7 Week Old Seems to Prefer Bottle to Breast

You've gotten lots of good advice. I want to add, though, that breastfeeding is not just about the milk. Feeding at the breast helps their palates develop correctly. It's a very sweet mother-baby bond too. Kudos to dad for being involved in baby care, but I would definitely cut back on bottles until breastfeeding is well reestablished.

well a bottle is way easier for a child then the breast they dont have to work as hard to get there food. If you really want to ontinue breastfeeding I suggest getting a haberman feeder bottle it makes them work harder for there food so they can go back and forth from the bottle and the breast easier. Good Luck and enjoy that little one they grow up so fast

if you feel like you MUST give her a bottle, try something like this:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2409201

They don't get milk on the fist suck. It works kinda like a letdown, her first sucks will just fill up the outer nipple and then when it's full enough, she'll start getting milk.

Bottles are easier for a baby to get milk from, so they sometimes do develop a stronger desire for them. The trouble is, as I'm sure you know, that you're milk supply will go down the more you use a bottle instead of the breast. If you're wanting to nurse for a year or so and you're not needing the bottle b/c of work, it might be a good idea to stop the bottle. There are so many other great ways for dads to bond with the baby. At our house we had dad do bedtime routine of a bath every night with the babies--that gave me a break from them and him some special quality time with the baby.

Please stop giving her the bottle before it gets any worse! It's wonderful that your husband wants to be so involved, but it's so much better for him to connect with her in other ways and to support you in breastfeeding her totally. Breastfeeding and bottlefeeding are very different, use different muscles etc, and a baby can get milk out of the bottle more easily so may then refuse the breast - but, as usual, nature knows best, and the act of sucking on a breast helps the baby's entire craniosacral system, is good for tooth and jaw development etc.

I read the responses up to this point and recommend you talk to a lactation consultant. Each of us only has our own story, plus maybe those of a few friends or relatives, but your lactation consultant has the benefit of having seen this problem many times in many situations.

You can't win--they say "introduce the bottle early even if you don't think you'll use it; you never know and later they won't go for it," but they also say "oh that's too early, now she'll never want to nurse."

I recommend getting her to stay on the breast if possible. The milk is nice and warm, she gets to snuggle, and no nutrients are lost through refrigeration and delay of delivery. 2nd best choice nutritionally would be to pump if she's not going to go back to nursing.

My own experience was that when I went back to work and dad stayed home with the baby, I pumped so that he could give her a midmorning and midafternoon snack of milk (I work near home, so could nurse her at lunch). She took the bottle fine after a while but missed me enough, I guess, that nursing stayed high on her list of things to do.

Later when she developed a habit of biting I was sorely tempted to go to an all-pumping routine! (But I feared I'd spend too many hours doing it.) So just know that there are some benefits too, if she doesn't go back to nursing.

Breast feeding is so much harder than bottle feeding for a baby. They want to go the easy route, especially when having yummy mommy milk. The best thing is to stop the bottle for a while, wait until she's a little older if you can. Let daddy bather her, or change diapers to get one on one time! lol... Just cuddle time can be special. There will be plenty of opportunity before you and he knows it to feel your precious baby food! If you must feed from a bottle look for a nipple that is shapes very similar to your own and find the smallest hole in it. I actually bought a premie nipple for my daughter so she would not have the surge of milk out like a regular nipple would. But I encourage you to pump at least a little everyday if you can so that you can give breast milk in a sippy cup when she's ready, about 4 months or so.
Good Luck!

Typically, most lactation consultants will tell you to wait atleast 10 weeks to introduce a bottle to a newborn. Before that there is a big risk of nipple confusion, and the baby can get lazy because it is easier to drink from a bottle rather than a breast.
I say cut the bottle out completely and wait another month or so. It is most important that you keep that bond with your baby and keep your milk up. Daddies can help in many ways, but I always tried to remember that back in the day, the breast was all there was, and if those women could do it w/out bottles, so could I, and so can you! :)

I have to edit to ad... PLEASE do NOT give up. Babies don't "choose" to wean at such a young age. (I made this mistake w/ my first) They do however learn from experience and experience tells them to take the easy way out and let milk pour into their mouths through the bottle. It is not so easy to keep up the milk supply through pumping if you stop nursing. No baby on the breast tells your body to stop making milk, and before you know it, you aren't giving your baby the best meal you can, you are giving the baby formula, all because it was easier for a little while to use the bottle. Raising babies isn't easy. It's work, and it's empowering work that is probably the most important of your life. Don't let your milk supply go away and miss out on all that wonderful time with you little one. You will NOT regret it if you work a little harder now and breastfeed for longer, but you very well MAY regret losing that bond and the best nutrition in the world for your baby.
I've been there. My first stopped nursing at 4 months because I listened to other people who pushed a bottle on me. My second, I was deteremined, and we had EVERY problem nursing except for mastis. We pulled through and he nursed for two years. My last was a champion nurser and his final nursing was 2 weeks ago, right after his third birthday when we got a cold and nursed for about 30 seconds.....just for the comfort, and it was one of THE MOST heartwarming moments of my life.

It's interfering. I wouldn't introduce the bottle until 3 months, when the baby has a firm understanding of how to nurse effectively. The bottle is so much easier to extract milk from, therefore, nipple confusion. I would back off and let the baby re-learn how to appreciate nursing. I went through this myself.
Good Luck!!

My opinion is that ususally bottles are easier to drink from than the breast, which a baby has to work for and develops her jaw muscles. So, naturally she's going to prefer the bottle. Since you plan to continue nursing for a while, I would stop using the bottle if you don't have to, and find other ways your husband can be involved, like baths.

Then I would recommend stopping the bottle. With my twins, the pediatrician recommended supplemental bottles from day one to help them put on weight as quickly as possible - especially while we were waiting for my milk to come in. One of them really loved the ease of sucking down a bottle. (It's a heckuva lot more work to nurse than it is to drink a bottle.) Anyway, my bottle baby weaned himself MUCH earlier than I wanted. I nursed his twin with absolutely no trouble whatsoever (frankly, his twin would probably still be happy to nurse!). But my bottle baby got to the point where he flatly refused to accept the breast and would scream, cry, and bite.

I definitely understand and support your desire to let your husband get involved with feeding the baby, but I'd restrict the bottles to no more than one time per week otherwise I really think she's going to wean herself very quickly.

Take the bottle away! Nursing is your job and hubby can watch:) There are other ways to bond than feeding a bottle. Basically babies prefer the bottle because it is less work. There are a million different bottles out there that all claim to copy the breast. That is impossible unless it is a breast!! There is no let down in a bottle, and the nipple cannot even be compared. Breast is always best! Check out the La Leche Leagues site for more info on breast vs bottle and supplement feeding. Good luck!

Hello... Congratulations on being a nursing mom! Even though your little girl "appears" to be consuming more while bottle feeding, she probably isnt.. Babies are incredibly effecient while on the breast. So even though her feeding session is shorter while on the breast, she is likely to be consuming the same amount or more.
As far as seeming fussy while being nursed, it could be all about the way she is being held. My daughter had her "favorite" postitions for nursing early on that changed while she got older. And she had a completely different position that she liked when she was sharing a bottle with daddy. Hope this helps. Keep up the good work!

Yes, this will happen. Bottles are easier to suck from - less work. If you want to continue breast feeding, drop feeding from a bottle at this time. Most babies do not transition from one to another.

It seems you'll need to take the bottle away if you want to nurse her for a year. My niece weaned herself at three months following the pattern you described.

Good Luck!

J.

Please don't stop nursing. Try not giving him a bottle for a few days. What happens is after a the first few weeks your milk adjusts to what the baby needs, and it doesn't let down quite as easily as it did in the beginning. So baby has to work a little to get it. He doesn't have to work at all to get it from the bottle. This is your first opportunity to teach him not to take the easy way out!!! <grin> Take the bottle away for a few days and I assure you he will get back to nursing just fine. Again, at right about 3 months, your milk will again adjust, and babies will get very fussy and try to make you think they are not getting enough milk, many mothers give up at this point fearing their babies are starving! This is not usually the case, just keep an eye on the amount of wet diapers! Your milk will adjust from low fat to high fat at different times during your nursing year (or two) to exactly what your baby needs. I don't know how it knows to do this, but it does. In fact, if you have a premature baby, your breast milk will have a lot of extra fat and nutrients in it (super milk!) The fact that you have been breast feeding just fine up to now, tells me there is nothing wrong with your supply. Breast feeding is truely a wonderful miracle. Trust it!
D.

Try cutting back on the number of bottles you're giving. They don't have to suck as hard on the bottle as the breast to get the milk so that's probably why she's preferring the bottle. We were told to give one bottle every 3 or 4 days. We've been doing that for about 7 months and now she'll take a bottle if offered, but she's an avid breast feeder too! Also, if she just insists on the bottle, keep pumping and give her the good stuff! It's worth it!! :)

With babies, it can go wither way. If they like the bottle more it is usually because they don't have to work so hard to get the milk. If you think she is not overeating with the bottle, go for it. She is still getting breastmilk, so there is no worry about nutrition as long as you store it correctly.

If it is ok with you, go for it and enjoy the freedom she is giving you. This means Dad can help out with the 3 am feedings! You can still nurse when you feel you or shee needs to.

Good luck!

I would say to stop bottle feeding for a bit, and have your husband spend time with her in other ways. The bottle is great if YOU want a break or time away for whatever reason. But since the bottle is generally easier to get more milk out of faster, your baby may not want to "work" to get the milk from the breast. It seems if you want to nurse for a year, you should focus on that and only use the bottle for emergencies.
best of luck

Good for you for breastfeeding! This is a tough age, because they do develop preferences. I would suggest contacting your local La Leche League and asking for advice from the members and leaders. You can find your local group by going to their webpage. Just google La Leche League. A lot of babies take to the bottle because it's a lot easier than the breast, but the muscles they develop by nursing from the breast directly assist in speech development later, so it's important they work at the breast as well. Sometimes people have had to use a nipple shield to get them back on the breast because it can be easier for the baby. Then they start weaning off the nipple shield to go back straight to the breast. You might have to put a hold on the bottles for a while to do this. But again, that is just what I have read and heard, I am not a qualified lactation consultant or LLL leader. They would have the best advice. Good luck!

If you have to use a bottle, use the lowest flow nipple.

If you want to just make sure she will take a bottle (on those occasions when you're away or working), she only needs it once or twice a WEEK to ensure she "gets it". At least that is worked for my 5month old.

I bought high flow (3 month and up) nipples but never took them out of the box. I decided I won't ever use them, to prevent the exact problem you are having.

Good luck!

The best thing you can do is contact your local Le Leche League group. I'm sure a search on line can put you in touch. There are many benefits to encouraging your babe to want the boob over the bottle, like palate/dental formation, so keep trying!

HI L.
It sounds like your child has made a choice in what she wants. Giving her the pumped breast milk still gives her the things that she would get from you directly except the snuggleing and comforting. She probably is getting more milk into her in a shorter time and attention span of the baby. She may not need or want a long feeding time. If she wants the breast give it to her but I think she is starting to ween herself.
Support her choice in how she gets her milk.
Why is it so inportant weather it is the breast or a bottle with the same milk?

Hello!

I have a ten month old boy, he is the most wonderful little guy. He was born last June and when he was around six weeks the temperature hit 100 for almost an entire week. We were so hot breastfeeding that I decided to start pumping him bottles so he could have a break from being curled up with his hot mommy to eat (i was just miserable in the heat!). I also enjoyed having his father participate in the feeding ritual, as I did not want his dad to be jealous of our bond. I successfully breastfed him and used bottles at day care until he was three months when he began to get fussy at the breast. I mistakenly thought he was experiencing early teething and did not want him to hurt, so I let him have bottles. He quit nursing at three months.
I pumped until a month ago. Every morning when I woke I pumped while I fed him standing in his exersaucer. I did not get a lunch break out of my building until I quit pumping(i pumped and ate). I pumped immediately upon coming home and once before bed, then once at 2 am. I spent 3-4 hours every day pumping, and it wore my husband down SO much that I quit. I hardly spent time with my little boy until I quit pumping. I know that he deserved one full year of breastmilk, but it was not fair to any of us that I continue my awful pumping routine.

I tried and tried to get my son to nurse again, and he refused. It took half an hour every time I tried and he would only nurse if I tricked him into it or became so tired that he just gave up. It was miserable.

My advice to you is to ban the bottle at home entirely if you work. If you stay home and want to involve your husband, only allow the bottle at a scheduled time and only after solid breastfeeing resumes. I very much regret giving in to my infant's preferences, I thought I was just giving him the best.

Much luck to you, and congratulations on your newest baby!

Sounds like the bottle you're using is easier to eat from than you are. I only use a bottle called breastflow from target because it mimics the natural breast and my son's never had a problem with switching back and forth.
good luck

Bottles let the milk out faster. Babies have to work harder to get milk from the breast. If you really want to nurse, you might need to cut out using the bottle so much, or you might have to use a nipple shield over your breast to at least simulate the feel of a bottle, sort of fooling your kid. You could also try researching a bottle nipple that really makes her work for it :)

It's common for babies to drink faster from a bottle than they do from the breast. The flow from a bottle is more steady, which might be why she is getting fussy when she goes back to the breat. If you want to keep breastfeeding, I would scale back on the bottle a bit. Go down to once a day at the most and always at the same time of day. She'll learn that that's when she gets the bottle and the rest of her food comes from mom. When babies breastfeed they have to suck a while to get to letdown (which is usually their favorite part even though it means the milk comes fast). With a bottle, there's no waiting, so that might be why she's upset when she goes back to the breast. Because she's bottle feeding so often, she's gotten used to the consistency and speed of it. It may take her a while to re-adapt to breastfeeding as the primary source of food. The fussiness will also start to go away as she gets older and can handle the changes in your milk better.

looks like you have gotten a ton of great advice, I would like to add that the "mothers milk" tea works wonders to boost the milk supply. I drink the tea when needed (usually I only need to drink one cup of it-I use two packets per cup) and within 24 hours or less, there is more than enough milk for my little one.

Good luck to you, and be well.

My best friend, who is a lactation consultant, told me that once to twice a week is plenty times (in other words, more may be detrimental) to have the child use a bottle. I think cut back on the bottle feedings and have your husband do other things to soothe her, such as laying her down to sleep. Does she take a pacifier? He could use that...or having him read stories to her, or sing to her, or rock her. There are a ton of other things that papas can do, instead of feeding. If you really want her to breastfeed for a year + (WHICH IS AWESOME BY THE WAY!), then talk to your hubby about the confusion that she is having about feeding, and offer other suggestions...say diaper changes too? (lovely eh?) Breastfeeding is the best thing that you can do for your child right now as far as feeding is concerned. I think he would understand to cut it down to 1-2 per week. Good luck!

I would stop using the bottles except when they are necessary. Bottles are much easier to extract milk from than the breast, which could be why she prefers it. Pumping constantly is a real pain (I've done it round the clock and it's no fun), and it is so convenient to just be able to nurse. The breast milk does start losing nutrients right away when it doesn't go directly into the child, so breast truly is best.

ask yourself this question are you wanting to nurse for a year becasue of the bonding of becasue of the nutrition? If it is for the nutrition then just be ok with the babys new preferance. And as far as the bonding you will still get to bond while feeding even if it is just the bottle, you could try skin to skin contact while using the bottle to increase the physical bond. Unfortunatly when my son was born he needed more calories so they gave him formula at the hospital. and for some reason my milk just never showed up so after trying for 4 months and not getting enough for him i gave up. So even if the baby doesn't want the breast you can still give the nutrients your milk provides just have to pump it. I hope that this helps

This is not uncommon. That is why most Breast Feeding experts say to only use a bottle if it is absolutely necessary. It is much easier to get milk out of a bottle than a breast. It is easier to attach and detach. Unfortunately you may not be able to breast feed much longer. Your child may start refusing your breast. Pumping is all fine and dandy but you body does react to how hard your child sucks as well as how much they actually consume. It changes you milks density and nutrition to coincide with your baby's growth. Even with all these issues it is still better for them to drink breast milk than it is formula! I wish you the best of luck!

Hi L.,

Without seeing you and your daughter nurse, it is difficult to know exactly why she is acting this way, but after many years working with new moms and many years of my own breastfeeding three daughters, my guess is that your daughter is just getting a little "lazy". She doesn't have to suck hard to get milk from a bottle. She does have to work a bit to get milk from the breast. If she gets fussy while nursing, that might in turn tend to get you a little less than perfectly relaxed, which THEN messes with your milk "let down" reflex.

Nursing is MUCH better physiologically for her mouth and teeth development. You also don't KNOW that she gets more from the bottle than from the breast, since there is no way to measure what she's drinking at the breast. She's probably able to get plenty.

Now, that being said, you may want to have a postpartum doula, a lactation consultant, or just a very experienced nursing mom watch the two of you nurse. This is to make sure she is latching on correctly--sometimes introducing a bottle makes one that young get "confused" about how to suck at the breast.

If you are a stay at home mom, I would try taking away the bottle for at least several days, and get her exclusively breastfeeding again. She may complain a bit at first, but don't worry--she won't starve. Once nursing is peaceful and happy again, you can try introducing a bottle of expressed milk again, but I wouldn't do it more than once every couple of days for awhile.

Good luck!
Fiora

You have received a ton of good advice but I would like to throw my two cents in here for you as well. We all know that breast is best but it can also crammed down our throats and there is no way that you should feel bad about pumping breast milk and using a bottle or using formula. You have to do what is best for you and your baby. My oldest, now 10 1/2, absolutely refused the breast from day one. She would scream and scream and scream. I had enough milk to feed every baby in the hospital but she didn't want anything to do with it. After a couple of days and many, many tearful sessions of trying to breastfeed I gave her a bottle of pumped milk. It was heaven. I would open my shirt and put on my chest skin to skin so we still had that "hormonal" thing going for us. Unfortunately my milk didn't hold out after about 4 or 5 months. Luckily I had soooooo much in the beginning that I was freeze up a ton and was able to give her half breast milk and half formula for several months after that. With my son, he was great on the breat for a couple of months and then just decided he didn't like it anymore. I didn't think it was necessary to torture us both and keep trying so I pumped and bottle fed - using, as many here have mentioned, the lowest flow nipples I could find so he still had to work for it. This time I was able to pump for a full year and only had to supplement with formula occaisionally.

My biggest message here is don't let others bully or guilt you into something that may not feel right or comfortable for you. I have several friends who only breastfed and never used a bottle, other who did a combination like me, and yet others whose babies never touched their breat or had a single drop of breastmilk, only formula. All of our children are healthy and happy and good old fashioned normal kids. Do what is best for you. If it is important for your husband to feed your daughter then do it! Congratulations to you and your husband on your little one. Good Luck!!

something you may not have thought of.... at 7 weeks my son was diagnosed with Reflux, whenever i nursed him he'd be uncomfortable, and upset. seems when he lay flat he'd have a sort of "heartburn" or "acid reflux". it was easier to give him a bottle. we were given medication, and he was fine. check into that before you give up nursing! if you just pump it may limit your milk production, and you may not be able to sustain giving her breast milk for as long as you would if you were nursing directly. we were able to do both with Daddy giving the bottle, and he still took the breast from me, but not the bottle from me. seems he knew the difference.
good luck!

L., Don't loose your patients too fast, there is at least one thing I would try. Since a bottle is easier to feed from than the breast she may be liking it more because she doesn't have to do so much work. i encourange you to try a nipple shield. They feel much like a bottle nipple to infants and also make it easier to breast feed. This might be the best of both worlds for the two of you. You can pick them up at Babies r'us for about $5-$7 and they are made by madella. (sp?) Good luck and hang in there!

N. S.

The bottle has interfered. I would go back to nursing it is easier to get milk from a bottle then the breast that is why she is wanting the bottle. And there are plenty of things that your husband can be involved in. My husband gave the baths that was his thing and mine was nursing. Good Luck!!!

I am mom to 5 , my hubby dad to 2 of them. When we had my now 5 yr old, he was a first time dad and wanted to do everything. I wanted no bottle, but knew that the baby and him needed the time together- so, he would sit behind me and hold both of us while the baby nursed. It was not real comfortable, but it worked.

Bottles are so much easier to suck from than the breast. And nipple confusion does happen. I understand wanting to give
Dad more opportunities for involvement with her, but 7 weeks was way too young to introduce a bottle, in my opinion, unless you needed to go back to work. It's also hard to to maintain an adequate supply of breast milk. Nursing is a supply and demand thing. The more a baby nurses, your body produces more milk to meet their needs. A breast pump can only simulate that need up to a point. Have Dad burb her during the feeding and then hand her back to you for more time at the breast. This intermission can give you the opportunity to get a drink, go to the bathroom, stretch. Have him give her a bath in the evening before bed, to calm her, create that routine for him. But at this stage in her life and your breast feeding, you need to keep her at the breast. It's imperative that you don't give her the bottle. That when a bottle is offered, Dad is the provider. A baby associates smell, touch with what's coming next. But I think until the baby gets older, Dad can be involved in so many other ways.

honestly, hubby's bottle involvement is going to have to wait. i didn't feel my kids were totally established in prefering the boob until 3 months. before that, it's just too easy for them to sit there and do very little (in sucking, so to speak). and of course, you're going to like the idea she's getting more because then she stays fuller longer and so forth. but try to stick it out for just a bit longer. my girls are 14 months now and i'm beginning to wonder when they're going to give up breastfeeding. :) good luck to you!

Hi L.:

I think sometimes little ones deceide they like the free-flow of the bottle to the "work" they have to do at the breast. At that age, my daughter was also going through a little reflux and eating while sitting up a bit was easier on her tummy when it was the bottle (instead of lying flat while breastfeeding). If it continues to be a problem, call a lactation consultant...they have some wonderful ideas to help get you through these issues.

Hi L.,

I did not breast feed my daughter very much, partially because she really did not like it. We had to supplement her early on, and when we gave her the bottle, there was no turning back. There is a new bottle made more like the breast. I think it is called Breast Flow by Avent. If your child does not want the breast anymore, I don't think there is a huge problem. You are still giving her the breast milk, just in the bottle. The baby is still getting the nutrients, and that is most important. I say, go with what she wants because they know that almost right away. My daughter was the same way, and is now 2 1/2 and it has not changed. LOL Blessings to you and your family. :)

K.S.