Avent, Medela, Tommee Tippee, and Dr. Brown's bottles, and my mom even spent two full days with him in what I called "bottle bootcamp" - with absolutely no success, I was getting desperate.

On the verge of canceling my trip, I read every "best bottles for breastfeeding babies" article I could find and placed an order for six different bottles on Amazon. Two days before my flight to Orlando, the box arrived. Based on reviews and the articles I'd read, I decided to try the Comotomo Natural Feel Baby Bottle first. And what do you know? After some initial hesitation, Graydon latched on and drank the whole damn thing. I almost cried in relief.

The Comotomo is a pretty amazing bottle. It's unique design mimics the breast as closely as possible. Made of 100 percent medical grade hygienic silicone, the body is soft and squishy, and the naturally shaped nipple has a super wide, boob-like mound. There are also two colic valves on the base of the nipple to help prevent a gassy belly. I love that the wide mouth of the bottle keeps any milk from getting trapped (and therefore wasted) inside the bottle, and it also makes them incredibly easy to clean. I also love the cool, contemporary look of these bottles, but some reviewers have complained that the measuring increments are hard to read because of the frosted body. Overall, while "love" is probably too strong a word - he'll always prefer the real thing - the Comotomo is the perfect bottle for picky little Graydon.

Comotomo 8 oz. Natural Feel bottle, $13.84 each or $22.39 for two on Amazon.