How Do I Switch My Baby From The Bottle To Breastfeeding?
January 21, 2010 by Guest Author
Filed under Breast Feeding Supplies
It’s difficult for me to get her on to breastfeeding because she’s already used to the bottle. I had to put her on the bottle right when she was born because i had a C-section operation and it was really hard to get her to breastfeed. And the nurses at the hospital didn’t show me much on how to breastfeed too.
Definatly seek help. The lactation consultants help so much! Also once you figure out how to do it right, dont give up. It may be uncomfortable for both of you for a while.
I am assuming that you have been expressing milk and giving it in bottles. I also do not know how old your baby is.
However, here is what worked for me and my daughter when she was about 10 weeks.
I stopped ALL artificial nipples cold turkey. This included bottles, pacifiers, and nipple shields. I would offer the breast anytime she made a peep. She might nurse for 2 minutes and then become frustrated. At which point, I’d stop and calm her down and then in a few minutes try again. We did this for 3 days. We didn’t go anywhere and I watched a lot of TV in my pjs!
During this 3 day period, I watched her diaper output to be certain she was getting enough. If she had 6-8 wet diapers a day (1oz of urine is 1 wet) she was getting enough. If you daughter is under 6 weeks she needs the same number of wet diapers above plus at least one dirty diaper a day.
If ever I felt my daughter wasn’t getting enough, I used a medicine dropper to very slowly squirt my milk into her mouth. But she NEVER again had an artificial nipple, NEVER.
The first 3 days were difficult and required a great deal of patience. However, by day 3 she was getting better at it. About a week later, she was a champ. Good luck.
See a lactation consultant for hands on help with perfecting the latch.
kellymom.com also has good info
Help — My Baby Won’t Nurse! http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby…