Tips To Get Your Baby To Bottle Feed

Breastfed babies can be very uncomfortable about changing to a bottle. You cannot really blame them because after all: after so many weeks of getting the good stuff freshly from a warm, comfortable source, it must be quite irritating to open your mouth for food and find a whole new system in place. We understand it, child. But for the sake of a mom returning to work or just needing some quality time off from the constant baby-care, worrying about her kiddo taking a bottle is sometimes the stress she doesn’t exactly need.

Just like those many things about caring for a newborn, getting your child to convert to a bottle will either be amazingly easy, or a case of maybe they will be comfy or maybe not,best decision being of a personalized solution, the result of tiny cries and minor adjustments to find what your baby is happy with. We would always hope that it be easy-peasy for you, but even if it’s challenging, try these few things.

Time it properly

The right time to introduce a bottle is when your baby is about the age of one month. You would want to wait until the time that you’ve established breastfeeding properly for both, your body as first and then your baby, which takes about three to four weeks. If you’re ever heading back to work, try and make sure you slowly start your child on a bottle at least two weeks before the time to wholly change to bottle feeding, to give both of you adequate time to adjust to the change.

Offer a bottle only after you’ve nursed

Your baby has to learn to use different sucking styles to start to drink from a bottle, therefore it is important that you get your baby used to the bottle’s nipple. Try and Choose a time-frame when your baby is at rest and peaceful, maybe after a morning breastfeeding session, to put a minimal amount of milk (about 50ml) in a bottle and then offer it to your baby. Let your child play with the nipple and familiarize with it. You could Try dipping the nipple in breast milk first so that your little one gets a taste and can comfortably latch on for more.

Choose the right bottle

The type of bottle and the nipple you tend to choose can play a very vital role in whether or not your child accepts it. You would want a bottle that mimics the breastfeeding experience as best as possible. Try a bottle that is specifically designed to simulate breastfeeding for those babies who switch from breast to bottle and back and forth time and again again. A slow-flow nipple, which does not flood your baby’s mouth with milk, is important because it tends to release the milk at the same rate as the breasts would.

Try to give the job to someone else

For some infants, if mom is doing the feeding, only the original source will do. Your baby knows your smell and won’t understand why you’re offering a bottle instead of breasts. Take yourself out of the equation and have your partner or another caregiver take over. Then go for a walk or run some errands, anything to get out of the house while this feeding is happening.

Feed when the child gives the right signs

As it is with breastfeeding, it’s very important not to wait until your baby is absolutely starving before offering them a bottle. Unlike us adults, who are comfortable to eat anything when we hungry, babies are more finicky and difficult to understand when they want to eat! Watch out for hunger cues and learn to be ready with a bottle at the very first sign of your baby being hungry. Try to squirt a little milk into the child’s tiny mouth to cleanse your baby’s appetite and get them excited about the bottle.

Learn to take your time

Your baby might not be able to take to this new feeding system right at once, and that’s just ok. If your child won’t fall for the bottle and start to cry,try and soothe your little one for a few minutes. Don’t try and force it, but gently try to feed the bottle again in a few minutes. If Still no success. Put the bottle right away, wait for some time, and begin to nurse your baby. Then try to offer the bottle again when your baby is comfortable, happy, and likely to be open to try the new system.

Try to Customize your milk

It’s the usual practice to run a bottle of cold milk under some hot water to warm it up, the thought being, that it is how it comes from the breast. If your baby’s not comfortable with it, you can try offering cold or maybe lukewarm milk and see if they prefer it that way. Also, some babies have been known to reject thawed milk and only freshly expressed breast milk would do for those tiny ones, so you should experiment here too.

Try out different positions

With bottle feeding you could and should be flexible when it comes to the feeding position. Just a change in the way you or your caregiver are holding your baby during feeding might be enough to encourage the baby to eat. Some babies love to be snuggled in the cradle as if they are being nursing, while others might like to sit up face out, or even recline up in a bouncy seat while using a bottle. You can also try strolling around for a bit during the feeding.

Picking the right pacifier

A baby who is used to sucking on a breast as long as they like might need a little extra something to settle down after a session of bottle feeding. A pacifier like the ones specifically designed not to disturb the baby’s natural latch, will do just the trick and will help keep the baby happy for a long while after the session of bottle-feeding is over.

Try, try and keep trying again

Depending on your baby’s likes and dislikes, it may take some time before they learn to accept a bottle. It should be important to stay calm and keep trying, trying switching things up to find out what works out best for your little one. Try at different times of the day. Some moms are successful in getting their baby to finally take on a bottle when they offer it, first thing in the morning, when their kid is most hungry. Once your baby has learned to accept a bottle, start by using it for at least one feeding a day maybe the the best being the bedtime feed, which many mothers feel is a great one for their significant other to handle.

Coming to mom breaks, please make sure you’re properly caring for yourself while you’re apart from your little one.

If you have tried all these things without much success, try to relax and take a chill pill. Your baby might not accept the practice of bottle feeds until you drop them off at daycare. Babies obviously won’t starve themselves, but they can be stubborn at times. Your baby might hold out until they absolutely have to bottle-feed before they actually do it. And expect your kiddos to do some serious feeding when they see you again. Good luck, mother almighty!