Transition your baby from breastfeeding to bottlefeeding

What happens when breastfeeding is so successful that your child does not want to be fed any other way?

You have been the sole provider of your newborn’s source of food, and you are worn out. You are the one to get out of bed in the middle of the night and feed your baby. You also have to try not to fall asleep while breastfeeding your baby due to the possible hazards this could pose.
You’ve survived it, and done it for weeks. You feel that you are providing the best for your baby, but now you need your rest. First get a breast pump, and express some of your milk and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. You are now ready to feed your baby from a bottle. It’s going to be a new experience for the both of you. You can finally get that sleep that you have been daydreaming of. Or not. Your baby won’t take the bottle from you.

Don’t worry. See if your baby will take the bottle from someone else. Wait until the baby is ready to be fed, and then give the bottle to the baby’s father. Leave the room that they are feeding in. Make sure to let the father know that it’s okay that the baby doesn’t go for the bottle at first and cries. To the baby it is a big change. Ask the father to please stay calm.

Don’t be tempted to go back into the room they are feeding in and take the baby to your breast right away. For some father’s this is the first time they are feeding their child. Let them get used to each other and figure things out. To get the baby to realize that what’s in the bottle is what they have been having for weeks, have the father squirt a little of the milk onto the baby’s tongue so they can taste it. The baby, if hungry enough, will take the bottle.

Give this process some time. Don’t expect your baby to take to the bottle right away and drink the whole bottle the first time. Be close at hand just in case they get tired of the bottle and want you. If the baby drinks an ounce or two of the breast milk from the bottle, that is an accomplishment.

After your baby has accepted taking a bottle from someone else, you can then try to feed the baby from a bottle yourself. The baby might still not take the bottle from you like it would from someone else.

The baby associates you with a certain type of feeding and may object the first few times. Just keep at it and don’t give up. Give in the first few times to let the baby know that everything is okay. Start off with offering the bottle first, then switch when you notice that the baby wants your breast instead. Eventually the baby will take the bottle fully from you.

Transition your baby from breastfeeding to bottlefeeding