When to start bottle feeding

[Laina83]

Hello everyone!
My dd is 5 weeks old now and ebf. I've been pumping to get a freezer stash of milk established. I'm on maternity leave until September and I'd like her to be a pro with the bottle by then in preparation for daycare. When should we start getting her used to bottle feeding? I'd like to have her comfortable with bottles before vacation (about a month off?). I'm so nervous about nipple confusion! Also what are good strategies? She absolutely will not take a pacifier so this could be a challenge! Thanks!

[aept]

Within the next week, I think. Her latch should be well established. I doubt she will prefer the bottle over you. Start with freshly pumped milk and try to have someone else feed her. Have them tease her mouth so she opens to accept the bottle- don't just try to force it in there. Have a drop or two of milk on the bottle nipple so she gets a taste right away. Good luck!

[Chessie]

My daughter wouldn't ever take the bottle from me or from someone else if I was in the room. You might let Daddy try for the first bottle.
I think if your baby is doing well nursing now nipple confusion is unlikely. I know I had nurses in the hospital tell me they thought it was a myth.

[tuhraycee]

I had dh give a bottle to ds at one month old and a few random times afterward. She started daycare at 3 months and did well with the bottle after the first day! :)

[proudmama4]

Now is a perfect time to start a bottle every now and then. It's also a great way for Dad to bond. I started all three on the bottle at 4 weeks, no nipple confusion with any of them. DS1 got a bottle when at grandparents, or when I was away from the house and Dad was watching him. My twins have gotten MAYBE a bottle a week. I just don't have the time to pump w/ the twins, so they get a bottle less, but they are able to take it, because I made sure and introduced it early (but not before breastfeeding was going strong.)

So, as long as your LO is breastfeeding well, I would say let your DH give a bottle soon.

[CEVmommy]

I agree with the others. I'd say around 4-6 weeks is a good time to introduce a bottle, assuming that breastfeeding is going well and you feel she has a good latch. You don't need to do a full feeding with the bottle, just enough for some practice. What I did was pump about 1-2 oz maybe, and have my husband feed it to her in the evening (which is when she liked to cluster feed and I might need a little break). We did this 2-3 times per week, just to keep her used to the bottle before starting daycare. Once she started daycare, we never did bottles at home anymore. For avoiding nipple confusion (nipple preference might be more of an issue at this age), I would keep the quantity in the bottles small, keep the flow of the nipple as slow as possible, and have all bottles come from someone other than mommy.

[Laina83]

Thanks everyone! Dh tried giving her the bottle last night, she wasn't thrilled but it wasn't too bad. She's been nursing like a champ since. So far so good!