How Do I Teach My Breastfeeding Son To Take A Bottle?
November 21, 2009 by Guest Author
Filed under Breast Feeding Supplies
How do i teach my breastfeeding son to take a bottle?
i want to go back to work on the week ends but i am breast feeding and my 3 month old son wants nothing to do with a bottle even filled with my breast milk
i have bought all the special nipples and he wont drink when any one else offers it to him either !!
any tips/tricks?
any help? any one have the same problem what did you do? and how old was your baby when he/she finally took the bottle?
You say to him “Listen son…. You’ll get plenty more of these when you get older but for now you have to stop sucking on these!” LOL Sorry, i couldn’t resist!
I hope it is helpful.
Anyway, in my source link you’ll find a web site that talks about breastfeeding & going to the bottle.
I had to go back to work when my daughter was 2 months old. We are still breastfeeding. She takes a bottle at the sitter’s and I feed her when I’m with her.
We had to ease into it over the period of about 2-3 weeks.
Have dad or grandma give him his first bottle, not you. Let him associate you with ONLY breastfeeding until he gets used to a bottle.
Replace one feeding per day with a bottle given by someone else. Keep doing this, keep trying with him. If he’s hungry enough, he will quit fighting it and figure the bottle out.
My daughter is 3 months old now and I can finally start to see her understand that I will feed her when I’m with her, but when I’m not, she has to take a bottle.
It will happen for you – just have patience and plenty of time!
It was really difficult to get my first child to take the bottle when I was getting ready to go back to work. I bought EVERY bottle nipple out there. Then I finally found the Avent nipple. She took to it right away. I don’t know if you have tried this one yet. She was 3 months old when this finally worked. With my second I just starting using Avent right away and had no problems at all.
He will take it when he’s hungry enough! I don’t think it’s something to be taught, but just make the switch cold turkey when you are ready. Be strong. He may protest for a few days…. but he will eat eventually. It doesn’t matter the type of bottle or nipples. Good luck!
you can try dipping the bottle nipple in a little of the breastmilk. just keep offering it to him but not when he is really really hungry or he will get frustrated and upset. nurse him a little then try, and just keep trying but dont try to force it.
good luck
no tricks. just keep giving him the bottle even when you’re around. when he gets hungry enough, he’ll take the bottle. it does help to have someone else do it and for you to not be right next to them. after the first time, you won’t have any problems.
Who is offering the bottle? It’s best if someone else (Dad or Grandma?) offers the bottle while mom is not in the room. If you are there, he will want to hold out for the real deal, fresh from the tap!
Have them try the milk at different temperatures. Body temp, room temp, just take the chill off or cold straight from the fridge.
With our son, we found that running hot water through the actual nipple to warm it up helped as well.
Have them try differnet positions. They can try feeding in the traditional cradle position, mimicing how you may usually nurse. Or they can try propping their feet up and laying baby in their lap with his head at the caregiver’s knees, looking at each other. Or sit baby with his back against the caregiver’s chest, facing out. Or walk around with baby in a sling or front carrier and get the bottle started that way. (The walking around helped my hubby with our son. Once he got started good, then he could sit down.)
Try when baby isn’t starving so he will be more likely to be willing to try something new. Or try when he is about half asleep as he may not realize what he is doing.
You could also try a soft-spout sippy cup like Avent makes. Or a spoon, a small soft sided cup (like a little cup that comes with Pepto Bismol), a medicine dropper or an oral syringe.
There are some great tips on kellymom.comhttp://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/alter…