Going from Breast to Bottle

mrsclark2be

Hello -

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I am going back to work on Monday. Up until this point my baby has been 90% exclusively breast fed  and given bottles at least 2-3 times a week.

My DH and I noticed that when given the bottle he only drinks 1-2 ounces at a time. Its almost as if he nibbles with the bottle. Eventually he will drink 3-4 ounces but not all at one setting. Is this normal for breastfed babies.

He is gaining great weight. I guess it seems odd that he would not eat the 3-4 ounces at one time.

 Any thoughts?

HarrietNJMommy

It depends on the baby. Some babies will take a bottle and some won't. DD#1 - no issues. She took a bottle and BF. DD#2 - NOPE! She refused to take a bottle and in the almost 14 months that I nursed her had "maybe" 5-6 bottles in total and would only take around 2-3oz. She would wait for me to "tank up".

But, I'm a SAHM, so it didn't matter a lot. If I were working, she would have eventually learned to take a bottle because there would be no other choice.

GL to you!?

lynnbeez

I would make sure she gets a bottle everyday, no matter what.  You also might have to try a different bottle to see if that helps.  But to answer your question, my baby still does that.  She prefers the breast so she will only take what she needs to fight off her hunger and wait for me to get home.  It's called reverse cycling.  At first I was really frustrated by it because she would nurse a lot at night and I was worried about her not getting enough milk but I've gotten used it.  During a 12-14 hour work day, she only eats about 10-15 oz. at 7 months old!  She often drinks some and then comes back later to drink more.  She has remained in the 90% for weight even though she doesn't take much milk from a bottle while I'm at work.  GL!

FriendlyFanny

I don't have any advice, but I'm also going back to work on Monday and am worried about DD adapting to a bottle. She's taken bottles a couple times and done alright. I think it will be different when she has to take them a couple times per day every day though! Hopefully DH (and DD) survive