Breastfeeding and Pumping - Allen Park,MI

Hi there, me again. From my experience, most breastfeed babies prefer a smaller nipple than those provided with the Avent bottles. The Dr. Brown bottles worked great for me, as well as the Playtex ventair. Keep trying so that she can get used to the bottles before you go back to work. Some babies that are breastfed exclusively do have difficulty adjusting to bottles, so don't give up.

Your baby doesn't have to take a bottle - she can drink directly from a small, flexible cup! Not only is this good practice for the future, but it won't interfere with breastfeeding!

http://www.nbcionline.org/index.php?option=com_content&am...

You can purchase this small cup here: http://www.amedaonline.com/ambacup1.html

Or just find something you already have around the house that works. Even a shot glass can do the trick!

My 2nd refused a bottle and we were told it was because we didn't start early enough, so I wouldn't wait! We went out and bought one of a bunch of different bottles and kept trying until he took one. We ended up using the MAM brand. We had to give at least one bottle every day to get him to use them at day care (even weekends!) and the bottle had to be given by someone other than me and SUPER warmed (twice in the bottle warmer). He does take bottles now at day care, but the beginning was rough. Just keep trying and you will find one that works! Good luck...

M.,
Don't give up on the bottle especially if you plan on going back to work. When she is hungry enough, she'll take it. It just doesn't have the same texture and smell as you. You might want to try to give her the bottle against your bare skin, so that it's more of a weaning process. You might also have to squeeze a few drops into her mouth so she gets the taste.
E.
Good luck and Happy Easter!

Hi M.,

Congrats! Hope all is well with your newest addition.

My oldest son had a hard time with the bottle, he always seemed to prefer me over it (which was secretly fine with me!), but it was a difficult transition when I went back to work. Eventually, when he was hungry enough he ate - he did best with the Playtex with disposable liners (store brand - check Walgreen's or Rite Aid), but not the Drop Ins, they tended to leak. I would feed him first thing before I left in the morning, come home at lunch if I could, and then feed him immediately upon my return home.

We also tried Avent, Medela, and a couple of others. My second son, however, had no problems with switching from bottles to breast, but probably moreso b/c I was more comfortable with what I was doing!

Best wishes for a smooth transition back to "normal" :)

B.

Hello~ Try having someone else, like your husband, give her the bottle. She is used to you breastfeeding her. When she is a more used to feeding from both you should be able to give her the bottle or nurse her. That worked well for both of my boys and by the time I was weining them off of the breast they were sucessfully taking both the bottle and the breast.

I found it easiest to pump after I feed them. I got a huge supply for when I went back to work. You know you can freeze it right? I tried all of the bottles with both kids and the platex works the best or the air vent. If you can find the short nipple they are most like the real thing. Also make sure you drink lots of water. If you bring a picture of the baby to work with you when you are pumping look at it and it will help. I also found that pumping in the car was the fastest. Good Luck

You have gotten lots of great advice already ... I thought I would share though that my sister had a very hard tme with this with her daughter until her husband thought of warming it up. Breastmilk is warm and maybe she likes that temp. Just another idea!
Good luck!

I see you got lots of advice. I just want to say- as a working, pumping, and breastfeeding mom- good luck. My son is 8.5 months old and he has been getting pumped milk at daycare since I went back to work at 9 weeks. Pumping at work is tough, especially in the beginning. I agree with trying to get a frozen stash early, because many days I barely have enough to get me through. It is worth it to keep it up (and makes those 4 am feedings easier by nursing instead of making a bottle!)
Happy Easter!

Hi M.,

Our first son was terrible with a bottle and eventually did ok with the playtex drop in system. Our second son LOVES the breastflow system--by the learning curve. I think that you can get them at Babies R Us. My sisters 3 months old baby prefers that one too. Good Luck!

Hi M.-

I was in your exact situation about 2 months ago. We started trying to get our son to take a bottle around 6 weeks in preparation for my return to work. We also used the Avent bottles, but it did take few tries.The first time we tried he got so worked up we gave up. We tried again a few days later and it went better each time. We discovered that he was much more receptive if he was hungry and if was held close to his breastfeeding position. We also found out that at least at first I had to leave the room. Why would he want mama juice from a piece of plastic when he could get it from the source? After a couple of weeks, we had no problems going from breast to bottle and back, and he'll take a bottle from anyone now. I would also suggest that you start pumping and freezing some milk now so you have plenty of backup once you return to work. I not always able to pump enough for the next day, but I can always thaw a few ounces to make sure there's enough. Good Luck!

When did you introduce the bottle? It's recommended that you try between 3 and 5 weeks so breastfeeding is established but the baby is still open to the bottle. With my daughter I didn't try hard enough when she was young and she never took a bottle. It wasn't a problem since I didn't work, but it did make it harder to get out and do things. Like other people have suggested, have someone else give her the bottle, she may only associate the breast with you. Just keep trying the Avent bottles, but if she continues to refuse you may want to try other brands. Especially since the price of Avent bottles went way up when they went BPA free, lol.

I'm still nursing my 5 month old and I went back to work full time when he was 10 weeks old. Pumping at work is not the most glamorous thing, but very worth it. If you need any support, feel free to write me :)

I used breastflow with both of my kids they did great with them. I hope you find one that works.

I had a horrible time getting my lo to take a bottle. We tried every trick in the book. She never did 'like' the bottle too much. She never drank more than 4-5 oz per bottle until she was weaned and nursed a ton at night to make up for her lack of eating during the day. It was a long 6 months until she started solids.

To introduce the bottle, we found that Nuk bottles worked best for her. (We tried 5-6 different brands) She wouldn't drink out of the bottle until the 2nd bottle feeding in a row and she was really hungry. It was a lot of wasted breast milk in the beginning, but she eventually caught on.

Remember, they won't starve themselves. Babies will get the nutrition that they need.

Good luck. I hope it goes more smoothly for you!!

I had the same problem with both my daughters. First one didn't have a problem with bottles until 6 months old the 2nd one had a problem at 2 months. Finally found a solution for the 2nd one after 2 months of trying. She finally took a sippy cup twice so far. I would say try different nipples and bottles. I found that the brown Playtex nipples worked the best with the drop in liner bottles or they also work with the Vent Aire bottles. Also try having your husband give her the bottles. I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago so for more advice look under my name as I got a bunch of good advice not much of it worked for us but I did try all of them.

Try having someone else give your baby the bottle. She may associate you with nursing, so she doesn't want the bottle.
Good luck!

M.,
I had to give some formula early on. We use the BPA free Dr. Browns and our son also likes the playtex drop ins. There are different nipples you can use; he likes the new one with the round top nipple not the flat top. I hope that makes sense.

Also, it may be difficult to do, but see if you can get someone else in the family to sit down and feed her. I was told that babies don't always like mom giving them the bottle. They want it one way and one way only.

I hope this helps you. Good luck

I'd wait as long as possible to introduce the bottle, then when you're not home, she'll take it from whoever is watching her. If she won't, they can use a cup, spoon, or those plastic medicine syringe things. Good luck!

Try having someone else give her the bottle. She knows that she nurses form you and may not take a bottle from you, but would from someone else. Some babies do have a really hard time transitioning to taking a bottle. Good Luck!