Gentle Strategies to Introduce a Bottle to Your Breastfed Baby: A Modern Mama’s Guide. Tips to get baby to take the bottle and continue to breastfeed if needed.
There are many reasons why a mama might want to introduce a bottle to their baby, with a few gentle strategies you can have a successful transition. Whatever the situation, as an experienced mama of 2 who had combo breast and bottle feeding journeys both times, this is how you can try to get baby to take a bottle. Either watch the video below or keep reading!
Here are my gentle strategies for getting your breastfed baby to take a bottle:
- Choose the Right bottle and Nipple: Opt for a bottle nipple that mimics the shape and feel of your breast for best latching success, and the size should be one designed specifically for breastfed babies with a slow flow, unless you have experience fast flow or fast let down, you may want to go up a size. The general nipple size recommendation for breastfed babies is size 0/1.
- Have Someone Else Offer the Bottle: Sometimes babies refuse the bottle from the breastfeeding parent because they associate them with breastfeeding. Let someone else offer the bottle to your baby and see if that helps.
- Pick a time of day where baby is usually in a good mood: Typically either mid morning or mid afternoon is a good time. Offer when baby is hungry but not starving, a very hungry baby may become too frustrated to try something new.
- Experiment with Positions: Hold your baby in different positions while offering the bottle. Some babies prefer being held in a similar position to breastfeeding, while others may prefer a different angle. Paced feeding is the key, you want the flow to remain similar to breastfeeding so they don’t have a strong preference for breast or bottle. Keeping baby somewhat upright will make them work harder to get the milk out, instead of letting gravity do the work for them. Switching sides while bottle feeding is also helpful to keep baby in routine.
- Use Breast Milk on the Nipple: Dabbing a bit of breast milk on the bottle nipple and rubbing it along their lips can sometimes encourage a baby to latch on.
- Stay Consistent and calm: Once your baby starts taking the bottle, try to offer it regularly to maintain familiarity. Stay Relaxed: Babies can pick up on your stress or frustration, which may make them more resistant to taking the bottle. Stay calm and relaxed during feeding times.
Remember, every baby is different, so it may take some trial and error to find what works best for yours. If you’re still having trouble, don’t hesitate to reach out to a lactation consultant or healthcare professional for personalized guidance.
Don’t forge to check out all my mama courses on pregnancy/postpartum, infant feeding and toddler feeding at https://modernmunch.com/index.php/courses/
