How Can I Teach My Baby To Bottle-Feed?

If your little one is turning away from bottle-feeding, it can be helpful to start with some gentle encouragement. These approaches tend to work best for babies younger than 12 weeks, but they can still be beneficial for older infants as well. Essentially, gentle persuasion means experimenting with various scenarios to discover if your baby might be more willing to accept the bottle in a different setting or context.

Consider:

Level of hunger. Try when hungry, when not hungry, before a breastfeed, after a breastfeed, between breastfeeds.
Level of consciousness. Try offering a bottle as your baby drifts off to sleep, is stirring from sleep, or while already asleep. NOTE: Only until he gets used to sucking from a bottle, which may be your goal at this time. If you repeatedly feed him while drowsy, this will encourage a feeding-sleep association, which can cause feeding and sleeping problems down the track.
Nipple shapes. Try different shaped nipples. I recommend your try a latex (which are brown and soft compared silicone nipples) orthodontic shaped nipple.
Flow rates. Experiment with different flow rates.
Feeding positions. Try different feeding positions to the one used when breastfeeding.
Locations. Try bottle-feeding your baby in places he does not normally associate with feeding, such as a baby rocker or stroller.
Distractions. For instance, offer your baby the bottle as you walk around with him in your arms, rocking and singing to him, or when dangling a toy within his arm’s reach. NOTE: This too is a temporary measure. Don’t do it over the long term as it’s exhausting and not necessary. Also avoid this if your baby has developed a bottle-feeding aversion.
Other caregivers. Your baby may associate you with breastfeeding. Let others try bottle-feeding. Ask your partner, mother, or mother-in-law to try to feed your baby using a bottle.
Fresh milk. Offer freshly pumped milk.
Drip feed. Drip some milk into your baby’s mouth, before placing the nipple into his mouth. NOTE: Not recommended if baby has a bottle-feeding aversion.
Encourage sucking. Encourage your baby to latch and suck on your nipple, finger or a pacifier and then quickly replace this with the nipple of a bottle. NOTE: Not recommended if baby is averse to bottle-feeding.
Stop if your baby becomes upset. Try again once he is calm or at another time.
Don’t pressure or force. If your baby isn’t drinking from the bottle, it’s because he does not know how, trying to pressure or force him will only upset everyone involved.
Encourage new sleep habits. He may reject bottles if he has developed a breast-feeding sleep association. Before you can leave him in the care of others, you may need to be sure that he can easily be settled to sleep in your absence.

It could take weeks of repeated exposure before he accepts the nipple into his mouth and sucks from a bottle using gentle persuasive strategies. Unfortunately, these measures won’t work for every baby. Some babies will continue to resist, fuss or cry until they finally receive a breastfeed. Remain patient; your baby is not being deliberately difficult. Consistency, practice and planning are the keys to your success.

See article 'When Should I Introduce A Bottle To My Baby?' for the ideal timing.

By Rowena Bennett, RN, RM, CHN, MHN, IBCLC.