Just When I'd Given Up...

I told Elena that even though I was done trying to get Ridley to take the bottle, I thought we should just offer it to her once a day anyway. I didn't expect her to take it, but it wouldn't hurt to offer it. Well, when I picked Ridley up on Friday evening after work, Elena gave me some great news. Ridley drank 3.5oz out of the bottle with no fuss! Miracle! Just when I'd made peace with Ridley not taking the bottle, she went for it (there's a life lesson in there somewhere).

This is Ridley in the Bumbo after taking the 3.5 ounces!

I didn't want to loose any momentum over the weekend, so I decided that I was going to offer her a bottle once on Saturday and once on Sunday. I didn't think she'd take it from me at all since she knows I'm the one that breastfeeds her, but I knew I had to try. I'm happy to say I was very wrong! She took right to the bottle when I offered it! She drank 2.5oz because that's all I had put in the bottle, but she drank it all and was ready for more. I was floored. I still am.
On Sunday, we were over at a friend's house when I offered her a bottle and again she took right to it. My friend Lisa said that if she hadn't known we were having difficulty with getting her to take it, she would never had known. Ridley didn't take the entire bottle (this time I'd put 4oz in it), but she drank almost 3oz before she decided she'd had enough.
I don't know what the difference was in the end. I have a friend whose baby will sometimes take the bottle and sometimes won't. So, I don't want to say that this is a done deal, but it is definitely a huge progressive step.