Getting of breast feeding?

Question

My friend has a 1 month old boy which she breast feeds she is trying to get him on to the bottle but having great difficulty. She is using her expressed milk so its not the milk thats the problem. She has tried 4 different bottle types with different teats sizes etc but no luck. Have you got any advise I can pass on to her or any types of bottles you have found worked well for you little one?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Some breast fed babies will never be quite as happy with a bottle - it's just not the same. Like wise, some babies don't mind.

If she wants to completely quit, she will probably have an unhappy baby for 2 to 3 weeks.

One of mine would never take a bottle - I ended up starting her on a sippy cup at six months (It needs to be one with the spill lock on it, so the contents won't rush out too fast and choke them). I didn't wean her till later, I just supplimented with the sippy.

The other two never really took to the bottle, but would take it once they were hungry enough. I went back to work with my third and had to express and use a bottle during the mornings while I was at work.

Answer 2

Hopefully she is just trying to add bottles of pump milk and not wean completely? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for *AT LEAST* 12 months.

Avent bottles tend to work well with breastfed babies. They have a nipple shape that is closer to the breast. Be sure she is using slow flow nipples, no matter what brand it is that she trys.

Drinking from a bottle and nursing from the breast are very different. At the breast, baby must work to keep the flow of milk going. With a bottle, baby must work to STOP the flow of milk, as it will just drip into his mouth otherwise. It can take a little while to work out the difference in mechanics. Also, babies are smart. They would much rather be cuddled up to mom's nice warm breast. :-)

Suggest that she should not be the one to offer the bottle. It usually works best if someone else offers the bottle and mom is not in the room. Have dad or grandma or someone else do it while mom runs an errand or soaks in a bubble bath.

She can try the milk at different temperatures. Warmed up to body temp or cold from the fridge or just barely take the chilll off of it.

The caregiver can try different positions. Try holding him in the same position she holds him to nurse. Try holding him facing out, with baby's back to the caregiver's chest. Try sitting with the caregiver's feet propped on something and baby laying propped up against the caregiver's legs, with head at the knees facing the caregiver. Try walking around with baby in a sling or front carrier until he gets the bottle started.

Try offering the bottle when baby is not sleepy or overly hungry. Babies are more likely to be willing to try something new when they aren't starving and are in a good mood.

Try offering the bottle when baby is half-asleep and slip it into his mouth. Maybe he'll suck on it without realizing what it is.

Answer 3

I've been having the same problem with my 3 1/2 month old - I sympathise. If poss, try to get your mum/hubby to do it while you are out of sight. My mum can eventually persuade my lo to take a bottle with persistence and a firm finger under the chin. Once she has accepted the teat at the beginning of a feed, the whole lot goes down no probs! It has also been suggested to me to give her a bottle/trainer cup - whichever you will be using - to play with, its going to end up in her mouth at some point. After this you can put a little milk in for him, and encourage him through play. I can't vouch for this as yet, we're still using her magic cup as a toy!

Try contacting La Leche League, or the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, their details should be available through Google.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

We had the same problem with our daughter. We found the MAM ULTI Vent bottles. The have really soft teats that are a bit more "nipple" shaped (apparently), they also have an air flow thingy that stops the baby getting colic. We went through about 3 different types of bottles before these and she took this one straight away and we have had no problems since.

Answer 5

My niece was anti-bottle when she was born and my sister was unable to feed her. She got round it by using a special feeding cup. It didn't have a teat, but a few tiny holes punctured in the rim of the lid so there was virtually no work for my niece to do. We nicknamed it 'The Lazy Cup' because the milk dribbled out really easily! It was very like the normal trainer cups you get for toddlers.

Answer 6

style one rule is that infant needs to devour. for sure nursing on the breast is extra constructive because there are some perks to it that are literally not accessible at the same time as bottle feeding alongside with bonding and allowing the baby to envision how a lot to eat. yet feeding breastmilk in a bottle is in good structure than feeding formula. So in case you cant or do not opt to nurse then exhibit your self. some females who decide on now to not nurse do loose their milk furnish faster because 'different' issues in life initiate to interfere with pump timing and the longer you flow between pumping the a lot less milk your body will make. A mom who pumps each and every 3 hours finally ends up pumping each and every 4 hours and then stretches it to each and every 5 hours and so on and after some days or perhaps weeks starts off to be conscious that they are grabbing extra milk from the freezer then what they are freshly pumping. in case you want to precise in difficulty-free words then in basic terms make particular you're making it a concern.

Answer 7

If the baby wont take to any thing she's tried, possibly going out for the day and leaving another p[erson to feed the baby. It can still smell her breast so a change altogether may help. My friend went away for 5 days to get her son off the breast. A bit extreme - but worked!!

Answer 8

I had the same problem with my first child - a boy - I found that whatever I did he wouldn't take the bottle - different teats, different size bottles - I tried it all. Then I changed his feeding position so he was lying on my lap, with his head on my knees and his feet on my tummy and he took to it like the proverbial duck to water. I also tried facing him away from me, with his head resting on my tummy and feet on my knees, and he liked that too.

I hope this helps your friend.

Answer 9

It is best if she can get someone else to feed the baby from the bottle as he can smell the milk in her breasts and he knows it comes from there.

It is also best if she isnt in the room when he is been fed for the first cupple of times.

Hope it helps....

Answer 10

i found it really difficult-as it is mummy and boob they love
i withheld boob during the day and used playtex bottles though i have noticed tommee tippee do a new breast-like bottle and teat
tell your friend she has to be strong and it will only work if she
WANTS to not feed any more as they make you think they are being scalded -anything to get you to keep feeding them-they love its exclusivity and closeness
my 2 daughters were off boob in a week once i had decided i had enough
it took me 5 months of dithering and giving intothe crying before i got my act together.and we are just as close......