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Mama In The Now

Boy Mom Life With Humor and Hygge

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How to Bottle Feed Your Breastfed Baby – Without Tears!

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There are affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations.

Bottle Feeding a Breastfed Baby

I need to start planning for the end. The end of my maternity leave is only two weeks away, and I have not wanted to think about it until today. My breastfed baby will have to take a bottle once I go back to work, and he has yet to try one. But today is the day, he will get his first bottle, or so I hope!

I settle down on the couch with my baby and a bottle. (I promise myself that I won’t cry, but I am unable to keep that promise!)

Looking lovingly at my precious baby looking back at me, the bottle ever so gently touches his lips and HOLY HELL BREAKS LOSE! He will have NO PART of this plastic impostor of his life-source.

The synthetic version of the only comforting and soothing feeding apparatus that he has ever known, doesn’t smell like mommy, it isn’t as warm and soft as mommy – it is NOT MOMMY!

The baby is crying – and now I am really crying too – because he is crying, because I am returning to work – and just because! All I wanted was to bottle-feed my breast-fed baby – without tears.

(This post was originally published in 2014. It was updated in January 2019 to confirm accuracy and share the best tips and products available.) 

how to bottle feed your breastfed baby, without tears! Learn how to switch from bottle to breast with ease. Whether you pump or supplement with formula, switching from bottle to breast CAN be done without stress. Reduce nipple confusion. Feed your baby with breast or bottle. Breastfeeding tips for pumping moms. Breastfeeding tips for supplementing moms. #MamaintheNow


This was me – with our first baby! I modified our bottle-introduction with each baby – to fit the baby’s individual personality, and using the experience I had learned from his older brothers.

WHEN should you introduce your breastfed baby to the bottle? (Don’t do what I did!) Learn the exact RIGHT TIME TO BOTTLE FEED!

As the working mother of four breastfed babies, I am thrilled to share with you my best tips and tricks of how to bottle feed your breast-fed baby, without tears.

Remember, if tears are shed and the bottle is viewed as the devil to end all devils, put it aside and try again another day when you have read these tips.

How to successfully bottle feed your breastfed baby: 

  1. Have someone else do the bottle feedings.
    1. This is a great opportunity for dad or the nanny/ babysitter to step in and form their own feeding bond with the baby.
  2. Leave the house – yes, YOU!
    1. Babies have an incredibly keen sense of smell and he will know if you are just “hiding in the next room.”
    2. Besides, it may reduce the stress for dad/ caregiver if you aren’t “supervising” the bottle feeding like only a mama bear can do. Take a (quick) walk around the block – it will be good for you too – trust me!
  3. Try different types of bottles and nipples.
    1. Some babies prefer nipples for premies, others like the big breast-shaped bottles.
    2. Buy only one of each different type of bottle or nipple until you find what works for your baby – otherwise you WILL go broke!
  4. Change the temperature of the nipple and milk.
    1. Teething babies may like a cold nipple, while other babies prefer one that was warmed in warm water.
    2. Some babies don’t mind drinking cold milk, while others like it mommy-temperature.
    3. (NEVER heat milk, bottles or nipples in the microwave.)
  5. Offer the bottle before the baby is ravenous hungry.
    1. Try to time these initial bottle feedings before the baby gets cranky (too tired or too hungry).
  6. Do a “dream feed” when the baby is half asleep.
    1. Cuddle your sleeping/ sleepy/ drowsy baby and quietly offer the bottle. You may be able to pull a fast one on him.
  7. Offer breast milk/ formula in a cup.
    1. Surprisingly enough, babies are fully capable of drinking from a cup and they may prefer this to a bottle. We have had great luck with these cups: Doidy Training Cups.
    2. One of our kids ONLY drank from the Doidy Training Cups while I was at work. (Yes, he proved to be one stubborn kid, but at least he was fed!)
  8. If you are supplementing with formula, mix it 80% breast milk/ 20% formula.
    1. For each day, you add a little more formula until he’s getting 100% formula.
    2. Give your baby a chance to get used to the bottle AND the new taste and smell of the formula.
    3. In order for the baby to adjust and to troubleshoot properly, try to only add one new thing at a time – either new bottle or new formula – not both.
  9. Use a syringe to ensure that he is getting enough liquid. 
    1. A syringe is also great to use if you need to measure his intake for any medical reasons.
    2. You can use a syringe like the ones the pharmacies give to administer liquid antibiotics.
  10. Babies LOVE their mother’s smell. 
    1. Have dad or the caregiver hold the baby in the t-shirt you slept in or a baby blanket you had in your bed – anything that smells like mommy!
  11. Try holding the baby in different positions. 
    1. But don’t turn the feeding session into a baby juggling act.
    2. Switch bottle feeding positions quietly and gently, babies pick up on your stress and anxiety.
    3. Once the baby is calm and comforted in the new position, try to introduce the bottle with confidence.
    4. Cradle-hold in the crook of your arms, while you enjoy the eye contact.
    5. Sit the baby in your lap with his back against your chest, facing outwards. Some babies do well with the distractions in front of them while they eat. You will make up for lost eye-contact later when you cuddle him.
    6. In a carrier or wrap with his neck supported (this did the trick for our nanny with two of our babies).
    7. Sit with your legs bent and prop the baby up against your legs, facing you.
  12. Put the baby in the highchair.
    1. If the baby is old enough to sit assisted, try to put him in the highchair with either finger foods on the tray (if he’s 6 months or older) or a toy for distraction. This position works well if you are introducing a training cup.
  13. Distract the baby with a soothing song.
    1. Rhythmic gentle movement like rocking or swaying work wonders too.
    2. I know my ABCs really well after having four kids!

Bottle-feed your breast-fed baby, without tears. A nursing and working mother of four shares her best tips and tricks of how to get babies to take the bottle.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS… please know that babies instinctively will NOT starve themselves! Instead you may find that he will nurse more at night (or whenever the breast is available).

Our oldest son never took a bottle. He drank a few ounces from a cup when I was at work, but then he made up for lost time at night – this is called “reverse cycle feeding” and it is perfectly healthy and OK for the baby to do.

Reverse Cycle Feeding explained:

  • In short, instead of sleeping “through the night”, he simply nurses all night, stocks up for the day time when he then goes without much to eat.
  • As long as the number of wet and dirty diapers in a 24 hour period is the same as before, there is nothing wrong with this behavior.
  • (This is when I realized that co-sleeping was necessary for our family’s dynamics. I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but I got my sleep and cuddle time, and the baby got his milk and cuddle time as well, a win-win for us).

    WHEN should you introduce your breastfed baby to the bottle? (Don’t do what I did!) Learn the exact RIGHT TIME TO BOTTLE FEED!

Introducing the bottle may not be a raging success the first day, or the second. If you calmly try these tips, you will eventually find what works for YOUR baby. Try to introduce the bottle well in advance of your first real time apart from the baby.

When the big day comes, you can leave and confidently know that he will be OK. Remember to continue to have many nursing sessions and mommy-baby skin-to-skin time, so your supply isn’t affected by the bottle feedings.

Don’t miss the other articles about Breastfeeding. You may just find the answer to one of your questions, or find yourself nodding in agreement with my breastfeeding trials and triumphs.

P.S. Don’t miss this post on WHEN to introduce your breastfed baby to the bottle! I share my experience with four kids – so please learn from my mistakes!!!!

Filed Under: Baby (0-1 years), Breastfeeding, Parenting Tagged With: Baby, Breastfeeding, Motherhood, Pumping, work life balance

Comments

  1. Lauren Tamm says

    November 10, 2014 at 6:17 PM

    This is such a wonderful and encouraging post for breastfeeding moms. I love everyone of the tips. We introduced a bottle right around the 3 week mark and offered a bottle a few times per week. I would pump and my husband would feed the bottle. It was kind of a fun way to introduce it early without a ton of pressure right before I went back to work. I also think it’s great that you are reminding moms that babies will not starve themselves. I’ve actually heard of several babies doing the ‘reverse feeding’ and they are all happy, healthy and thriving.

    Lauren

    • Mama in the Now says

      November 10, 2014 at 9:27 PM

      Lauren – you were a genius to introduce the bottle early. I always worried and then in return waited way too long. You would think I would learn after the first baby… but no! Thanks for visiting my blog!

  2. mommyinsports says

    January 26, 2015 at 7:29 AM

    This is SUCH a helpful post. My babies wouldn’t take a bottle if I was in the house. It was a great excuse to get a break and bask in the gloriousness of Target or Costco. Pinning and stumbling!

    • Mama in the Now says

      January 26, 2015 at 8:36 AM

      Stumbling… THANK YOU – I really need to learn that!

  3. katie m says

    May 4, 2015 at 11:28 AM

    These are great tips, we have to supplement with formula and it was rough for a while to transition.

    • Mama in the Now says

      May 4, 2015 at 9:33 PM

      That bottle transition can be SO stressful – I hope you can use some of these tips

  4. valerie says

    August 10, 2015 at 5:15 PM

    Thank you for your info. I’ve been trying to introduce bottle to my breastfed baby but she won’t take it all. She’s a really smart girl and she knows what’s real and what’s not. But I’m going to try to follow your list?

  5. Mama in the Now says

    August 25, 2015 at 10:17 PM

    Oh Shelly – I am SO glad to hear that you found this useful. It sounds like that one day a week your baby will be JUST fine waiting for mama to come home! Have your mom try different positions, cups etc – but trust that he’s getting food. He will simply make up from lost time when you are together again!

  6. Amber P. says

    March 16, 2016 at 5:17 PM

    I exclusively nursed my baby for 6 months, but then I had to switch her to nutramigen formula after realizing she was allergic to much more than just milk protein. So, I wanted/needed to switch her quickly. For about 2-3 weeks I tried all these things. I spent SO much money trying different bottles and nipples. My dilemma was that if I ever had ANY form of success then it was when I offered the bottle, no one else. I am the only one that knows her and that she is comfortable enough with and I am the only one patient enough for her. My husband couldn’t do it. Finally, after her pediatricians office told me the same thing twice, I tried it. I “starved her”. Not for real. I made her wait. I would not give in and nurse her, the only way I allowed her to eat was from a bottle. Once I tried that, it worked. I at first I offered it every chance I got. From every 30 minutes to an hour. But her doc said I needed to wait and let her get hungry and let her sugar levels go through their course, so I then went to every 2-3 hours. Much better. It took only 3 days to ween her once I did the “starve her” method. It was tough. I cried so much. Felt like the cruelest mother imaginable. But, I did it. And it was worth it too because she has thrived being on the nutramigen. Oddly enough. 3 months later and she is a chubby, entertaining, extremely happy and healthy little girl. I made the right choice.

    • Mama in the Now says

      March 16, 2016 at 10:27 PM

      Thank you SO much for sharing your experience. I can only imagine HOW HARD it must have been for you. But I am so glad that it worked out in the end. I am proud of you for sticking to it – you knew what she truly needed. Way to go Mama.

    • Erin says

      March 29, 2018 at 9:35 AM

      This really gives me hope. I have spent this afternoon crying while my 6month old has screamed while trying to wean her in to nutramigen. I’ve been introducing it one bottle each lunchtime, increasing the formula to breast milk ratio as I’m going but all of a sudden she’s just stopped taking it. Gave in and offered her breast after 2.5 hours of screaming, but will try the method you’ve had success with. Great tips and advice thanks x

  7. Kamberli says

    March 31, 2016 at 12:00 AM

    I love this post! My baby is 8 Months old, and has yet to take a bottle with a good attitude. He will take one from my mother in law and husband, but refuses to take one from me, my mom, or sisters! I let it stress me out so much when I had to go back to work that I wanted to cry! Thank you for being so encouraging!:)

    • Mama in the Now says

      March 31, 2016 at 8:55 PM

      Thank you for your sweet comment. I hope you find peace knowing that your baby is OK. Good luck!

  8. Paola Mendez says

    September 28, 2018 at 10:10 AM

    I tried this and my baby got a lot of air. She’s a bit older now maybe that’s why. When she was a newborn it really helped. Even with formula

I am a Danish American mom of four boys parenting with heart, humor and hygge. Join me on this crazy ride. You will laugh more than you’d expect!

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