Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

When did you introduce a bottle to your breastfed DC?

15 replies

username68482 · 12/07/2019 20:27

With DD I waited until she was about 7/8 weeks, as I wanted to make sure I had a good supply. However, because of this she never accepted a bottle. Whilst I loved bf her this meant I literally felt like I couldn't leave her for the first year.
Now pregnant with DC2 and I would like to bf again but also make sure he/she takes a bottle. I was thinking of introducing one around 3/4 weeks. Do you think would be ok? I know they say it can affect your supply. I only plan to do it occasionally at the start and then maybe regularly switch one feed to a bottle.

OP posts:
NabooThatsWho · 12/07/2019 20:29

I would just do it from the start, one feed a day, maybe at night so dad can help? If all other feeds are bf then supply shouldn’t be effected that much.
Will it be a bottle of formula or bm?

username68482 · 12/07/2019 20:32

I did consider from the start but got told it would cause bottle preference. Not sure if that's true. Would be formula probably.

OP posts:
CherryPlum · 12/07/2019 20:40

With DD1 I left it too late, which meant she refused a bottle, it led to a battle which I never 'won'.

So...with DD2 I introduced a bottle at 6 or 7 weeks, just one a day, but this meant she very quickly preferred a bottle and refused to breastfeed, would turn her head away. It became a battle so I gave in to the bottles.

Basically, I couldn't win 😂

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

artio0 · 12/07/2019 20:43

We did at 11 days (bottle with expressed milk) because my nipples were SO sore I cried every time she fed. She took the bottle straight away and switched between boob and bottle no problem. I continued expressing and bottle feeding every now and then to give my nipples some time off.... It didn't affect my supply.

I'd maybe wait until the milk has come in properly, which is about a week after birth if I remember right, or if you want to do it earlier express some milk so the milk supply doesn't decrease?

That said, after not using a bottle for ages around 4-5months she didn't take it that easily anymore if I gave it to her. But she still takes it if I go out and my partner gives her the bottle, but you probably tried that with yours already...

legalseagull · 12/07/2019 20:49

With both of mine we did an evening bottle of expressed milk or formula from about 1 week old. I think the whole confusion thing is nonesense. One bottle a day isn't going to stop them breast feeding, but it might mean they are more willing to take a bottle so you can get some sleep or go out!

hairhair · 12/07/2019 20:54

With our first she had a bottle a day from a week old. We used Nuk. She always preferred boob and we breastfed until 18 months. With number two we didn't do bottles because I didn't want her to have formula and couldn't be arsed to express, and now she won't take a bottle 😭 we saw a lactation consultant with both babies and with the first she advised the bottle and said it would be very rare for them to develop a preference from one bottle! In the beginning you should pump to make up for the missed feed tho. I did this but didn't pump at the same time as the feed (it was evening whilst I caught up on sleep), I just pumped once during the day whenever was convenient and then that was the bottle for the next evening

Al2O3 · 12/07/2019 20:55

Mother : Formula, day 15

Father : Budweiser, age 15 (don’t tell mother)

BertieBotts · 12/07/2019 21:21

I honestly don't think it makes a difference. I left it until about 8 months with DS1 (might have done it once or twice before that) and he always took it fine. OTOH DS2 was mixed fed from birth, but had a period of rejecting it at about 4-5 months. But then later will happily drink water from a bottle teat, so he was probably just not wanting a bottle at that specific time - he used to have one at bedtime but always seemed to want breastfeeding soon afterwards anyway. I have known other children to just stop taking a bottle when they have been having one regularly, it's always about the same age (3-4 months ish).

Apparently this is because prior to this age drinking from a bottle is due to a sucking reflex. You put something of roughly the correct shape in their mouth and they will suck on it (you can notice this with your finger - older babies lick or bite, but don't tend to suck). Once they lose that reflex, then they have to re-learn how to do it and some babies take to this more easily than others. It seems to be a cultural belief in the UK that if you give a baby a bottle before this age then you'll override this but I don't see that it is necessarily the case. I think it's just confirmation bias when it works out that way.

Bottle preference/formula affecting supply isn't a myth but it is only a problem in a minority of situations, most people will be fine especially if you wait a few weeks after birth. If your baby is struggling to stimulate enough supply anyway due to being sleepy or having some kind of problem with latch then it's not a good idea to further reduce demand by filling them up with formula. Too much formula too early can stretch their tummies meaning it's harder to produce enough breastmilk to satisfy them (I had this problem with DS2). Also some babies come to prefer the faster flow of a bottle as it is less effort than feeding from the breast where they have to actually do some work. Likewise if they are struggling to latch for some reason, it's not a good idea to keep giving them bottles or dummies where the process of latching to them is quite different to a breast... that's just confusing the issue. And then lastly it's a more of a parent psychology thing rather than a direct effect on the baby - if you feel unconfident in your supply and keep giving the baby a bottle whenever you feel supply is low this has the opposite effect on your supply to what you want. It can also further increase feelings of insecurity about breastmilk as babies often settle more quickly after a bottle than they will after a breastfeed. If you think your supply is low you want to be offering the breast to the baby once an hour or more frequently to stimulate a lot more milk to be made.

If you do want to give a bottle early it's a good idea to stick to the slowest flow newborn sized teats and to do paced feeding of small amounts, as this helps prevent some of the reasons for bottle preference. Despite various promises there is no bottle which realistically mimics the motion of breastfeeding.

Whether you introduce a bottle or not I think it's really great when breastfeeding to bite the bullet and just get into leaving them, just using gaps between feeds. Obviously the gaps aren't always predictable, but starting with an hour or two at first stretching to about 4-6 hours once they are starting/established on solids. Even if they want to feed every half hour when you are around, a single 2 hour gap won't starve them and it gives a chance for other carers to develop different soothing and distraction methods which can be useful. They usually do absolutely fine and simply have a nice long feed as soon as you return.

ElizaPancakes · 12/07/2019 21:36

Day 5 or so when I came home. My milk hadn’t come in, I had hungry twins...midwife was fuming I’d been let out so soon. She showed me how to prep a bottle and we never looked back - I mix fed breast and formula milk and also expressed. I did this till they were 4 months then stopped the breastfeeding and just formula fed them.

DS3 I never gave a bottle, he breastfed till 14 months. By then we were using sippy cups.

gracepoolesrum · 12/07/2019 21:40

My DD has had a bottle a day since the start. No issues with bottle preference, she still prefers the breast, although I use a nipple shield so I don't know if that made a difference.

Troels · 12/07/2019 22:27

With oldest He had bottles in hospital, but breastfed till 18 months and I stopped bothering with bottles as soon as I could (about 4 weeks). I never bothered with second Ds. I gave him a sippy cup about 6 months with water, but never bothered with bottles.

Frith2013 · 12/07/2019 22:31

I introduced a cup with a spout at 8 months.

Frith2013 · 12/07/2019 22:34

Just realised I have no idea when I introduced a cup for DC2! I must have at some point.

Rufusthebewilderedreindeer · 12/07/2019 23:10

I introduced the bottle to ds1 from day 1 as the little ratbag wouldn’t feed

Eventually he latched on at about 4/5 weeks

So no bottle confusion from him

He is now a big ratbag Smile

Tootyfrooty35 · 12/07/2019 23:19

Never. 3 EBF DCs and no bottles, I'm a SAHM so didn't need or want to leave them so didn't ever bother. By 6m they'll take a doidy cup of water and some snacks to keep them ticking over for a few hours and would fall asleep on the buggy easily.

Seems some babies can have both from day one and be fine and others won't happily switch. Guess it depends how long you plan to bf for as giving a bottle CAN lead to a shorter overall time giving bm. But there are other factors involved too, of course.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.

Swipe left for the next trending thread