Trouble Getting 5 Wk Old to Breast Feed After Introducing Bottle

If you don't have to give the baby a bottle (if you're not going back to work or something), I would suggest not bottle-feeding right now. Sounds like nipple confusion.

Hi S.,
I experienced the same thing with my daughter...of course she was on a bottle when she was about that same age because I had to go back to work. It was only 1 bottle usually. However, I ended up having to supplement with formula after awhile & she started to get fussy. She stopped getting fussy after awhile, but within the next 3 months or so, she had pretty much weaned herself. I believe this has a lot to do with how many times she received a bottle a day.
I have introduced my son to the bottle recently (in situations where breastfeeding isn't AS feesible) & he takes to it just fine, but it isn't a regular thing. Because he doesn't use a bottle as often as my daughter did, I think he is still doing well with the breast feeding. SO - I think one bottle a day would probably be good, but even so, I would ease in a little more slowly...like on a need-be basis or every other day.
Good luck!

Hi S. - I had the same issue with my son (who is now 1). I would suggest to not give up on the nursing front and do not introduce the bottle again until later (maybe 8 or 9 weeks). You want to make sure you establish the nursing habit (and your milk supply) before you introduce the bottle. Good luck!

Hi I've heard it is best to introduce bottles around 12 weeks and stick with the breast exclusively, especially since your little one is showing preference for the bottle. I exclusively breast fed my son to the point that he would not take a bottle unless he was really really hungry, and it was good b/c we did not have to ween him off of bottles. we went straight to the sippy cup and continue to breast feed,
good luck and enjoy your little bundle

Since she took so well to the bottle at this point, you might be able to stop for a while and then reintroduce it. Good luck1

I would definantly wait a little longer to introduce the bottle if you want to continue to nurse. He found something that he likes and he may not want to go back in a matter of weeks. I started the bottle at 3 months so my husband could have some bond time and the only time my daughter wanted to nurse after that was at nap or night time. Then I just felt like a pacifier!

As a mother who succesfully breastfeed my two kids, 1 for 14 months and 1 for 20 months I would like to give you a little bit of my personal advice. Breastfeeding is one if not the most important thing you can do for your baby. If you make the commitment know you will never regret the decision to make your babys health and happiness most important. Babys need their moms milk, anything else is a poor subisitute. Your body makes the perfect blend of milk for your little one. I understand that breatfeeding is very demanding and time consuming at best. Yet as the months go by it gets much easier and easire. Babies get bigger and do not need to be feed every minute of the day (as it seems with a newborn). It wonderful to watch a mom of a 6 month old easily and effortlessly breastfeding. It is common knowledge that if you introduce a bottle too soon, the baby will prefer the bottle since it is easire to feed with a bottle than waiting for the breast to let down naturally and the baby will always want whats easy. The promblem is the mother get frustarated and will likely quit the breast and bottle feed only. Sadly by the time a baby is 6 months old, only 5% of moms are still breastfeeding. Clearly you 5 week old is too little to do both. Coninue to breat feed only for more months until you and your baby are in sync and then reintroduce the bottle when your baby is much older. Say 6 months or so. We live in a society who teaches us that whats easiest is best, not true with this. Please do the best thing for your baby and breat feed for at least a year. Your babys health will be better and you will reap the rewards of the closness and bond a mom and baby share during this special and short period of your lives together. Before you know it your baby will be 5 and runing around and these days will be just a distant memory. Good Luck! S.

It is important to introduce the bottle between 3 and 6 weeks at least a couple of times or they may not take it later. You could try it once a week or every other day for a while. Remember that when they start on a bottle they get milks quickly while on the breast it takes a couple of minutes for your milk to let down easily so they can get impatient after trying a bottle. Take a bottle break for a couple of days. Also if you regularly replace one nursing with a bottle and don't pump to make up for that feeding your body will naturally decrease production at that time. Your kid is also at the age for a growth spurt and even if you don't notice the increased demand my kid started to just get fussy at the breast at this age...

Hi, skip the bottle as long as you can I would say!

Yes they say you should wait 6-8 weeks to introduce a bottle to a new born. It sounds like he is getting nipple confusion. I would stop the bottle for now. If you want to nurse 95%, just nurse the whole 100%. I did. It was a guaranteed way for me to sit down during the day and rest. If he gets used to the bottle and it's ease he will eventually only want this. He does not have to work to get his meal. With skipping one meal at breast will also start decreasing your milk supply. Don't wait until he is full blown starving to feed breast. This will help so he won't be fussy. Be patient with this. You sorta have to retrain him that breast is where the meal is. They won't starve, but just keep offeing the breast and he will eat. If he will only eats 5-10 minutes, it could be that your milk has already slowed down and he is done and your breast is empty. Feed him more often right now and your milk will bounce back.

Good luck

I would suggest contacting a lactation consultant. To me, this sounds like what they told me is nipple confusion. Does he shake his head back and forth like he's saying no? That's also a sign of nipple confusion. I would take away the bottle for a month or so and just breastfeed him if you want him to come to the breast. Also, from my experience, pumping seemed to lower the amount of milk I was able to produce and nursing increased it! :)

I'm a speech therapist who works with premature infants on feeding issues in addition to being a mom of two and I have a couple of tips for you. First, you may want to hold off on the bottle for a few more weeks. Some babies can make the transition sooner, but many need to hold off on bottles until about eight weeks. Secondly, consider switching bottles. The Avent slow flow is much faster than other "slow flow" nipples, which can make for an impatient baby. Consider switching to Evenflow slow flow silicone nipple (very slow) or Gerber slow flow silicone nipple (a nice middle ground.) The Avent collection is great, and I use Avent bottles myself, but I do find they can be too fast for newer babies. Hope this helps.

From what I've been told, the "windows" for getting baby to take a bottle are 3 weeks and 8 weeks of age. After that, they can get a bit set in their ways and may refuse a bottle all together.

Hi S.,

My sister had the same problem recently with her 5 wk old (my 7-mo old went back and forth fine at 3.5 wks). She gave her daughter 2 oz in a bottle and was surprised at how fast she drank it. Then she cried immediately (wanting more), and tried to nurse but that only frustrated her more. The next day, she fed her 4 oz, which seemed to satisfy her. She wasn't hungry again for three or four hours, and then nursed from the breast with no problem. She's only giving her one bottle per day, and her baby has no problem after a few days of adjustment.

Our pediatricians both agreed that nipple confusion only occurs in the first one or two weeks, and if you have a good nurser you can safely introduce a bottle by 4 wks. It's an adjustment, but keep at it. He'll eat again from your breast if he's hungry enough, don't worry. Trust your judgement; you're his mom and you know what's best for you both!

J.

S.,

I would wait to introduce the bottle. Get help from a lactation specialist for latching issues. A lot of times if you give the bottle early on, they get used to the faster flow and not having to work for the milk. I would make sure that you get your breastfeeding down really good for at least a few more weeks before trying again.

Take care,

Molly

yes, they can form a preference to the bottle. It can help to eliminate the bottle & exclusively breastfeed, if you are willing. My second daughter abruptly stopped nursing at 7 mo. after I had been supplementing with a bottle. #3 nursed for 20 mo. & #4 is still nursing at 22 1/2 months.

S.,
Only give him the bottle at that same time every day and he should be fine. Breastfeed the rest of the time.
W.

Hi S.-

I have a 5.5 month old, so it wasn't long ago that i was in the same boat. Babies go in and out of feeding for long periods and then short periods. My daughter switched to 7-10 minute feedings at 5 weeks and stayed that way until about 3.5 months old. Around 15 weeks she went back to the 20-30 minute feedings , as so far she's staying at that--anyway, do not wait on feeding her the bottle. If anything you probably should've started earlier. If you can get someone else to give him the bottle, that would help out a lot--because babies can smell their mom's breastmilk. SO if you are holding her and trying to give him the bottle, sometimes it can be hard.
ANd if he seems to be fussy at the breast, then you might just try strecthing out his feedings. Maybe he's not hungry at that moment. Some babies at 5 weeks old can go three hours in between feeding and some babies can only go an hour. So try paying attention to your timing! And good luck!
I know in my mom's group, the facilitator said that most babies get what they need in 15 minute feedings and anything over that, can often be more about comfort.