How to bottle feed 7 week old

[Aphy]

We tried giving our little boy a bottle of expressed milk yesterday for the first time. This is in preparation for when I eventually go back to work and also for dh to be able to feed him if ever I am not available for whatever reason. He only drank 30ml then started crying terribly and refused to suck anymore but as soon as I put him back on the breast,he gladly sucked both breasts. Any suggestions on how to get him to take the bottle when needed?

 

[noon_child]

I think you made a good start. At this stage you just want him used to the bottle so it doesn't matter how much he takes. Maybe start with only 25ml in there next time, and stop the feed as soon as he appears frown or squirmy as you don't want to build bad associations. The fact that he took the teat and drank but THEN got upset makes me wonder if he took some air in with the milk and wanted the comfort of your breasts because it hurt. At 7 weeks old I think it would still be a good rule of thumb to stop and burp a baby every ounce they drink. How old will he be when you go back to work? How far from him will you be?

 

[Aphy]

Will definitely try less milk next time and stop and burp as you suggested. He will be 4 months when he goes to creche so we still have quite a bit of time to work on this but unfortunately I won't be close enough to him to just continue directly breastfeeding. I will be away from him from 07:00-18:30 most days so sadly it has to be bottle but I intend to breastfeed (and express) for as long as possible so at least he will still get all the benefits of breast milk throughout the day and then the comfort of breast feeding in evenings and throughout the night

 

[Megandelv88]

We had it easy and our baby seemed hungry all the time. So when we attempted a bottle it kind of just happened. Did you have someone else give the bottle? Also were you not around when it happened? It's usually easier that way and baby doesnt smell you near. My son is 11 months and when he takes the bottle we still make sure to stop about half way and burp because they can always swallow air.

Also, its not about what baby takes in at 1 feeding, its about their overall intake in 24 hours. Just keep that in mind.

 

[Agcam]

It might help if you're not around, Aphy.

DS1 did that the first time I attempted to give him the bottle. After that, he flatly refused to take the bottle whenever I was in the house. I had to basically go for a walk, and DH would give him the bottle.

 

[Aphy]

Thanks ladies! It all seems fine now, I warmed the milk up for him and let me mom feed him even though I was sitting right next to her and he drank easily. So now I can rest easy knowing it will be fine once he starts creche