Good Morning!
Sorry I have been a bit MIA on the blog lately.. this weekend was VERY busy and I’m just now catching up.
Today I wanted to take the chance to tell you about the Medela Calma bottle.
As you know I have been having a VERY hard time with Gabriella taking a bottle. She took it two days after she was born (I started pumping right when I got home) & she did great with it. We were giving her a bottle a day. During the holidays it was just easier to nurse her, so we missed two weeks without giving her a bottle…and boy were those two weeks crucial. Since those two weeks, she has refused the bottle. We have been trying for OVER a month to give her one.
Craig would get home from work, I would heat the milk (it’s all breast milk) and then he would give her the bottle. I would try to do other stuff- like cook dinner- so that I was not in the room, and so that I was out of her site. NOTHING worked.
Then I read about the Calma. “Calma is a research-based nipple used with a BPA-free breast milk bottle designed to allow babies to maintain their natural feeding behavior and transition from bottle back to breast with ease—a revolution for breastfeeding mothers.” This sounded like a DREAM come TRUE!
One thing about most bottles is that there are ‘stages’ of nipples. But these stages don’t always correspond with your natural flow. I know that I have a fast flow, and the level one (newborn) nipples did NOT work with Gabriella when she did take a bottle. They were way too slow and she would get frustrated.
What’s unique about Calma is that it is more than a conventional bottle nipple: it’s a research-based feeding solution designed exclusively for breastfed babies to support mothers in maintaining their breastfeeding goals, especially during life transitions. (IE: Going back to work) With Calma, the milk will only flow if the baby works & creates vacuum to remove the milk. This enables the feeding behavior learned at the breast to be used with Calma.
I decided with this bottle to let Gabriella just kind of play with it at first. I wanted to get her comfortable around it, so I let her just suck on it- which also helped with her teething. Win win 😉
It was time for the true test.
I heated up some breast milk and got the bottle ready. I put her in her bouncer & Craig gave her the bottle.
Now, let’s start from the beginning. Since she was used to the bottle, she did take it in her mouth. It took her a minute to figure out the nipple, because she was used to the traditional nipple. She did start sucking on it, and she realized that is how you get the milk,
I also liked that the area surrounding the nipple was more realistic to a breast. It wasn’t perfectly smooth, but had little bumps surrounding it.
Now once Gabriella kind of realized it was a bottle, she did her usual- she would just move the nipple around her mouth from side to side.
The GOOD thing is she wasn’t crying when we tried to give it to her. She didn’t exactly TAKE it, but she did get a bit of milk.- more than with the other bottles we had tried.
IF I could go back, I would of purchased these bottles when I was registering for bottles. I LOVE the design, and I do feel like they are IDEAL for breastfeeding Moms. You cannot find another nipple out there like this one. I feel like if we had started her with these bottles, she would have been more open to taking the bottle…and it wouldn’t have been a fight.
The downsides to the bottle? Only two. First one- the price. At Babies R Us the 5oz Calma bottle is $19.99, the 8oz is $24.99 & the nipple alone is $17.99. But the good thing is that Babies constantly has these on a Buy one, get one 50% off. The other thing is that with all of the money I have spent on bottles (Dr. Browns, Playtex, Avant, Tommee Tippeee) & nipples (clear nipples, brown nipples, fast flow nipples, slow flow nipples, etc.) I would HAPPILY pay $19.99 for this bottle! SO WORTH IT!
Second one- there are a lot of parts to the bottle. Honestly though, I don’t think it’s really a ‘downside,’ only because that is what MAKES the bottle- all of the parts. But if you are not a fan of cleaning bottles, then you may not be too fond of the four different pieces.
I knew Medela was a great brand- I have a Medela double electric pump & I LOVE it- and this bottle didn’t disappoint at all!
We are going to keep trying with the Calma to get Gabriella to take the bottle. I think with a few more tries, she may take it! Like I said earlier, she didn’t hate it, which is a HUGE step in the right direction! 🙂
If you are a Mom having a problem with bottle feeding, I highly suggest trying the Medela Calma. Medela also has a breastfeeding app for your phone, to help make life even easier!
Disclosure: I was given Calma by Medela for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I shared is completely honest & my own.”
Everyday's a 'Hollyday' 
I have an extra Calma at home and Cora doesn’t use it (and I could prob get more from LC’s at work) — would you want it if I can find it??
Cora did well with it — but when she would create that vacuum and get milk — the flow was too fast for her and a ton of milk came out — and much of it on her clothes b/c she wasn’t keeping up.
Lisa! Good to hear from you!! I would LOVE to have it, if you don’t won’t it. The fast flow worked so well because I have such a fast flow. THANK YOU!!
Pingback: Everything Happens For a Reason | Everyday's a 'Hollyday'