[babygrey]

<p>My 19mo DD has had very little to no exposure to bottles. She's never had one, and her few baby playmates don't have bottles. I've specifically tried not to create a subconscious bottle-feeding world for her- none of her layette/blankies/clothes have images of bottles, her doll at home doesn't have a bottle, her story books don't show bottle-fed babies. We are a no-tv house, so she's never even seen images of bottles, AFAIK. She spends her time nearly exclusively with me- with occasional outings to grandmas, but grandma has no idea about this, either.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All that said, we were at a toy store the other day and she picked up a babydoll they had out for demo playing. The doll came with a bottle and my DD <em>immediately</em> put the bottle in the doll's mouth and sat and held the doll like she was feeding it. I was completely astonished. Curious, I presented a few other dolls with bottles to her and she immediately 'fed' those dolls with bottles, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm not upset about this, I'm just really, really curious about how in the world she learned to "feed" a baby with a bottle when nursing is all that she's known....</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Any theories? Anyone else's nursling do this?</p>

 

[Greenmama2]

<p>I have no theories but I wanted to let you know that my DD was the same. We were at that stage completely tv-free, her playmates were all breastfed, there were no pictures of bottle feeding in any of her books. She had however seen parents bottle feeding at a local cafe. I guess it only takes one time huh?</p>

 

[mamazee]

<p>Both my kids were EBF, never had any kind of bottle.  Wait, while I was in surgery the second one had one bottle of BM but she was only a couple of months old so she wouldn't have remembered that I don't think.  Anyway, they both knew what a bottle was for immediately upon seeing one alongside a baby doll wherever they might find both.  Maybe because the shape of the nipple on the bottle looked right to them?  I don't know but I wouldn't overthink it too much.  Your example as a BF mom will mean more to her when she gets to be a mom herself than any baby doll.</p>

 

[AllyRae]

<p>My dd never had a bottle either and she never pretends to nurse...she always decides to feed her dolls with toy bottles.  I'm not sure how she figured it out (my older DD had some baby doll bottles laying around...she was bottle fed since she was adopted, but that was before DD was born), but she did.  The only thing I can think of is maybe she thinks it's a sippy cup?</p>

 

[Super~Single~Mama]

<p>IDK either.  My ds is breastfed, although he does get bottles at his dad's house.  The other day we were on the train and a baby was crying, and the first thing he said was, "Baby crying wants ba ba"  Oh well.</p>

 

[Marissamom]

<p>DD has had bottles, and has one baby doll with a bottle, but she doesn't feed the baby with the bottle, she nurses it, or has me nurse it. maybe because she has always been of the opinion (from personal experience) that nursing is better than bottles? </p>

 

[brennan]

<p>My dd did the same thing at that age.  My SIL gave her a doll that came with a bottle and she immediately put the bottle in the baby's mouth and said "num num num".  Like you she had had NO experience with bottles prior to that.  My dd also started to drink out of a cup a lot at that point (she wasn't really into cups before) so we think that she thinks that a bottle is a sippy cup.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now though she sees bottles all the time as the town we moved to NO ONE breastfeeds <img alt="angry.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/angry.gif"></p>
<p> </p>
<p>eta: now she only nurses her dolls, and she'll nurse anything....a turtle, a cup, a strawberry, a boat...<img alt="love.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/love.gif"></p>

 

[babygrey]

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>brennan</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1281816/ebf-19mo-feeds-dolls-with-bottles-huh#post_16075286"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a><br>
eta: now she only nurses her dolls, and she'll nurse anything....a turtle, a cup, a strawberry, a boat...<img alt="love.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/love.gif"></div>
</div>
<p><span><img alt="ROTFLMAO.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/ROTFLMAO.gif">at nursing a strawberry!</span></p>
<p>good to hear DD's not the only kid who's done this.</p>
<p>She hasn't done a sippy since she was 9-10 months, but we do have sippies around, so maybe that was it?</p>
<p> </p>

 

[shnitzel]

<p>DD did this too recently and I was also shocked my in laws bought DD a doll with a bottle and she was so excited to feed it, she was given a bottle but refused it as a baby (when I was away) but i doubt she remembers and she isn`t around babies much and those she is around she is more likely to see nursing and I generally point breastfeeding babies out to her (at the children`s museum when she goes and stares). Funny thing is she never nurses her dolls and stuffed animals at all, she will feed them or give them water or a bottle but when her teddy bear wants to nurse she brings it to me and I have to lift my shirt AND take my breast out or we have a tantrum and then DD always needs a sip after but for some reason it never occurs to her that she can nurse them herself.  </p>