I'm glad I could provide a laugh! I did recognize the humor in the title, but it was also pretty accurate, so...
Just to clarify what our LO has been doing:
He's been grabbing the bottle pretty much since we brought him home from the hospital. Lately he hasn't been latching on and immediately going to town, as he always has before. He just opens his mouth, we stick the nipple in and he gums it... then rolls the drops around in his mouth (like he's taste-testing it) and makes a face and acts like he's gagging. Then (if I'm the one feeding him) he turns his head like he wants to breastfeed, and grabs at my boob.
(He's been bottlefed since the beginning, and I'm finally dried up.) Then we offer him the bottle again and he reluctantly latches on and eats. He does this whether the bottle is warm or cool, whether the formula was just mixed or the end of a days batch. We tried switching to the next size nipple, which worked for one feeding and then was too fast for him.
I thought of the detergent smell because an old roommate used to use scented dishwashing detergent, and the pots and pans always smelled like it when we cooked, and sometimes you could even sorta taste it in the food. I happened to pick up a different detergent than I'd been using (no real brand loyalty), and it seems to have more residual scent. (Palmolive orange antibacterial).
The baking soda in hot water seems to work, to an extent, but I have to rinse them well, or they seem kinda powdery. Boiling in plain water didn't seem to do much for the smell.
He should be switching nipple sizes soon and, if he's hungry enough, he'll eat. We just took him for his 2 mo checkup, and he weighed in at 13 lbs 4 oz (I've lost count of his chins!).
In the meantime, I'll check the stores and see about an unscented detergent for his bottles.
Thanks!
