When Should I Introduce A Bottle To My Baby?

It's common to think that if your baby takes a bottle in the early weeks, they will continue to do so easily as they grow. However, this isn't always true for each baby.

In those first few weeks after birth, your baby has a strong sucking reflex that allows them to feed from both breast and bottle. Yet, it’s through practice that they truly learn the skills needed for breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Once that reflex fades, their ability to feed from either source relies on what they’ve previously learned. While it is possible for a baby to adapt to bottle-feeding after losing the sucking reflex, it can be more challenging.

If you're looking to help your baby accept a bottle without jeopardizing breastfeeding success, timing is crucial. Introducing the bottle too early might hinder their breastfeeding skills, while waiting too long could lead to them refusing the bottle altogether.

Starting birth to 4 weeks

Sucking is an automatic, involuntary action that occurs in response to a baby’s sucking reflex being triggered. Trigger baby’s sucking reflex and he will suck from a bottle. This is why babies can feed from a bottle in the first few days of life.

Unless there are no other options, it's best not to give a breastfed baby bottle-feeds during the first month. This is the time when he’s learning to latch and breastfeed. Providing bottles, which require a different latch and sucking action compared to breastfeeding, at this young age is associated with an increased risk of ‘nipple confusion’.

Starting between 4–8 weeks

If breastfeeding is going well, between 4 and 8 weeks is an ideal age to familiarize your baby with bottle-feeding, so that he will be comfortable with both feeding methods. He has had weeks to become accustomed to breastfeeding. His sucking reflex is still strong enough to support him to learn to suck from a bottle.

It’s not enough to offer him a few bottle-feeds and then not offer again for days or weeks. Offer him a bottle-feed once a day or every second day. It doesn’t need to be a full feed; even one ounce (30 ml) of pumped breastmilk will be sufficient to help him learn how to bottle-feed with minimal risk to breastfeeding. Avoid offering a bottle too frequently, as this could impact breastfeeding.

Starting between 8–12 weeks

If you are only now starting to provide a bottle for the first time, it’s going to be more challenging. By this age your baby has now learned to psychologically link breastfeeding with satisfying his hunger. If you place the nipple of a bottle into his mouth, he’s likely to object or consider it a toy to chew on.

His sucking reflex, though present, is not as strong as it was. You might find you can trigger his sucking reflex by applying gentle upwards pressure under his chin while the nipple is in his mouth. It’s very important that you don’t continue if he becomes upset or wants to stop.

Starting after 3 months

If your baby has not been offered regular bottle-feeds before three months of age, unfortunately, he will be less likely to accept a bottle and may refuse outright. By this age his sucking reflex has either disappeared or is close to disappearing; upwards pressure under his chin will no longer be effective.

With no, or limited, prior bottle-feeding experience, it’s going to be much harder for him to learn to feed from a bottle. A synthetic nipple will feel nothing like his mother’s nipple. He will have no idea why you’re placing it into his mouth, or what he’s supposed to do with it. If he’s not hungry, he’s likely to chew and play with it or push it out. If he is hungry at the time, he will be expecting to receive a breastfeed and he will become frustrated, cry, or spit it out.

Breastfeeding is not just his preferred method of feeding, it’s all he knows. If he tries to use a breastfeeding technique while bottle-feeding, he’s not going to get anything other than what drips into his mouth.

It's important to hold onto hope. A healthy baby can indeed learn to bottle-feed, although the journey may be challenging. You might encounter some resistance along the way, as the absence of a sucking reflex means that your little one will need to go through a process of trial and error to master sucking from a bottle.

See article - 'How Can I Teach My Baby To Bottle-Feed' for the steps to take.

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