Infant Taking Both Breast and Bottle - Is It Even Possible???

Updated on July 07, 2008
Y.K. asks from Clifton, NJ
6 answers

I'm about to have my second baby girl (scheduled C-section on July 8th)
with my first daughter i was exclusively breastfeeding (no bottles at all) until 25 mnths, we tried alternating breastmilk in the bottle for the first 2,5 months of her life and it seemed to work , but then all the sudden she refused the bottle, no matter what she would not take it! anyway i con tinued to brastfeed until 25 months, which was great, but the only problem that meant NO ONE ELSE could ever stay with her or put her to bed especially the first year of her life.
I want to breasfeed the secind child as long as i can, but want her to be able to take both Breast & Bottle--- please give me any suggestions how to make that happen ? because i hear from other moms that sometimes babies refuse the breast, only want the bottle... what should i do? when should i start pumping? and how many times should i offer the bottle??? it will be harder to be attached to her like i was to my first , just because, i already have a child that will need me as well... any suggestions are welcome..... thank you!!!

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E.E.

answers from New York on

Wait to introduce the bottle until your milk supply is well established- say a month. Then make sure you offer a bottle of pumped breast milk every day. You may have to try different bottle brands or nipples to find one she likes, so don't buy a bunch of one brand until you figure that out.

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M.K.

answers from New York on

Hi Y.,

Congratulations on your second baby girl! Best wishes to you tomorrow for a wonderful delivery and easy recovery.

Yes, it's absolutely do-able - bottle and breast. I work outside the home and exculsively breastfed my children. I pumped milk and they took it from bottles while I was away at work. It's helpful if someone other than you can be giving the baby the bottle. When you're nursing, your baby is likely to not accept the bottle from you, as they want to nurse - and know you're the source!

With our first, there were days that he was seemingly on a hunger strike. He would only take as much from the bottle as he absolutely needed to survive. Sometimes nothing. We honored his bottle-protest. My husband (who was at home with him), held him alot, made sure he felt nurtured and not abandoned, and just kept offering the pumped milk. (Some families will use cups to feed the baby, when they won't accept a bottle) When I arrived home, it was a nurse fest, but our children NEVER suffered. They always thrived and we just went with each day as it came.

Another thing you could try are different bottle nipples. Babies are different and some like one nipple yet not another.

One further suggestion is that whoever is feeding your baby should try to make the atmosphere calm. A dimly lit room, no extraneous noise or activity...and most importantly, they need to remain calm and peaceful if the baby isn't receptive immediately.

Sending warm wishes for all the best.
M.

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J.D.

answers from New York on

Yes Y., it is possible for the baby to take both. When my daughter was 4 months, I started expressing and freezing the breast milk so the few times I had to be away during feeding time, someone else could do it with the bottle. She didn't take the bottle right away, lots of crying and fussing, but eventually did. I went back to work when my daughter was 6 mos. old but shortly after stopped expressing, it was too much time and trouble at a new job. My baby took formula from a bottle, but that took awhile (I think several weeks, maybe longer) to take the bottle from the babysitter. When I picked her up and before bed I would nurse. At the babysitter, she would eat babyfood and the dr. said not to worry if she didn't have the formula during the day, the babyfood would keep her hydrated. And she got her nutrition from the breastmilk. Around 1 y.o., surprisingly, she weaned herself off the breast! And by this time, the bottle with formula was no problem.

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M.L.

answers from New York on

Hi Y.,
While I was in the hospital after having my daughter by c-section this is what I did....while she was in the nursery I let them give her a bottle...while she was with me I breastfed.....she didnt always take to the bottle because she was so little (5lbs4oz) so they had to use the premee nipples and sometimes that was almost too much for her....when we came home I kind of did the same thing...when she was with Daddy, if I went out or was resting, he gave her a bottle of breastmilk, but while she was with me it was almost always strictly breast....I think if you introduce them to both the bottle and breast at the same time it will be easier....if you only give them the breast for say 6 months and then try to introduce the bottle I think it is a harder adjustment....Hope this helps and best wishes for a smooth and speedy delivery and recovery tomorrow!!
Meg :)

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K.Z.

answers from New York on

Hi Y.,

Yes, it's possible and I'm another mom who was able to do it! I went back to work when my son was five months old and had to give him formula during the day because I was not able to pump enough to sustain him. Thankfully I was able to time my lunch hour around one nursing session, but any other time during the day he was given formula. I started giving him bottles at home after we were well-established with breastfeeding. I had to try many different bottles before I found one that worked for him. I bought every brand name I could find (Gerber, Avent, Playtex, Dr. Brown's) until he finally accepted Dr. Brown's, but it took a lot of trial and error before he accepted the bottle. I would give him just a small amount of formula at first (he hated it in the beginnning), and would work our way up to a few ounces. When I had to go back to work, we were easily transitioning between bottle and breast and he took formula without complaint.

Just be patient and continue giving the baby a bottle when she's most hungry. Give her the bottle in a quiet place and be as relaxed about it as you can be. She may fight it at first, but eventually she'll get the hang of it.

Congratulations on your new little one!

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D.

answers from New York on

Alot of the time breastfed babies get lazy and that is why they want the bottle instead of the breast. They don't have to work as hard to be fed from the bottle so they would rather go there. I only bought slow feed nipples (I used the playtex drop-in liner bottles) and this way they had to suck to get milk either way. I never had a problem with either of my kids breast and bottle feeding. I went back to work when both my kids were about 3 mos old so they didn't have a choice. I breastfed my son until 9 mos (he got teeth and started crawling so he couldn't be bothered) and my daughter was 6 mos (I wasn't producing enough milk to fill her). But I never had a problem with either one taking a bottle. I found that the nipple from the playtex was very "nipple" shaped so it made it easier for me.

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