Bottle Feeding a Breast Fed Baby

Breastfeeding is a wonderful bonding and a very intimate moment Mommy and baby can share. It is always the best way to feed a baby but sometimes things get out of hand. The time may come when Mom wants a day out, she may have to go back to work or maybe an emergency will happen and if the baby is completely breastfed, who will feed the baby. There is nothing more frustrating that having a hungry baby that is rejecting the only way to get food…the bottle.

My suggestion to Parents is that although breastfeeding is great and it is the best most nutritious, introduce the bottle within the first week. This goes against everything the lactation specialist will tell you but I have found in my 19 years of experience that this will not deter breastfeeding but it does free up mom once a day. It also gives Dad a chance to bond with baby. Dad can do this in the middle of the night to give Mom a break and get some extra sleep. Please note that we are not advocating the feeding of formula. The one time at night and after every feed if Mom pumps she will have enough breastmilk to feed once a day. We find that when mom feeds off one side and pumps the other and they will build up their supply of saved breast milk fast.

Just in case you were not one of the Mommies that introduced that bottle in the first week we have some suggestions for you that may help you get your little one to eat.

1. Wear the bottle nipple in your bra for a day so it smells like you.

2. Put some of the milk on the outside of the bottle nipple.

3. Hold the baby in a position that does not mimic the breastfeeding position. You may have great success sitting your baby in a bouncy seat or car seat, putting on a baby video and reaching from behind and putting the bottle in the mouth. The visual will distract baby while you reach around from behind and put bottle in baby's mouth.

4. Let your partner feed the baby with you not in the room. Some babies are really smart and Mom may not even be in the house.

5. If/when the baby is hungry ENOUGH, they would take the bottle. Some babies will hold off for up to 12 hours before eating. Talk to your child care provider to check on this but I have talked to many parents who have done this and they agree - they will not starve as the survival instinct will eventually kick in.

6. Feed baby the bottle the first thing in the morning when she is hungry and still half asleep or the last bottle at night when they are stocking up for the night when tend to eat more. Have Daddy do this feed. If baby refuses have him wait a few minutes and retry. Be consistent doing the same thing each morning/evening. Do not force the baby but be general but firm. Do not get caught in the baby trap where she refuses and you go ahead and nurse her. She will soon catch on to this game and never take the bottle. Offer her the bottle in a quiet, gentle way, with lots of encouragement, and calming strokes (through all the screams). You can keep that routine until she is use to it and then vary it so she is getting the bottle at a different time also. If you do not do this you will have a baby who will take the bottle only in the morning/evening. Follow up every day after that with at least one bottle a day.

7. Serve the bottle in different temperatures. Warm the milk warmer than necessary. Some babies want it cold, right out of the refrigerator.

8. Try a different bottle, a different nipple. Some babies won't *touch* a silicone nipple - only rubber. Try glass instead of plastic. Try holding her differently. Try offering the bottle every 20 minutes or so.
The real magic is was to keep trying every day and remember that babies will not starve themselves and they will take the bottle when they realizes that is their only option. If your schedule is irregular, you could try to make sure you leave her with someone else to offer the bottle a few hours every day, so she learns it is a regular thing. Keep trying, because the longer you wait, the more stubborn they get (in my experience). You might also try formula instead of breast milk in the bottle –some babies will refuse breast milk from any source other than the breast, but she will did drink formula. They will make up for the lack in breast milk when you are available.

10. Be consistent with the person giving her the bottle and the type of bottle and whether you put formula or breast milk in the bottle.

12. Try varying how the person feeding the bottle holds the baby -- some prefer a greater distinction from nursing position, while others reject the bottle unless everything else is as close as possible to nursing.

13. One Mom’s experience: “During the ''training'' time he did flat out refuse to take a bottle and we were pretty freaked out. He was crying like crazy. So, we put the bottle aside. I did NOT breast feed him. He stopped crying after a few minutes, then we tried the bottle again in an hour and he sucked down the whole thing. I didn't even have to leave the house. I'm guessing he really wasn't that hungry at first and was irritated about having a nipple shoved in his mouth. So, maybe next time your baby refuses a bottle just try being patient and let him get hungry enough. I wouldn't wait all day long, maybe just an hour before trying again”.

14. Another Mom experience: “While bathing her, I just picked up a nipple (no bottle), put a little warm water in it, and put it near her mouth. She sucked it, so I repeated it with water, and then put a little milk in it (still, just the nipple, not the bottle). I can't remember if I introduced the bottle then, or at a later bath. After that, she took the bottle--although she still always preferred nursing and didn't like me to give her a bottle. However, she'd take it from someone else easily after that. I think the key was that we were both relaxed and happy at the time, and the situation wasn't loaded...it just occurred to me to try this while she was in her bath”.

15. Check the refrigerated/frozen breast milk. Make sure it hasn't soured. High amounts of lipase can cause the milk to appear sour and the baby may refuse it. This milk is not harmful to baby and some babies will still take it without problem.

16. Make your bottle routine really different than the breast feeding routine. That may mean Mom not being in the house or involved in the feed. Dad can feed her in a different position perhaps even putting the baby on the floor. Do something Mom does not do, perhaps sing or walk while feeding. If mom feeds in the nursery, Dad should feed in the living room or outside or any other place the baby is not normally nursed.

17. Don’t let it escalate. When the baby is crying a lot, stop, we didn't want it to become a war of wills and have him associate the bottle with being really upset. Try in another hour or so.

18. Take a break –If you baby is being very stubborn, wait a couple of days or a week and try again. Remember they will always be resistant.

21. Nurse the baby till she falls asleep and the nipple falls out of her mouth then slip the bottle into her mouth. She would then get use to the bottle when she was very relaxed. In this way she will get use to a different nipple and not be aware of it.

22. It is very important to remain calm and detached (which is not easy with a screaming, hungry baby in your arms) and to have an "I don't care if she drinks this or not" attitude. The baby will feed off your attitude, if you are anxious and uptight it will make it much harder on the infant.

Hard case:
5. To begin use an Avent sippy cup with the soft sippy cup spouts. Don't take out the valve, the milk will just flow way too fast and they will gag. Cut out a very small piece from the valve. This will allow the milk to flow slow enough for the baby to handle. You can begin by spoon feeding him milk at first until he was able to get use to the Avent sippy cups.
Putting a little formula may help to get them started, breast milk may not seem right to them as it wasn't coming out of a breast.

3. Feed the baby with a medicine dropper to get her to drink her milk. This may work if you are persistent. Be sure to notice when the baby starts to suck on the dropper and change to the bottle.