From Breast to Bottle

L.,

As a 28-year perinatal instructor and lactation specialist, sometimes the resolve to this issue is as simple as ...

Trying different kinds of nipples till you "hit" on the winner that Nathan can comfortably and easily get his tongue underneath. Many babies have a very strong tongue-thrusting reflex, even while at the breast.

You might consider giving him either a "Nuk" or "Mam" pacifier to practice on. These two pacifiers are great training tools for the baby with an intense tongue thrust.

Hang in there ... he'll be graduating from high school before you know it!

Have a Magical and Meaningful New Year,

~M.
http://M.-writeon.blogspot.com
http://melaniekissell.com

Drinking from Breast and bottle, requires 2 different mouth coordination 'methods.' It is all about the mouth/tongue position/sucking motor skills. Bottle just requires 'gravity.' Breastfeeding requires all the mouth 'components' in order to 'suck.'

Thus, some babies get 'nipple confusion.' Each baby being different.

It also seems that your son still has the 'tongue thrust' reflex, thus, he is pushing out his tongue when eating or trying to drink from a bottle. It's an instinctual reflex, and thus you can't really 'stop' this. And it also indicates when they are ready or not for solids. They grow out of it.

Now, about his teeth coming in... just because he is getting teeth, it does not mean you have to stop breastfeeding and use a bottle. All babies just have to be coaxed on not 'biting' while nursing. ALL Moms go through this. It's okay and it WILL pass. Don't be worried. If you can get past this 'phase' of breastfeeding, it will all be okay.

Maybe, try a straw cup instead. Some babies have an easier time with this. Or, use a sippy cup. Or other types of bottle nipples.

My son liked the "MAM" brand bottles/nipples. I love it too. He had NO transition problems with this. You can get it on www.amazon.com These bottles are also "BPA" free.

All the best,
Susan

My daughter is breastfed and goes to daycare. She accepts a special bottle called the Breastflow by Learning Curve. I've tried lots of bottles with her and it's the only one she will drink from.

As for teething and breastfeeding, my son nursed up to his 2nd birthday with a full mouth of teeth. He nipped me once in a while if he was bored, but nothing serious. Normally the teeth were sort of covered by the way he needed to position his mouth to actually get milk out so it wasn't uncomfortable.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

The bottle is another habbit to break, go straight for the sippy cups, start feeding him more food and less bottles and just wean him straight to a cup/sippy.

Most breast feed babies don't know what to do with this chewy rubbery thing. But they see you drink from a cup give him water from your cup so that he understands and start teaching him to drink from the straw.

why would you want to teach him to do something else you are going to want to change in another 3 or 4 months. Just move on mom.

Good luck! J.

Hi! My 6 mo Nolan did the same thing. I switched bottles and nipples. I currently use playtex which he likes. Also try having someone else give him the bottle, not you, he knows you have the breastmilk. Good luck!

My daughter refused the bottle as well. When she was teething, I pushed her little face into the breast when she tried to use me as a teether. She didn't really like it, but I broke the bite without too much damage to me. I would remind her gently that there was no biting and we would continue. Since she would not take the bottle, and believe me, we tried! We moved straight to the sippy cup. That worked fairly well. I used breast milk in the cup and then water. Good luck to you!

my oldest child only nursed until he was 13 months old. He never used a bottle, he did not eat anything but breast milk for the first year.

He is completely fine. don't force your baby to eat anything else if he doesn't want to.

And don't worry, breastfeeding with babies who have teeth IS possible. :)

first off there is no such thing as nipple confusion...professional lactation consultants will confirm. secondly, if you didn't use a bottle to begin with he will most likely not take one now. save yourself a headache and go with the sippy. my son was the same way and did great with it. i ended up cutting back on breastfeeding quite a bit and then fully weaned him at 14.5 months.

good luck!

Maybe he'd work better with one of those special sippy cups that have tops more like nipples? Also, a wet washcloth to gnaw and suck on might help with his teeth and after having time with that he might be ready for the milk. He probably just doesn't associate a bottle with milk? G.

Forget the bottle and try a sippy cup. He will be clumsy at first, as with anything new. However, give him consistant practice everyday, and he will get it. I would recommend still breast feeding until he is completely comfortable with a cup. In fact, even then, breastfeeding is stil great for your baby. If biting is a problem, stick your finger in his mouth and remove him from the breast every time he bites. Calmly, but firmly say no biting. I even would say "ouch" the same way as when one of my children would get hurt so that they would make a connection that others feel pain too. Anyway, this is basic behavior modification. If you are consistant he will get the point that biting equals no breast.

I would suggest seeing a lactation consultant if teething is your only reason to switch to a bottle. The teething will subside. My son had 6 teeth by 8 months. They can be taught at that age not to bite.

If you really need him to take a bottle try having someone else introduce it to him with you out of the room. If he smells your milk he is going to want the breast over the bottle. You could also try a sippy, the Born Free soft nipple sippies are great

Both my boys refused the bottle and went straight to sippy cup. I must say that I love not having too wean a bottle away.
Good luck!

it sounds as though you are worried about nursing with his teeth. first, babies can't nurse and bite at the same time. their tongue covers their bottom teeth when nursing, so he'd bite himself first! (if he's biting, he's not nursing. take him off the breast at that point and offer something to teethe on).
second, an eight month old can go straight to a cup, and never needs a bottle. bottles require weaning from also, so it's simpler to just skip them. remember babies come to breast for many more reasons than food and drink. they enjoy the closeness and comfort and soothing together with us. it's such a short time in their lives...enjoy it!

Is he biting you? Is that the reason you "need to be rescued"? If so, there are some ways to get him not to bite and continue nursing throughout getting teeth and beyond, if you want that. I breastfed both of mine well past 1 year and only had biting issues a couple times with each. I took them off the breast when it happened and said things like "No milk if you bite" or "Biting hurts mama". They both quickly learned and I was able to pass that hurdle.
I don't have much advice to give if that's not the issue and you really need/want him to have the bottle. Maybe have someone else give the bottle besides you and have patience with him transitioning. It's a new object and he's bound to play with it for awhile before he understands what it's really for.
~N.

My now 25 month daughter stopped taking the bottle at three months and refused to take it again until out of the blue one day when she was 8 months. I tried everything and everyone possible. Luckily I tried at least once a week for her to take a bottle until she finally did. Try to allow him to take,even play with it and hopefully one day he will. Try different nipples and bottles...I tried many,many,many until she took it at her own time, which she tends to do for pretty much every milestone. Good luck. You may even want to bypass the bottle and go straight for a sippy cup. You'd be surprised...he may just do fine with it.