Oh how I love being a Mom! So much learning and experimenting and unpredictability! Honestly, you wake up each day not knowing how your little one is going to behave that day or react to new situations. It’s exhilarating really!
Well, this is about one of those new endeavours I get to experience being a Mom for the first time: helping our baby girl go from breastfeeding to bottle feeding. Now, the only reason I’m introducing the bottle to our baby girl is because I’ll be going back to work in another month and she’ll need to feed while I’m gone. Which will be a new adventure for my husband..that I’m excited to share with him! Feeding our daughter is wonderful! The bond created by feeding her and holding her in your arms…it’s just heartwarming! And don’t worry, I’ve expressed enough breastmilk for her to fill multiple bottles with food! The trick will be: getting her to drink it!
After much trial-and-error, which comes with any new experience in motherhood (I’ve come to realize), here’s a few tips and tricks that we used to make this transition successful:
1. Introduce a soother
At first this may seem a little unorthodox, but I swear it helped our little angel switch from breast to bottle without nipple confusion. Believe me, there was no greater fear than introducing a bottle to her and then her not wanting to feed from the breast again. I realized that a soother could help this process. It’s a plastic object in her mouth that she can suck on. Sound familiar? That’s right, so is a nipple on a bottle. Ta da! And if I can get her used to this object while still breastfeeding, hopefully she won’t refuse the breast once she’s started on the bottle.
2. Have at least 2 bottle brands available
No..no…I’m not trying to ‘break the bank’ here. I actually obtained multiple brands of bottles from signing up for free samples online. The main reason for this is: different bottles have different nipples and flows. And for some unknown reason, some babies prefer certain brands over the other. So before you go and by a lifetime supply of bottles, be sure that your baby likes the brand you have. They may refuse the bottle at first or have difficulty taking it and by simply switching the brand, you may notice they’ll take to it more easily. To be honest, we had Dr. Brown’s and Playtex Nurser ready. Our baby is a Playtex Nurser kind of girl.
3. Choose a slow flow nipple to start
Given our baby is a Playtex Nurser bottle kind of girl, it automatically came with a slow flow nipple. However, there are many bottles out there, so just be sure to grab a slow flow nipple to start. Not only is most like Mom, in breastfeeding, the baby can regulate the flow of milk by the way they’re latched and sucking, but with a bottle, the flow is dictated for them. So even if they have a light suck, milk will still pour into their mouth at the same speed if they had a stronger suck. So help them adjust by starting with a slow flow nipple.
4. Start preparing the bottle before she’s “hangry”
That’s right, our baby girl has the ability to get “hangry” and believe me, you don’t want to go there! Nothing worse than trying to introduce a new concept to a baby who’s very upset! After all, it takes at least 5 minutes to warm a bottle for her and when she’s hungry, 5 minutes is a long time! So be sure to catch her hunger signs in the early stages. For our baby girl, she’ll start eating her fingers or if I’m holding her she’ll rub her face on my shoulder. When those cues come, start the process!
5. Speak in a comforting voice
This one may seem obvious or cheesy, but it’s highly effective. This is not only new for you, it’s new for them as well. By easing them into a new situation with a calm, comforting voice that they’re familiar with can help the process along. I kept saying encouraging phrases like “yum”…”what’s this? Is this your bottle with your food?” And when she would take the bottle in her mouth, I’d congratulate her with phrases like “good girl” and “good job! You take your bottle.”
6. Be patient
Patience is key for many things in motherhood, so you can add switching from breast to bottle onto the list. Simply understanding that she has never done this before and it may seem confusing to her is helpful. After all, when I first gave our baby girl a bottle she looked at me like “it tastes like you and I can see & smell you, but I’m in a different position…are you sure this is ok?” Also, our baby girl is able to grab and pull things being 5 months old, so instead of scolding her to moving the bottle away, I taught her to hold it with her hands and put it in her mouth (with my guidance and help of course). What a great learning opportunity!
7. Read her cues
Babies are born with this wonderful mechanism that tells them when they’re full and they’ll stop eating. On the breast it’s easy to notice because your baby will simply let go. For bottle feeding, it may seem a little tricker because they may pull the bottle away without actually being full. In fact, our little angel likes to play with the bottle sometimes, trying to figure out what this contraption is, and will pull it away from her mouth. So we give her a second and ask her if she’s still hungry, while helping guide the bottle back to her mouth. If she wants it, her mouth will open wide and she’ll help pull it back toward her face. If she does not want it, she’ll look away at something else. Just remember: this mechanism does not go away when switching from breast to bottle, so just be mindful of this and read your baby’s cues, she’ll let you know when she’s done!
Congratulations! You are on your way to successfully helping your baby transition from breast to bottle! Just remember this is a new process for both of you, so take the time to make it an enjoyable one. If your baby doesn’t figure it out or like it today, that doesn’t mean they won’t figure it out or like it tomorrow. Motherhood is unpredictable after all & that’s what makes it wonderful! Happy feeding! 🙂
NEW BABY MOM 