Breast to bottle advice

[gininteacupsandleavesonthelawn]

I didn't breastfeed my DD as for various reasons I had to go back to work when she was 8weeks. I'm currently pg with DC2 and this time have 6m off so if like to try to this time. However I'm getting concerned by the number of posts saying baby won't take a bottl/dummy/drink formula/nap without boob and I'm becoming increasingly concerned that if we do manage to bf successfully we'll have major problems when I need to go back to work... I'm honestly starting to wonder if we should just go straight to bottle. Any tips/thought/advice would be wonderful... Thank you!

As usual, you'll only hear about the people having issues (same as with MILs...), so I wouldn't let it put me off breastfeeding. If you are worried I'd introduce a bottle per week from six weeks or so and stick to it.

I'm about to go back to work and have a bottle-refuser, by the way - I'm confident it'll be fine.

I had a tough time initially getting my DD off the boob and on the bottle, I started the process at six months and it took until she as eight months until she was fully weaned. I offered a bottle on every feed and wasted a lot of formula, however I don't regret breastfeeding at all and wish I had been able to continue, my friends who's babies wouldn't go to the bottle have now successfully weaned at 14 months just with cups of cows milk. You will always here the bad, because no one is going to come on here and start a thread saying "yey breastfeeding is going amazingly and they are now taking a bottle" because that scenario isn't an issue, mumsnet is generally to ask for guidance :)

For different reasons it's been necessary for both my DCs to have expressed milk/formula top ups from a few days old for a few weeks. Neither have suffered nipple confusion and with DC1 I went on to bf for 9mo, with her happy to take a bottle if we were apart and once I switched her onto formula (DC2 is only 6wks but is happy switching to a bottle of ebm for one feed a day without issue). This second time around I was talking to a senior midwife whilst in hospital who said in her opinion as long as the majority of feeds are breast, they won't get 'confused' or start refusing the breast. So, although I accept it's not the current guidelines, I'd introduced a bottle very early on if it's very important to you that they'll take one. Just make sure you express at the same time as they have their bottle to establish your supply in the early weeks.

If you do end up with a bottle refuser, it won't be so much of an issue by the time you need to return to work as by that age you can train them to take milk from a doidy or sippy cup if necessary. Even if they don't take loads from it at first, your bm supply will be more than established enough to just bf them for the hours you are together. I was a bottle refuser, and my DM just moved me straight on to a cup around 9mo. (She would often recount what a PITA I was in that!)

I should have added that I introduced a bottle of expressed milk at one week old, always fine, no nipple confusion, only went wrong when I had a sudden moment of feeling bad for not exclusively breastfeeding and exclusively from three months, I should have just carried on with the one bottle a day as preference was breast anyway.

People don't post on mumsnet to let everyone know their breastfed baby took to a bottle beautifully. :)

If you'd like some reassuring stories, I've breastfed three - my first took a bottle no problem. The second took some persuading but was fine after a few attempts. My third is now 7 weeks and had his first bottle happily last week. And as someone else said, even if they won't take a bottle, there are other solutions.

You wont necessarily have a problem. My boy was ebf. To start with I gave him a couple of expressed bottles, as I was also worried about bottle refusing. He took them fine. Then I couldnt be bothered for a few months, and when i needed to again (night out) it was fine. Then at a year i went back to work, he was happy to have expressed in a bottle. Or cows milk in a bottle. Or a sippy cup. Or a doidy cup. Or a straw cup. Essentially he wants his drinks and doesnt care how they are delivered. Still happily bfs when i get home too.

Sorry to people who have struggled, but dont let it put you off trying to bf.

DD was mixed feed from day 4 due to necessity but she did not get ff feeding very well until we found a bottle she liked. Lots of bf babies like MAM bottles.

I would suggest you give bf a go.