Introducing bottles

leannetab90 · March 2015

If you are breastfeeding how long did everyone wait before they introduced bottles? I have been pumping and storing milk for a while now but I'm paranoid that if I give him a bottle that it will ruin breastfeeding. I need to return to work so he has to have a bottle while I'm gone. He takes a binky no problem so he might be fine switching between breast and bottle now.

junebugjam · March 2015

I was told to wait 4 weeks. My LO is only 3 weeks old so I haven't tried it. He refuses a pacifier though so I'm mildly concerned about the transition. Good luck!

reneamac313 · March 2015

We've been breastfeeding and I just introduced DD to bottles at almost 3 weeks. I was going to wait until around 4 weeks but her pediatrician suggest I start now. She's been going back and forth without any issues at all. I believe the main issue with introducing too early is nipple confusion but if your DS is taking a pacifier and breastfeeding is established I don't see that it would be problematic at all.

rosieo52 · March 2015

I had to supplement formula at 3 days because baby was losing too much weight. She is now 3 weeks and I go back and forth between breast and bottle with pumped breast milk. We have no issues. My LO does not always latch right so that's why I pump and give her a bottle so I get some relief. I'm glad we started so e

anxiousmommy85 · March 2015

We gave lo a pacifier in the first 24 hours and a bottle at 2.5 weeks. She switches very easily between the three as long as I'm no the one offering the bottle. (She apparently prefers the breast if it's obviously available).

LauraElizabeth85 · March 2015

6 weeks and give one every once in a while so baby gets used to having one sometimes

loriann091 · March 2015

We just introduced the first bottle at 4 weeks and DD took it like a champ - drank 5 oz like it was nothing! Since then, though, she will only drink 2 oz and then cry and cry until I nurse her. I try to wait it out to see if she will try the bottle, but I eventually give in. She hasn't struggled to nurse or anything since - I just wish she'd take a bottle so her dad could get the chance to feed her once in awhile. If anyone has techniques that have worked (other than trying other bottles/nipples... I know to do that) please share!

Mandig990 · March 2015

I had to introduce bottles while DD was a couple days old because of nipple confusion an she couldn't latch on anymore. I started nursing again when she was 2 weeks and my milk came in and she latched on no problem and she does prefer the breast over the bottle. I'll bottle feed when we go out sometimes (I still can't get the hang of nursing in public) but other than that I nurse exclusively. Sometimes she forgets how to eat from the bottle though...it's weird

StephanieLBerg · March 2015

loriann091 said:
We just introduced the first bottle at 4 weeks and DD took it like a champ - drank 5 oz like it was nothing! Since then, though, she will only drink 2 oz and then cry and cry until I nurse her. I try to wait it out to see if she will try the bottle, but I eventually give in. She hasn't struggled to nurse or anything since - I just wish she'd take a bottle so her dad could get the chance to feed her once in awhile. If anyone has techniques that have worked (other than trying other bottles/nipples... I know to do that) please share!

I plan on pumping and introducing our little girl to a Tommee Tippee bottle at 4 weeks for the same reason. Her daddy feels useless that he can't feed her because we are breastfeeding and has since taken all the burping and diaper changes off my hands just so he feels like he is contributing. He's even gone as far as staying up with her when she gets fussy at night so I can sleep. I feel awful for him, but appreciate all his help at the same time. Having an emergency cesarean really threw off my groove and it's been difficult to get back into the swing of things, so I am really grateful for him doing 75% of the work right now so all I have to do is feed her and rest so I can heal. But I still feel awful for it

armm · March 2015

I breastfeed exclusively, but within the first week oh having my DD I had to give her a bottle since my milk was just kicking in. In addition she had jaundice from being born at 37 weeks. Like you I was afraid to introduce the bottle too early, but thankfully she never had trouble transitioning between bottle and my breast. It's helpful for quick feelings in the middle of the night when I'm too tired to breastfeed and I just prep pumped milk.

I hope your LO takes well too it since you'll be heading back to work soon. Best of luck

it'll be fine

wittyacronym · March 2015

Once breastfeeding is established then it is fine to introduce the bottle. If the bottle is introduced too late (typically after 6weeks) then the infant may refuse the bottle. . You may need to try different nipples until you find one you LO will tolerate.

I personally feel nipple confusion is overblown. Many infants switch between bottle and breast without issue. Now nipple 'preference' is definitely a thing. If BF is not going well and the milk flows easily from the bottle then the infant may start to prefer the 'easier' option.

davimary · March 2015

Our LO does one bottle feeding a night and switches without problems. Our LC said the most important thing is to get the lowest flow nipple possible so that baby still has to work for it. She recommended playtex ventaire natura slow flow. Good luck!

ColleenS629 · March 2015

My DD is a little over 5w and I haven't started bottles. I don't really know when I will but I'm not super concerned about it. My twins refused bottles (for the first two weeks, I had to pump and bottle feed one and BF the other so once we got them both BFing, I didn't want anything to do with bottles) and I just dealt with it. I was just never away from them long enough to miss a feeding which was fine for me because I SAH with them until they were 15 months (and even then I was only teaching PT- two classes twice a week). I will be teaching a class again starting at the end of May but it's only 2 hours three times a week so if she ends up not taking a bottle, it's not like she'll starve while I am gone. If I was going back to work FT, I would probably introduce a bottle around 6 weeks.

StephanieLBerg · March 2015

ColleenS629 said:
My DD is a little over 5w and I haven't started bottles. I don't really know when I will but I'm not super concerned about it. My twins refused bottles (for the first two weeks, I had to pump and bottle feed one and BF the other so once we got them both BFing, I didn't want anything to do with bottles) and I just dealt with it. I was just never away from them long enough to miss a feeding which was fine for me because I SAH with them until they were 15 months (and even then I was only teaching PT- two classes twice a week). I will be teaching a class again starting at the end of May but it's only 2 hours three times a week so if she ends up not taking a bottle, it's not like she'll starve while I am gone. If I was going back to work FT, I would probably introduce a bottle around 6 weeks.

We introduced a bottle around 2.5 weeks so my husband could take the MOTN feedings to let me sleep, and to be able to bond with her like I can whwn I BF her. We use the Tommee Tippee bottle and she does just fine going back and forth between it and the breast. I think 6 weeks or so should be a fine age to reintroduce the bottle to your twins. :-)

CutieBug1 · March 2015

this post makes me sad

I had to introduce a bottle at the hospital because my LO was losing too much weight. I havent been able to exclusively breastfeed since, but have him on about -50-50 breastmilk and formula.

Regarding refusal of teets, he does refuse the one that is supposed to be most breast-like the calma teet and i was wasting a lot of my valuable breastmilk (Low supply issue..each drop is gold) so i have him on the colic preventing low flow newborn teet by medela.

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