Introducing a bottle to a breastfed baby

Are you planning to introduce a bottle alongside breastfeeding? Or maybe your breastfeeding journey is coming to an end and you’d like your baby to permanently move to a bottle.

Regardless of the reason, there’s lots of things you can do to help your baby make this transition, so read on for some reassurance.

Do I have to introduce a bottle?

Absolutely not! Many mothers happily exclusively breastfeed and their babies are never offered a bottle. It is completely up to you, so do what works for you, but bottles are not a staple part of breastfeeding unless you want them to be.

When should I introduce a bottle?

Typically, the earlier and more consistently you introduce a bottle, the more likely your baby will accept it.

Babies lose their sucking reflex around three months so drinking from a bottle is no longer instinctive - they can choose to refuse. So, if you’d like to introduce a bottle in any capacity, doing so before three months is recommended.

If your baby is older than three months, it doesn’t mean that they definitely won’t accept a bottle - every baby is different and you may find they accept it easily. But, realistically, it can just not happen for some older babies. This can feel like a daunting reality, but there are other options besides bottle feeding which I detail within this article. Babies also don’t like change and can be surprisingly stubborn, so it’s important to give it time and have patience if it doesn’t go as smoothly as expected initially.

You may have introduced a bottle when your baby was much younger, taken a break and then tried to reintroduce once they’ve lost their sucking reflex - and baby is now refusing! Well you’ve come to the right place - read on to learn how to gently encourage your baby to accept a bottle.

Why do some babies refuse a bottle?

Bottle aversion can happen for many reasons, but commonly it’s because it’s a big change

·         A silicone bottle teat feels very different in their mouth compared to your warm breast.

·         The position is different and baby is often sat up rather than cuddled close to you.

·         The flow of milk in a bottle is much faster compared to the breast, and if a paced feeding technique is not used (more on that further down) then baby can become easily overwhelmed. This can create negative associations with.

·         If baby wants to breastfeed for comfort and be close to you, then a bottle feed may not meet their needs and they could become frustrated.

Lower your expectations

Of course you want your baby to be happy taking a bottle, but if your expectations are too high you may feel disheartened or lie a failure when things aren’t going to plan. As you don’t know what will happen yet, try to go into this with zero expectations and a positive attitude.

Take it at baby’s pace

If you need your baby to take a bottle for a specific deadline ie. Returning to work, a weekend apart from each other, make sure you’ve given yourself plenty of time to gently introduce a bottle. If you try to rush your baby then it’s more likely you’ll be stressed or frustrated if it isn’t going well and your baby will pick on up these emotions. The more pressure you apply to the situation, the more baby will likely reject the bottle.

Try to focus on one big change at a time. If baby is starting nursery or moving into their own room, introducing a bottle at the time may be one change too much and negatively impact your attempts.

Consistency is key

It’s really common to try every bottle under the sun out of desperation, but it’s really important to remain consistent with one type of bottle and how frequently you offer the bottle. If baby is trying a new bottle every 1-2 days, they’ve had no time to get used to it before they’re being offered something new! Bottles aren’t cheap so save yourself some money and stick with one bottle shape.

Make sure baby isn’t too hungry or tired when you offer the bottle

If baby is very hungry and is offered a bottle when they want to breastfeed, they will likely become very frustrated and we don’t want them to create negative associations with the bottle. They’ll likely be more accepting if they aren’t super hungry. Equally, if they’ve only just fed they may not be hungry enough to accept the bottle so I’d suggest trying 1-2 hours after the last feed ended.

If baby is tired they will be much more fussy and emotionally fragile so this is also not the best time to offer the bottle.

Let baby play with the bottle

Show baby the empty bottle and let them touch it, bite it and hold it if they can hold things. They need to familiarise themselves and get used to this new thing in their lives, so letting them play with the bottle in a no pressure environment is a great gentle introduction. If the bottle is too heavy for them you could unscrew it and just offer them the teat.

Make the bottle fun

Getting excited with lots of smiling can really help baby to also get excited and associate the bottle with fun, happy times. Still with no pressure to feed, showing them the bottle and offering lots of praise when they show interest is a great way of encouraging your baby to accept it.

Role model

Role modelling can be an amazing way to show your baby what to do, and encourage them to copy you. This will work especially well with older babies.

Bait and switch

This can be useful with younger babies – start by either breastfeeding or letting baby suck on your finger, then quickly switch to the bottle once they’re sucking. Breastfeeding first also takes the edge off of their hunger so they may be more accepting of the bottle.

Distraction

Facing your baby outwards when you offer the bottle means they can see more of the world and may focus on other things instead of just the bottle. You could have them look out the window, or take them to the park to see some dogs or birds, or a bustling café.

Always pace the bottle feed

This is the most important of all. It’s vital to pace your baby’s bottle feeds because, as I mentioned earlier, the milk flow in a bottle is much faster than the breast. Pacing the feed means slowing it down, making sure the flow is manageable and comfortable for your baby, and responding swiftly to their fullness cues.

Learn how to pace your baby’s bottle feeds here.

What if my baby never takes a bottle?

This is a realistic outcome for some parents and can be incredibly frustrating. But there are other options besides bottle feeding if you need your baby to have milk whilst breastfeeding is not available to them – which you try is dependent on their age and milk volume needs.

·         Open cup

·         Sterile teaspoon

·         Syringe feeding

·         Finger feeding

·         Supplemental Nursing System (SNS)

·         If baby is older you could try a different kind of cup from 6 months but, realistically, they might not get the hang of it until 8/9 months.

If you’d like support with introducing a bottle to your baby, get in touch! Let’s figure it out together.

Email me at hello@nurturewithlydia.com.