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Introducing Breastfed Baby’s First Bottle and How To Bottle Feed
You have been breastfeeding and are now either going back to work or school, wanting other caregivers to feed your baby, or wondering how and when you should introduce your baby’s very first bottle. And there are SO many bottles, which one is the best??
Introducing your baby’s first bottle is more than just preparing the bottle and giving it to your baby. If you have tried already, you might have had to deal with a fussy baby (or maybe not!)
Whether you have attempted to or plan to introduce soon, there are some best practices to consider for when and how to feed your baby with a bottle, especially if your baby has been breastfed.
If you plan to continue breastfeeding with bottle feeding, it is important to note that it is best for breastfeeding to be established before introducing the first bottle. Established breastfeeding means your baby is feeding well and gaining weight appropriately, and that you have a good and stable milk supply.
If you plan to feed pumped breast milk, be sure to follow safe breast milk storage practices! Find more information here: Breastmilk Storage Guidelines & FAQ’s: How Long Does Breast Milk Last?
And if you are looking for portable, wearable breast pumps to bring to work or school, the Willow® Wearable Breast Pump and Elvie are popular options to pump on the go. You might find this article helpful to learn more about different types of breast pumps: Breastfeeding and Traveling With A Baby. Speak with a lactation consultant to figure out which pump best fits your supply needs and lifestyle.
When To Introduce Bottle Feeding
It is recommended to introduce the bottle when your baby is around 3-8 weeks old. 3-4 weeks is usually a good time to begin. If you wish to continue breastfeeding, make sure breastfeeding is going well first.
Why 3-8 weeks?
The reason for introducing bottles between 3-8 weeks old is that if you introduce too early, the bottle may affect your breastfeeding relationship. Your baby might get used to the bottle too soon and not want to feed at the breast anymore.
Introducing the bottle too late, however, can cause your baby to not accept the bottle and only want the breast. They have gotten used to the breast as the only way to feed. This may cause some trouble for you if you want another caregiver to be able to feed your baby or if you need to be away for work or school.
Choosing Nipples and Bottles
There are a variety of nipples and bottles to choose from. If you find it difficult for your baby to adjust to bottle feeding, you might need to explore different ones until you find the one your baby enjoys.
My Recommended Products page contains links to all the bottle brands (and other items!) I recommend to my clients as an IBCLC.
There is a misconception that wide base nipples or nipples advertised as “similar to the breast” are better. You may be surprised that wide base nipples aren’t necessarily the best option, because they don’t fill in the baby’s oral cavity like how the breast can! These wide base nipples are shaped like how the breasts look when they are at rest. What we need to find is a bottle nipple that closely resembles the shape when the breast is compressed and being sucked on, therefore narrow nipples are the better option. Speak with a lactation consultant if you are unsure what is best for your baby’s needs.
For newborns, slow flow nipples are recommended to mimic the flow of breastfeeding. You can advance to faster flow nipples as your baby grows and gets more efficient at feeding.
For older babies, sometimes finding a bottle with colors or characters might help with getting your baby to want the bottle.
How Much Should A Newborn Eat?
To make sure your baby is eating and growing well, count their dirty diapers! Here’s a handy chart to refer to for Diaper Output for Breastfed Babies by Age
How To Bottle Feed: Paced Bottle Feeding
Paced bottle feeding is a technique that mimics the natural pace of breastfeeding. When feeding at the breast, there is a suck, swallow, breathe pattern that babies learn how to do on their own. They will suck when they want the milk, and pause for a break when they need to swallow and breathe.
However, when you are tilting a bottle, the flow of the milk does not stop until the bottle is empty. If the flow doesn’t stop, there is no break for the baby to stop and breathe.
To give you a realistic comparison, imagine someone holding a water bottle for you to drink. How would you feel if they kept tilting the bottle with no break for you to breathe?
One of two things will happen here:
- Baby will try to finish the entire bottle as fast as they can until there is no more milk flowing, so they can finally rest and breathe.
- Baby might choke because there is no time to breathe.
Here’s where paced bottle feeding comes in.
- Hold your baby in an upright or semi-upright position. You want to avoid having them lying flat on their back, as the flow of the bottle can flow too quickly for baby to keep up with, which can result in overfeeding and choking.
- Tickle baby’s lips with the bottle to get them to “latch” onto the bottle, just as they would at the breast. Try to get the same flanged-out, fishy lips around the base of the bottle nipple.
- After your baby is latched onto the bottle nipple, don’t tilt the bottle just yet! Let your baby suck at the nipple for a few seconds with no milk. This mimics the period before the let-down during breastfeeding. Doing so will let your baby know they still need to work for the milk that comes from the bottle too. If your baby learns to expect milk to flow from the bottle without working for it, they may become frustrated at the breast before the let-down occurs.
- Time for the feed! Keep the bottle nipple half full with milk during the entire feeding. We want to keep the flow of the milk slow, to prevent eating too fast. Eating too fast may cause your baby to not realize they got enough food they need to feel full. Their bodies need some time to register fullness, just like adults. If we don’t take it slow, it can lead to overeating! Bottle feeding should take about 15-20 minutes.
- During the feeding, take breaks to pause in between sucks to maintain the suck-swallow-breathe pattern. Pay attention to when your baby sucks and swallows. Stop the flow of the bottle every 3-5 swallows, or when you notice your baby is having huge gulps of milk.
More Tips For Bottle Feeding
Try warming the milk.
If you are giving refrigerated breast milk in a bottle, chances are your baby might not like the milk being cold. They’re used to the warm milk from your breasts!
You can warm up the milk by making a warm water bath. Just put the bottle in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes. You can also find baby bottle warmers to purchase.
Never microwave milk to give to your baby. Microwaving might not warm the milk evenly, causing hot spots that can burn your baby’s mouth. Microwaving can also destroy important nutrients, and we don’t want that to happen!
If you have some extra pumped milk lying around, check out this post to learn What To Do With Leftover Breast Milk.
When baby won’t take the bottle with another caregiver
Babies either need bottle feeding to be the same as breastfeeding or completely different from breastfeeding.
If you’re having another caregiver bottle feed, have that person wear mom’s shirt. Bottle feed close to the chest, and angle the bottle to where the breast would be. The goal is to have the body positioning as similar to breastfeeding as possible.
If you think your baby wants bottle feeding to be different from breastfeeding, have the caregiver hold your baby up on their lap facing outwards, so they do not see the caregiver’s body or chest at all. The baby can also recline on the caregiver’s body. Facing your baby outwards might help use the surrounding environment to distract your baby to be more willing to feed.
Remember to take a break.
If you absolutely cannot get your baby to bottle feed right at this moment, maybe you can take a break and offer again a little later. Put them on a swing or take a warm bath to relax, and then try again (just make sure you’re not going too long in between feeds!)
You can also offer the bottle when your baby is more sleepy or satisfied. If your baby is used to breastfeeding, nurse first, then try the bottle towards the end.
If your baby is a little older, you may want to consider ditching the bottle altogether and offer milk in a sippy cup, regular open cup, or straw cup instead. It will probably take a couple of extra towels for the spills, but they’ll get there!
