Introducing a bottle/dummy to bf baby.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Just wondering when and how it's best to do this. I wasn't planning to use a dummy with ds but tried around 7 weeks, he wouldn't have it. I tried a bottle at 11 weeks ((it took me that long to manage to express any amount) and he took an ounce on a couple of occasions then totally refused.

I'm pregnant with dc2 and thinking of giving one bottle a day, probably formula as I am useless at expressing. Also thinking of giving a dummy for sleep. I know all babies are different, but feel I missed the boat with ds and should have started much earlier as he was a good feeder from birth.

I literally could have written this post 4 months ago...
DS is nearly two and refused dummy bottle until he was about 9 months but would have them both after that though (no idea why/how!)
Dd was born 4 months ago and I said from day one I would give her dummy (didn't try ds for about 6 weeks as was worried about nipper confusion) as I had friends bf that had no problem. I tried and tried from her being hours old and also a bottle of formula as my milk hadn't quite come through and she was so hungry. She absolutely refused both and still does up until now! I'm absolutely desperate for her to take a bottle, I can't leave her with DH for more than 2 hours. I've expressed and wasted so much milk trying and spent a fortune on every bottle going but I've literally achieved nothing
Sorry I know it's not helpful just thought I would share as obviously sometimes they don't want it even from day 1!

Thanks for your reply. It actually makes me feel a bit better about ds! I probably didn't try as hard as I could with the bottle but found it too demoralising tipping hard won ebm down the sink!

I took a dummy into the delivery room with me for DC2. He was literally hours old. He was EBF long term. I don't remember when I introduced a bottle but he was established with a dummy teat so a bottle was easily accepted.

DC3 was probably a few days old when he first had a dummy and a couple of weeks for a bottle.

I stalled introducing a dummy until DC4 was 3 weeks because she just didn't need one before that. Don't know if the slight delay is the cause, but she didn't take to a dummy or a bottle. It took 4 weeks of constant attempts until she accepted the dummy. As soon as she did, she took a bottle of expressed milk too. 7 weeks old.

I'm not having another child (4 is enough!) but if I was I would probably try dummy within the first week, even if baby didn't need it use it regularly at first.

But!

But it's important that you are confident breastfeeding is established first. As a second time mum you are likely to be more confident in many aspects, but especially breastfeeding. So trust your instincts in this.

Thanks Fate, if this baby feeds like ds did, I will be happy to introduce a dummy very early on. Obviously I followed all advice last time, no bottle or dummy before 6 weeks. Looking back, I think it was pretty clear that ds wasn't going to get confused! That's not to say he would have accepted either I suppose.

I actually felt a bit mean with the dummy, as until then he'd just been bf and then I kept popping this thing in his mouth, which he wasn't keen on as it didn't dispense milk!