How to Introduce a Bottle

So I am hearing it more and more often these days that Mama’s are wanting to introduce a bottle so that either Dad can do an occasional feed, or in case she wants to get away and not feel pressured to return immediately as soon as baby is hungry.

The fact is that we need to support Mama’s where they are at. If that is what you choose then I need to provide the support needed to accomplish this.

In my last post I talked about breast refusal after bottle from flow preference. If you missed that check it out. It’s going to be the basis or our discussion today.

So when do we safely introduce a bottle?

How can we protect the breastfeeding relationship?

How do we bottle feed?

If it is your plan to bottle feed or even occasionally bottle feed your baby then you need to learn to pace bottle feed. You also need to inform those around you who may be feeding your baby.

Ideally, introducing a bottle should occur around 4-6 weeks and offered somewhat regularly afterwards to keep them oriented to the bottle, if that is what you choose.

Some Mom’s don’t want to pump extra or be away from their babies for the hassle of it all and that’s fine too.

Here is a video I created discussing the benefits of paced bottle feeding, positioning your baby, positioning the bottle in order to create the work which mimics the flow of breastmilk.

You can see in the positioning that baby is more upright.

The bottle is almost level with the ground, it’s tilted just enough to allow for the milk to get in the nipple and no further.

Baby is supported- head, shoulders, hips and feet to allow for a stress free feed.

Mom is comfortable and watching babies cues. Allowing baby to control the feed and the breaks.

We watch baby and allow for 1-2 sucks per swallow where we pull back the bottle just slightly so that milk isn’t pooling in their mouth.

A baby should feed for just as long as a feed at breast.

We know when a feed is complete when baby turns their head away or no longer accepts the nipple.

I am sure you can see the differences between paced bottle feeding and how we were show and taught in the past. Not that it was wrong but now that we know better we do better.

I hope you enjoyed that tutorial.

Please reach out if you need further support.