When to Start Bottle Feeding...?

I'm not sure as a SAHM, why you would pump and give her a bottle at all?

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If you want to introduce the bottle, it would be good to do that, according to my lactation consultant best friend, no later than 2 months. Probably about 7 weeks. But, are you going back to work? Is this why you have to start? Pumping is the pits...but if you have to work, then it is the best way for your child to still get breastmilk. I wish you the best!

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If you're a SAHM why are you wanting to bottle feed at 6 wks rather than nursing all the time? Your nipples will be a little sore for a while. You can use wet tea bags as a compress on them and this will help to toughen them up and ease your discomfort. Pumping and giving your daughter feeding with a bottle is usually done by Moms who are having to go back to work or be a way for extended periods of time during the day. If you want to provide your daughter an opportunity to use a bottle, in these hot days, once she is older, give her water from a bottle, using a low percentage of sucrose water. You won't be giving anymore than 2 ounces at a time, but this is a supplement of fluid during these hot days. Nursing is a commitment. It can be inconvienent, but it's well worth the time, energy and any inconvienence to have that connection, that bond with your child and to be able to provide them the best nourishment possible. Keep your fluid level up. Enjoy!!!

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6 weeks seems to be the standard advice. However, its not clear that this is necessary. Certainly, if your daughter has a good latch and is a good feeder, trying a bottle to see what happens now is probably ok. I wouldn't switch to all bottles for a long period of time, but one a day should be fine.
(If you are still having trouble getting normal sucking down, i'd hold off until your baby is eating more easily.)

with our last child she was only a few days old when we gave her the first bottle (breastmilk of course). We never had a big issue of nipple confusion, she would just reset her little mouth and go for it. It is never to soon to pump and I personally think it never to soon to introduce a bottle. Of course each child reponds differently. W used the advent bottle and nipple and she had no problems. I think its great if a newborn will take a bottle that way daddy can take part in feeding. My daughter breastfed till she was 9 months old.

If you plan on continuing breast feeding you should wait with the bottle until your breast-feeding routine is well established. For some moms and babies that may be as early as 4 weeks, for others as late as 8 weeks or later. Generally if you experience any trouble breastfeeding wait with the bottle if you want to continue to nurse.

Also if you haven't done so yet, do not go out an buy a whole set of bottles. It may take a while before you find a good match for your baby. We went through at least 6 different nipples before we found one my daughter liked and ended up never using our AVENT feeding set. Waste of money!

I don't agree with giving abottle every day - once we found the right nipple she had no trouble with the bottle, even though she was only bottle fed when I was not around.
I do agree that most babies will only take the bottle from someone else than mom though...

I heard that 4-6 weeks is the magic window, and it worked beautifully for us. While I haven't heard about people starting before (except for these responses), I have heard frustration from people who waited too long, with their babies refusing to take the bottle. Good luck to you! Enjoy your new baby! :)

I've been volunteering in a breastfeeding clinic and see so many moms whose milk supply has diminished because of bottle feeding and specifically because of introducing the bottle too early, therefore the advice to wait at least 4-6 weeks. The best way, of course, to keep your milk supply up and be able to nurse as long as baby needs is to only breastfeed. As your baby grows and starts to eat solid food, you will easily be able to leave for 2-4 hours and she will be fine without breast or bottle. Even before that, you can probably leave for an hour and a half, after a good nursing. But if you do want her to be able to take a bottle for occasional time away from her, wait till your milk supply is very well established, and then you can give her a little pumped breast milk occasionally just so she remembers how it works (no need to do it every day). And I don't think that the idea of dad or others being able to share in the feeding is a good reason for using bottles. There are plenty of other ways that other people can interact with babies, and the feeding should be done by mom.

Personally, I think that whole nipple confusion is a myth. I have had to supplement with all my babies (I have a two year old boy and four-week-old twin boys) from day one and so have supplemented with formula in bottles. We started by using a syringe, but the breast feeding clinic at Evergreen actually recommended that we switch to bottles after a week or so of that. Anyway, the twins nurse just fine and I give them a bottle afterward - they do not prefer one over the other and I have had no problems keeping up the breastfeeding. My other son also did just fine with nursing and a bottle right afterward. He nursed until he was 7 months and we never had a problem with nipple confusion. I think there is also a plus to using bottles as my first son was really easy to wean as he was used to the bottles.

Please call a lactation consultant/nurse- even when you think you are doing everything perfect they can be so helpful. Most hospitals that you deliver at offer them for free. Providence has a breast feeding resource center. My nipple soreness lasted several weeks- hang in there. I was told to introduce the bottle at 6-8 weeks- if you wait too long you can have problems with them taking it when you need them to. Also, I didn't need to offer a bottle everyday, just a few times a week- hopefully when someone is giving you a break! Good luck!

We started at 2.5 weeks supplementing pumped milk. /there hasn't been a problem. We also gave him a pacifier early on and he's fine.

I have two little kids - gave both bottles within the first week, both used/use pacifiers (although not a lot) neither had problems with confusion...i think its a myth

I used both from the start, and my boys had no problem moving back and forth between breast and bottle. I did not even pump, I used formula while bottle feeding, and still had no trouble because they were used to both right from the start.

With my three kids, I was told by our ped. to introduce the bottle at about the three-week mark, when nursing is pretty established, but baby is still ready to adapt to something new as well. She told us to offer the bottle once a day, even after baby got the hang of it, so the habit would hold. It took differing amounts of time for my kiddos to get it, but it did work for all three of them. Good luck!

In my experience I had a difficult time establishing breast feeding due to my baby grinding her jaw when she nursed (baby "baracuda" we called her affectionately). So it took us about 2-3 weeks before we were able to introduce a bottle. I followed my lactation consultants advice and waited until we were confident in our breast-feeding relationship.

I tried to introduce the bottle as early as was possible without interferring with breastfeeding, because my daughter's big brother (my stepson) never took to a bottle. When he was born I think they waited maybe a month to introduce it and by that point it was too late for him and he never took a bottle willingly until his mother weaned him from the breast when he was over a year old. Out of fear of having over a year of not being able to leave my baby in someone else's care, we decided to offer the bottle earlier this time.

So my advice would be to introduce it as early as possible, without compromising your breastfeeding relationship. I would pump some milk every few days and let my husband or a friend feed her just to see if she would take to it and luckily, she did. Every baby is different but if you are planning on ever having a sitter watch your child I would say to introduce early rather than later. I had a friend who would come watch my daughter for a couple of hours and give her a bottle maybe once a week in those early months and it was a sanity saver to know she would still eat even if I couldn't be the one to feed her. Good luck and congratulations on your little one!

I asked my pediatrician this very question on Tuesday! She recommended introducing the bottle at around a month of age to avoid nipple confusion.

have your husband give a bottle every day!!! you can put breast milk in it. The baby WILL NOT get confused. Babies are not stupid. I think that the lactation specialists are paranoid that you will give up breastfeeding if you also bottle feed (breastfeeding is tough at first but it gets easier) If you don't start right away the baby will have a VERY HARD TIME learning to take a bottle. I supplemented my baby the first couple of days after she was born and she knew how to suck a bottle and take a breast just fine. Then I made the mistake once my milk came in of just breastfeeding. Now she is 6 months and I have to go back to work and she doesn't know how to take a bottle despite me buying every bottle type on the market and trying for WEEKS! Even if you don't work it is nice to have your hubby be able to give a bottle so you can have a break and go out occasionally. For example if you want to get your hair done or go to the doctor without the baby it is very nice to have someone who is able to feed your baby. I can't believe all the responses from the people saying that if you are a SAHM then why bother. I was a SAHM with my first baby and I still wanted a break every now and then. Imagine every day for the next year having every second of the day with your baby.....while it sounds wonderful it is also nice to have a little pampering time like a manicure or just to go shopping and get some clothes without a baby interupting trip Do yourself a favor and give one bottle daily (p.s. you can pump and give breastmilk in the bottle if you feel like it)p.p.s. I made this same mistake of starting with bottle and a breast with both kids then swithing to just breast and it was a mistake both times.

Congrats! Yes, about 6 weeks is the right time to start offering a bottle generally. By then, your milk supply will be pretty established (if still uneven) and your daughter will know what to do with a breast nipple vs. an artificial nipple. If your breasts are tender now, you can try applying lanolin or "soothies" cooling pads. That should help them feel better at least somewhat. Also, make sure you're not using soap on your nipples in the shower or if you really must use soap, apply it with your hand rather than anything like a washcloth or loofah since they'll only iritate your breast. You can also check with your local La Leche League leader/group for more ideas and for support as your breastfeeding relationship is getting established.

With my oldest, we introduced a bottle at about 6 weeks and she took to it without a problem. She got 2 bottles per week until she was 6 months old and then started using a sippy with her. She's now over 2 and happily (and healthily!) nursing with her newborn sister.

Wait until your daughter has mastered breast feeding! If she is still having a hard time (often her latch is not quite right if you are sore), she may decide that bottles are much better than mom, because they master the bottle so much more easily.

Side note: the pump has been much more abusive to my nipples than my daughter was!

Good luck!

Yes most lactation nurses will say about 5-6 weeks to introduce the bottle. I think the answer really is when breast feeding is well established and you aren't having latch problems or sucking issues.

I introduced the bottle a little too early I think before breastfeeding was down and ended up having to soley pump and bottle feed for 9 months. That was not a good situation as it was very inconvenient and time consuming. However I did it for my baby.

On the other hand there are some babies who will not take a bottle. Don't know if that has anything to do with when a bottle was introduced or just the baby's inclination for comfort at the breast.

So wait until you feel breast feeding is established and then you could give it a go. I agree with just once a day. From my experience I'd rather have the occasional inconvenience of a baby that wouldn't bottle feed than one that would only botle feed and you having to end up pumping!

Having said that I understand why a mother would want to be able to both breast and bottle feed! The flexibility to do both is what you are after.

Good luck.

You can start pumping now, that will give you a nice starter supply to freeze (freeze in an ice cube tray - it works great and defrosts easily). I've heard that babies learn to take bottles best (without nipple confusion) after about 4-6 weeks.

My older daughter had problems with staying awake to nurse and a nurse had me pumping and using an Avent bottle when she was a week old. Once we got her back up to birthweight (finally) and she was staying awake to eat, she did fine on either bottle or breast. My younger daughter had to be on a bottle while I was gone when she was four weeks old, she also did fine with both - but she preferred the breast and wouldn't use the bottle if I was around.

I agree with Andrea.. Why do you need to pump and give her a bottle if you plan on staying home with her? You'll just be creating more work for yourself. Plus, breast feeding works best when it's on demand. Milk actually changes from morning to night and is different when it's hot outside, etc. It's formulated for the moment, so it's best to feed the baby that milk then..

I know that most people say wait 4-6 weeks to bottle feed. However every case is different. My son is 3 months old and I waited until he was about 3 or 4 weeks to give him any pumped milk in a bottle, but I started pumping and freezing milk when my milk came in. He nurses great and has since birth, but when I introduced the bottle he did not like it. He has a bottle occassionally but will not take it from me, only other people, and he fights it a little. So, my advice would be to start the bottle now once a day or so to get baby used to it. I waited too long and have a freezer full of frozen breastmilk that I can't often use and end up throwing out because it's too old. But, every baby is different.

I'd wait until about 4 weeks. You don't want to wait too long because they are more likely to refuse it, but you also don't want to start too early and have them get confused.

Your nipples will likely be tender and maybe even sore until about 2 weeks...it usually starts to get better after than, then there is no pain.

Hang in there.

I was going to wait 6 weeks but gave in and introduced the bottle at 3 weeks. My friend waited until 7 weeks and their daughter refused to accept the bottle. She is stuck exclusively breastfeeding and baby is now 6 months; she hasn't been able to leave her baby for over an hour or two and can't use sitters at all because of it. My son had developed a good latch and I was confident we could maintain breastfeeding. He is ten weeks old now and still prefers the breast to the bottle but will take either or both in the same feeding. I think it's important to find a bottle with a nipple that is soft like your breast that fits into your baby's mouth in a similar way, with that wide latch, bottom-lip down. I tried the Adiri Natural Nurser bottle and didn't like it much. The Born Free bottle (avail at Whole Foods) works great. If you buy it make sure to use the newborn nipple attachment not the 6 month attachment. If your nipples are sore make sure your latch is correct (google instructions at Dr. Sear's website. Also don't use nipple creams. Breast milk is very healing, let it air dry on your nipple. Finally, sometimes your baby just wants to suck for comfort, not food. In between feedings, which shouldn't take more than 20 minutes, offer your thumb to suck on. It saved my nipples!