If Breastfeeding Do You Have to Wait to Introduce Bottle?

Hi L.,

all the doctors told us to introduce the bottle (with pumped breastmilk) between 4 and 6 weeks, no later, and it worked fine for us. The husband or anyone other than you should give the bottle.

good luck!
A.

Hi L. talk to you GYN/OB or a peditrican about this. he/she will be able to give you the best advice.(It's their field).

Congratulations! I also followed that rule with baby #1 and he NEVER took a bottle. We tried everything short of starvation and he would not take it (and he was slow taking to a cup too). Everything I did I had to plan around when I would need to nurse him. With baby #2 I planned to have her take one bottle per day from the beginning. She was in NICU for four days and so had to have a bottle at times. I pumped and they fed it to her and I also breast fed as possible. She had no trouble with "nipple confusion" and was always able to take a bottle or breast. Good luck.

I breast feed my son and we introduced a bottle to him in the hospital. I had trouble with latching, and I was terrified that they would not let me take him home if he lost any more weight. so the Lacation consultant had me nurse him for 15 minutes on each side and then pump for 10 minutes. After I fed him my husband would give him a small bottle. I pumped every day and had my hubby feed him one bottle a day. I think that helped, because I have heard problems where the bottle was not introduced until later and the baby will not take it. I also thought that pacifiers were a no no, but the nurse in the hospital told me that it teaches them to suck. so Yes, you can introduce the bottle earlier than 6 weeks. Good Luck.

I did both right from the start, so daddy could help with the feedings and I could start pumping and we never had any nipple confusion or problems at all. But my son latched on right away, etc. we just didn't have any nursing problems. I think it depends on how your baby is taking to the nursing. I would say just try it and see if she gets it and can switch back and forth. If she doesn't, then wait a week or so and then try again!

One bottle a day starting from day one. We did have latching problems but I think that was more me then his bottle preference.

You can do both right away. What we did and the nurses and drs told me is that I only breastfeed and anyone else could feed the baby with a bottle this way the baby doesn't get confused and I still breastfeed with no problems. I did this right in the beginning at the hospital and it worked out terrific. Also before we went to bed feeding our baby the bottle let us get extra sleep time(never complained about that haha) Good luck and congrats!!

I started pumping around 5 weeks and pumped after I feed my daughter. I stopped pumping after each feeding though once I had about a weeks worth of milk frozen (one bottle per day for my DH to feed the baby. Now I pump while my husband feeds her the bottle before bed and I pump after my daughters dream feed, before I go to bed. You want to wait to start pumping and bottle feeding til between 4-6 weeks to make sure that you have established proper BF techniques and you and the baby are comfortable with BF. But don't wait to do it after 6 weeks cause then you may have problem getting the baby to take a bottle.

Hi L..
My son is BF, but I gave him a bottle at week 1. He will take it from anyone, including me. I was going back to work when he was 5 months, so I wanted to make sure he would be okay with the bottle. Good luck!

I heard the 6 week rule too. With my son we waited that long. With my daughter, the doctor said to wait 4 weeks. We only waited 2 weeks and she is fine. She doesn't have any problem with nipple confusion, and she takes one bottle a day. Good luck!

Hi L.,

All the books I read said you had to wait a month to introduce a bottle, but our doula said we could use a bottle for one feeding starting at 2 weeks. My daughter had no problem taking the bottle (though it was slow going at first and I still had to nurse her after), and no problems nursing. I think you need to do what works best for you, which may even be introducing a bottle right away (I'd definitely consider doing that when I have a second baby).

Best of luck for a healthy pregnancy, birth, etc.,
R.

Both of my babies went back and forth from breast to bottle with no issues. I introduced the bottle at about 2 or 3 weeks (with my first son, because I needed to both pump and supplement due to supply issues, and with my second, because I wanted him to be familiar with it.)

I agree that you want to make sure they have a good latch established first, but I didn't have any experience of "nipple confusion" with either child. I used Avent newborn nipples.

I would suggest waiting at least until breastfeeding is going well....no problems latching and baby is gaining weight well. Baby knows how to breastfeed well and trusts the breast. Then introducing a bottle should not cause problems. Although as one person said, some baby's will develop a preference for the feel of the nipple or the flow of milk and some babies don't care. Impossible to tell until it's too late. However, at 3 months sucking ceases to be a reflex and comes under baby's voluntary control. At that point, baby may choose to refuse the bottle or refuse the breast or continue happily with both. It's up to baby!
K., IBCLC

nipple confusion is something a kid either has or doesnt and it isnt developed so if the breastfeeding is going well and you are no longer having latch issues I would say go for it BUT make sure you still get the baby to latch onto you 99% of the time since you are still trying to develop a proper milk supply at this time

I would start earlier like 3 or 4 weeks. And make sure DH does it once a day, no matter what. My husband hated doing it and would give up after like 2 minutes and at first only my mother in law could give our baby a bottle. Since I'm a SAHM, I would do the late night feedings, and my husband would use every excuse in the book not to feed my daughter when he was around, so after a while she would no longer take a bottle. EVER. Talk about aggravation!! I'm still mad at my husband thinking about it.

Hello L.,

I introduced a bottle to my son when he was 10 days old simply becuase I needed to get at least a 4-hour chunk of sleep once at night. He only got one bottle at night from his dad.

My 2 friends introduced bottles at 4 weeks and at 6 weeks and both their babies NEVER took. I didn't want to be that attached so my original plan was to introduce at 3 weeks. It all depends on you and baby but don't wait too long.

My pediatrician was the one who suggested we give him a bottle at 10 days because he had never seen nipple confusion.

BTW - we nursed happily until 15 1/2 months.

Good luck with whatever you decide and your new little one!

L., I have baby #3 now and I think that's hooey. I believed that too with baby #1 and it was a mistake. I think if you wait, it creates problems because the baby has been "trained" to only accept the breast.

My third child was in the NICU so he had to have bottles. I pumped and he mostly got breasmilk. Now I have a baby who will EASILY go from breast to bottle, breastmilk or (emergency) formula and he's only 5 weeks old. (Never had it that easy with my other two.)

Just some input on that DH "helping" with feedings, just remember that if it's pumped milk, you're still going to feel full and it's confusing your body and production may drop a bit. I'd supplement with a formula bottle if you need the sleep. Otherwise you're going to feel engorged, and your body will slightly reduce the milk produced because it thinks your baby never ate. (Just my 2 cents.) The other option is to pump a little every day, store it up for later, then have him use it as needed (as in he feeds the baby once a day, everyday with stored breastmilk).

I think the reason they tell you that is so that you won't confuse your body and risk reducing your milk supply when you are nursing exclusively. I have pumped on occasion recently to let my mom and in-laws give our son a bottle. Later I felt sore and slightly uncomfortable, from "missing" that feeding, but everything was fine since it's so rare.

Good luck!

Sara

i added the bottle almost immediately as well, and no issues transitioning between bottle or breast. good luck! :)

Hi L.:
My lactation consultant recommended introducing a bottle at about 5 weeks or so. She also said that when doing it make sure you still have a good balance with the baby at the breast so they continue to latch. good luck!

My advice is don't wait too long. My first baby was a terrible nurser so I wanted to make sure that my second baby had a better chance at breastfeeding. Unfortunately, I think I waited too long and she absolutely refused to drink from a bottle even though it was filled with breast milk. I was glad that she liked nursing so much but I didn't have a babysitter until she was weaned at 17 months. Not advisable ;) I think that as long as you can tell that your baby has the hang of it and can latch on, it is ok to introduce the bottle. Good luck!