Bottle Feeding an Infant

Hi S.,

It's great that you're breastfeeding your baby. I'm a thorough believer of breastfeeding and I breastfed my 4 children about 1 to 2 years each. Breastfed babies don't nurse as much as bottle-fed babies because it's much more work to suck breast than rubber. As long as she is nursing, I don't think it's a big problem. The doctor told me to give my 2nd child a special formula to gain weight because she was tiny. But I didn't because when I tasted the formula, it's like sugar milk and I refused to give her such thing. And she is fine up to this day (She is 13 now.) If you're healthy and your baby is healthy, don't worry. Or is there any reason to wean her besides monitoring her breast milk intake? Trust the nature. When old days, we didn't have bottle. Usually breastfed babies don't like bottles once they are breastfed. It's a precious time to nurse your baby. I think it's just better. I had to switch to bottle for my first son when he was 7month because I got pregnant and my milk stop coming. I really felt different when I had to bottle-feed my son. I think breastfeeding help you bind with your baby much closer than bottle-feeding. And I'm glad I did that for all my children.

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What does your pediatrician say about this? Does she comfortably nurse on the breast? Or does she fuss then too? She might have a problem in her mouth. Does she look normal or too thin? Babies gain weight differently and have different appetites too. In my opinion there is too much emphasis on feeding. Babies usually know when they are hungry and when they are full. If your little girl is nursing for 10 minutes, content, and looks good, then dont worry. She's probably petite, and will be much healthier than a fat baby. There is nothing cute about a fat baby.

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My son only ate for 10 minutes total from day 1 and my daughter only nursed for 10 minutes total, and then 4 minutes total by the time she was 1 years-old. (she was born 4 weeks early at 5 lbs 13oz) My boobs ached more than anything else. She gained weight slowly and steadily and is a healthy 39 lb, 41.5 inch, 4 year old. As long as your daughter continues to steadily gain weight, I really wouldn't worry about monitoring how much milk she is getting. Just love her and continue nursing her and enjoying her slow and steady growth. She's nursing much calmer and getting more from you than any bottle feeding anyway.
Good work mom!!!

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Breast is best. What does your pediatrician say? Does she show any interest in eating? Every how many hours do you feed her, People have been breast feeding since the beginning of time and we all are OK. Too much weight is no good. Are you in good health? Is the baby healthy? Did you know that breast milk chenges in composition and content to the needs of your baby as she growths. It does not stay the same as fomula. Perhaps you can get in touch with La Leche League to help you.

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We had the same issue at first... We used Avent nipples and born free bottles. Avent nipples worked best for us... warming the milk to a perfect temperature helped...warming the nipple under warm water helped... me not being anywhere near helped... and persistance was what really worked. we set up a routine where my husband would do the night bottle everyday, which was doubly nice cause that would be his bonding time.

Good luck!

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Don't give in to the idea that your daughter is not getting enough or needs to gain more weight unless there is a true medical need for it. Just because she only eats for 10 minutes at a time does not mean she is not getting enough. She could be a very efficient eater who latches well and gets all she needs quickly. Babies know when they are full and will not overeat, unlike adults who will keep eating even if they are stuffed. Bottle feeding often cause babies to take in more than they need because of the nipple design. In breastfed babies, they have a built-in system for controlling hunger and fullness cues: breast milk comes out watery in the first few minutes and then toward the end of the feeding it is fattier and thicker to signal to the baby's brain that he/she is full so they stop when they need to. Since she is exclusively breastfed, the weight gain charts at the doctor's office do not apply to her. Breastfed babies are often smaller than formula-fed babies. My son was the same way. According to the doctor, he is in the 15% but I am not worried because his weight gain has been consistent. He is small according to the charts but he is by no means skinny and he is very healthy. As long as your daughter is hitting her milestones and is gaining weight consistently, don't worry so much about the bottle. We tried to get my son to take a bottle but he would scream and cry too so we just gave up. We did not want his meal times to be stressful. As long as you don't have to go back to work right away, why worry about it?

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S.,
Awesome that you are nursing her! I'm no expert, but here are a few ideas to check:

It may be the plastic in the nipples or bottle, too? Are you breastfeeding exclusively or supplementing with formula?

I don't know that La Leche League would help with the bottle issues - but they might.

I would say, if she is nursing 9-10 minutes, she has probably become a more efficient nurser - but then, how much weight has she lost? I remember when my son started nursing less, and it was scary. (He's not overweight either - the pediatrician wanted us to come back because his weight had dipped again. Dr had us scared he wasn't getting enough, and when we walked into the office with a different ped'n, she did a double-take - she was expecting a child that was unhappy and thin, not our little happy boy :) Be careful of what chart your pediatrician is judging your child by, too. There are new charts for breastfed babies out there, too, that are different from formula-fed babies.

Are you comparing her to other infants? Are you going with the pediatrician's recommendation of putting more weight on her?

Is she happy in general?

My son would not take a pacifier except under duress, and as soon as we weren't holding it in his mouth, ploop, out it came. (I didn't even try bottles, mostly for this reason and PBA issues.)

She may not be in a place where she wants more food - not in a growth spurt mode.

The only other idea I have is a baby scale - you can tell how many ounces she got during a feeding by weighing her before and after. It's actually pretty accurate, unless you change her diaper - then you'll record minus! :) (BTDT!)

Good Luck! You're doing fine!
M.

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Hi S.!
My daughter did not like the bottle either! A friend of mine....that is NOT a mother made a great suggestion and it worked! I started nursing her (foot ball hold) and after a few seconds of sucking I pulled her off and inserted the bottle and it worked like a charm! A few times doing that and she adjusted!!!!
Good luck

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I never had that problem w/ my son before. But when my niece was about 2 months, my bro & SIL tried like 10,000 bottles & nipples. She struggled, too. For some reason she couldn't grasp the nipple properly & she always got frustrated. Eventually she got the hang of it.

I remember trying to trick her into sucking on my finger (bent). Or like how when she got really frustrated & hungry she'd start sucking on her own hands. Once the sucking got going, I'd pull a fast one on her & move the hand & give her the bottle. It worked until she realized what happened, LOL. After a while she had the bottle down like a professional.

Just be a little more patient. Just try sticking to trying the bottle when she's not too hungry or too sleepy. Keeping her busy might help keep her mind on the task at hand. She'll eventually get it... hang in there! Good luck! (Keep us updated!)

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Hi S.! I don't have any advice on how to get her to take the bottle but just wanted to tell you that your daughter's 9 or 10 minutes of nursing may equal another childs 20 minutes of nursing in terms of how much milk she is getting. My daughter was a very efficient nurser, only taking 5-7 minutes most times but she gained the same weight as her cousin who took 20-30 minutes to nurse. We never did do the bottle and it was a pain to always have to be home with her in time for her feedings. Good luck!

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Hi S.,

Congratulations on the new baby! Has she actually been diagnosed as failure to thrive or low weight gain? Is her growth being measured by the WHO's growth charts for BREASTFED BABIES?
Some babies do not nurse for 20 or 25 minutes at a time. My son was one of them, never more than 10 minutes. It's not the length of time at the breast that really matters. A newborn should nurse 8 to 12 times in 24 hours. When she's at the breast, is she alert and vigorously eating? Is she producing the appropriate amount of wet and soiled diapers a day, and experiencing some weight gain?
I know that some parents get anxious and want to see how much the baby is eating, but knowing how much the baby is eating won't make her any healthier. The beauty of breastfeeding is that the baby controls how much they eat. While we tend to think of babies as helpless and without knowledge, they know their own bodies and she knows how much she needs to eat. The baby gives feeding cues when she is hungry and stops eating when she has had enough. A specific amount of weight gain is not the key to baby's health and trying to force more into her won't make her healthy.
Good luck !

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Question...you would like her to gain more weight or the doctors would like her to gain more weight? and...She only nurses 10 minutes but how often? My second son nursed for a couple of minutes every 30 minutes to an hour for months!!! I tried everything...holding him off to get him to eat more...nothing worked now he is 7 years old still eats every hour(if I let him, he'd eat all day :) he's half an inch shorter than my nine year old son and 12 pounds lighter...my point being if the doctors aren't behind the need for weight gain...don't worry...if they are the reason for this then talk to them about the trouble you're having...also do the research and find out how big you and your husband were as babies and how fast you gained....my best friend is 90lbs soaking wet and the peditrician's kept weight checking her daughter(to be safe) and even though she was growing slowly she was still hitting milestones at the right time...finally they figured it out...this kid's just tiny! If your daughter is hitting milestones...RELAX...the rest will come in time...I would also relax and not stress because she can sense your tension and that could be part of the problem...take a deep breath, give it up to God, and try again...and congrats on your new baby!
C.

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Could she have reflux?