introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

My SIL has been exclusively breast feeding for 4 1/2 wks and now yesterday tried to introduce the bottle with pumped milk. She used Dr. Browns but the baby would have nothing to do with it.
Tonight at our house she tried the avent but the baby only took an ounce before going crazy. She was fine back with mom on the boob.

Any suggestions?

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

Damien would never take one. I hope your SIL doesn't have the same problem.

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

Who's giving the bottle? It's probably better if someone other than your SIL give the bottle and your SIL should not be in the room either so the baby can't see or hear her. Make sure the milk is warm and hold the baby in the same position used for nursing. She might have to experiment with a bunch of different nipple types to find one that the baby likes. DS never like the nipples that were supposed to be more breast-like. He only liked the more traditional shaped ones or the Nuk/orthodontic nipples. Also make sure the nipple is slow-flow.

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

We had to keep trying for a week and he finally took a bottle, tell her to keep trying. Now he will take any bottle. At first, he would scream like we were poisoning him. Also, we would position the baby the same way as if he was BF and warm up the milk too.

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

Jordana took the bottle like a champ. She will eat almost anything no matter where it came from.

I would first try having someone else giving her the bottle. I have some friends whose children won't take a bottle from them.

If that doesn't work, I would do the bait and switch. Put her in the position as if she is getting breastfed and then not give her the breast, but the bottle instead.

Good luck.

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

Every baby is different.
It is best for her to wait until 6 weeks. Is she getting ready to go back to work? If not then she should just hold off for a few more week.s
There is a very different sucking for a bottle- the tongue is in a different place. The milk comes out very different.
No bottle is like a breast. Even the tempature of the milk in a bottle is different. The BM when nursing is always 98.7%, the bottle might have been too hot or too cold for the baby.

I would get a Playtex Nursers with the WIDE silicone nipple. the Dr. Brown has a more slender nipple. That could also throw the baby off. Tell her to try it in the middle of the day- not right before a nap or when the baby is very sleepy. That might just upset the baby. She needs to try it everyday for a week.
Also, it would help if she pumped the milk right before- maybe 1oz. That way it is the same tempature as the milk inside her body.
I agree, someone else needs to give the baby the bottle.

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

I started giving an occasional bottle at about 6 weeks. Never me though, only other people. He pretty much took it right away - he'll take food from whereever he can get it.

I would maybe wait a bit and try again, and then just keep trying. Have somebody else give the bottle, and don't try when the baby is very hungry. Maybe a bit before she normally gets hungry so she doesn't get frustrated.

Good luck!

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

DD fought me like crazy when i brought the bottle into the picture.

I had to "trick" her, some good advice i got from Beth ( bxgell2),

I would go through all the motions, pull the shirt up, get the boppy, get her into position, and just when she thought she was going to latch, i snuck the bottle in. I also made sure the bottle was warm as body temp. I didn't fight her though, i gave her a couple minutes to sip it, and if it wasn't happening, i gave her boob and tried again at the next feeding.

It took us about a month to get her to take it from anyone. In the beginning she would only take it from me, then she let DH, etc.

We use advents

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

we started giving pumped BM at 2 weeks. persistence is key. DD was a bit reluctant at first, but we tried a little bit every day. she hasn't had a bottle in awhile now, and we started supplementing with formula yesterday. she wasn't into the bottle at all & fussed, so we took a break & tried again later on. it worked!

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

Thanks everyone for all the support and suggestions. She was afraid she waited TOO long so she will be relieved to hear your answers.

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

My daughter resisted the bottle as well... I tried everything, including leaving the room and letting DH take care of it, but she would just get even more frustrated. Finally I tried the ol' bait and switch. Go through ALL the motions like you're about to breastfeed - pull up your shirt, unsnap the bra, and just as baby is about to latch, sneak in the bottle into his/her mouth. It worked like a charm!

Re: introducing the bottle to breast fed babies..

at first, samantha kind of struggled - she got how the milk came out and all but when she was done she would kep sucking onit like a paci, but wouldn't swallow the milk, it dribbled down her face.....it took her a few days and now she and daddy love her bottle time together....

avent bottles worked for us, we tried soothie ones (we figured she loved the pacifiers by them but she hated them!