It’s the next most convenient means of serving breast milk to baby. Before I went back to work last March, I agonized because I thought he’ll go hungry. But after six months since my leave, baby has learned to adapt and learned to feed from me AND from the bottle.
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I used to bottle feed Pulo while waiting for his pedia. I wasn't confident then to nurse in public.[/caption]Baby’s transition from breast to bottle and vice versa isn’t always seamless. My pedia says no synthetic nipples are soft enough to imitate a mama’s nipples. For this reason feeding problems like bottle refusal and nipple confusion are expected.
Here are some notes in giving the bottle to you breastfed baby:
Direct breastfeeding is the best method of feeding baby.
Hospitals play a critical role in breastfeeding in the first days of baby's life. Pedias also play a big role on baby's first feedings.
Most of our hospitals are still not breastfeeding-friendly. Although WHO discourages the use of bottles, doctors from private hospitals still instruct moms who can’t direct breastfeed to use a bottle instead of a cup. I’ve noticed the breastfeeding policies are more strict in government hospitals. Here's East Avenue Medical Center' breastfeeding policy stating that synthetic bottles and nipples are banned within the hospital. I'm not sure though if the policy is strictly being implemented. I hope so! When i was there to visit a cousin, i saw most new moms are breastfeeding.
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Bottles, nipples and pacifiers are banned in the premises of East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. (Sorry for the blurred photo.)[/caption]I gave birth in a private hospital. Our pediatrician instructed me do use bottles. She says she’ll have to check if baby can efficiently suck since he was a preemie. I guess this all depends on the pedia’s assessment of the baby. I did not know any better so I summoned hubby to buy a preemie bottle. I was allowed directly breastfeed him on the fourth day already.
I did attempt to directly breastfeed baby in the NICU, but just shortly because he was always dozing off while i held him in my arms. I did not know then yet that i can wake him so he can get a decent feeding. Here's my post on getting ready to breastfeed for moms who had just gave birth.
My sister's baby, who was delivered in another private hospital, was also bottle fed in the NICU.
Could the pedia be instructing bottle feeding because it's much more convenient for the NICU nurses? Cup feeding can be cumbersome for NICU nurses who look after more than one babies at a time! This system is far from the ideal for breastfeeding hospitals!
Bottle feed only when breastfeeding has been established.
Well in my case, i had to reintroduce the bottle. We struggled to achieve a good latch but all ended well. Babies are smart, they learn to adapt.
From the day when we took him home until after 6 to 8 weeks, i exclusively breastfed him directly. I reintroduced him to the bottle, this time Avent small bottles with newborn nipples about 6 weeks after. Initially, I just let him take one bottle per day. I increased bottle feeding as i neared the end of my maternity leave. Remember to pump for those missed direct feeding!
Use slow flow (newborn) nipples.
With Avent, those are number 1 nipples. It’s slow flow and has only one hole. This will encourage babies to suck, like how we would extract milk from your breasts. Up to now that he’s 8 months he’s still using Avent# 1 nipples.
Babies on fast flow nipples can get used to the faster release of milk from bottles. This may cause baby to refuse your nipples, which releases breast milk only at baby's suckling.
Using slow flow nipples will lessen risks of choking on breast milk. A pedia explains that the difference between a mothers ’s nipples and synthetic nipples is the flow of milk. Milk keeps flowing from synthetic nipple, even if baby does not suck on it. No milk is released from the breasts if baby stops sucking. That's why it's a big no-no to let baby sleep with feeding bottles.
Test a variety a feeding bottles for baby. See which works best. We were lucky baby did not reject Avent bottles. My sister uses First Years Breastflow feeding bottles.
Use small feeding bottles for breastfed babies.
Breastfed babies need more frequent feedings than formula fed so give smaller bottles. I’m still using Avent 4 oz bottles, even if baby’s 8 months already. This system works for me so I did not bother giving him bigger bottles.
After 6 months, baby has to be given solids so can expect a decrease in the volume of his breast milk intake.
I figure it's best to serve breast milk in smaller quantities, since breast milk has a short "expiry period". It's safe to leave breast milk at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours. Using small bottles also lessens the amount of breast milk wasted.
Prepare his feeding bottles for the day yourself.
This helps your caregiver a lot. She won’t have to thaw then transfer breast milk. This will also make it easier for you to measure his breast milk intake daily. You’ll feel closer to baby, even while you’re out because you personally prepared his meals for the day.
Number your breast milk bottles so they’ll know which ones should be served first. This will be of great help if you serve thawed milk and fresh expressed breast milk. Thawed milk must be consumed first since it can only be used within 24 hours.
Find out how many feedings and amount breast milk your little one takes on a daily basis. I’m at work from 1 pm to 9pm. I estimate that baby feeds three times a day. So I leave him 4 bottles (just in case) with 4 ounces of breast milk each. If you’re exclusive breastfeeding, use KellyMom’s milk calculator.
Clean your baby feeding paraphernalia yourself.
Bottle feeding poses great risk for contamination so be on guard. I’m really OC when it comes to feeding baby so I personally clean his bottles and nipples.
I wash them in warm soapy water. I use mild cleaners from Messy Bessy. I sterilize using Chicco Electric sterilizer. Until baby receives all his immunization shots, I’ll be sterilizing his feeding equipment. This will reduce any risk of diarrhea, stomach flu or any other gastric diseases.
Regularly inspect the nipples. Look for holes, tears or cracks. Replace worn out nipples to prevent choking.
Seek alternative breast milk feeding choices.
Hospitals with good breastfeeding policy highly encourage feeding from a cup. That’s if and only if mommy can’t latch. Direct breastfeeding is the priority.
Here's a post on cup feeding from M'ann Oblea of Baby Mama over at Chronicles of a Nursing Mom. I'm actually learning to cup feed P, since i'd like to get him off the bottle early. I can't imagine P drinking from the bottle until one year!
Aside from cup feeding, modes of serving breast milk. You can use medicine dropper or rubber or silicone baby spoons. This manner is more tedious for your care giver since she has to serve in one milliliter container. Imagine how many times she’ll do this for a decent feeding. Older babies can also start feeding from training cups.
My MIL uses a big medicine syringe (without the needle of course) in serving BM. I think my son does not really want to suck on synthetic nipples so my MIL sought several options of feeding milk. The medical syringe seems to work best for her.
Try giving the feeding bottle when baby’s sleepy.
This is my MIL’s technique to feed using the bottle. Babies comfort suck, so make use of this by giving him a bottle. This mimics me nursing him to sleep.
Don’t worry to much. When baby gets hungry, he’ll learn to suck the bottle!
Is this too harsh? Well kinda. But it’s true, babies adapt. My baby did. When he’s still full he doesn’t see the need to suck. When he gets hungry, he’ll munch on anything. Give him time and look out for hunger cues.
My baby manages to gulp down about 12 ounces of breast milk thru the bottle. Honestly, i really don't bear the brunt of having to (force)feed him because i'm often at work. But as my MIL reports, there are times when they still struggle when bottle feeding. Bottle feeding P is especially hard after weekends, since baby usually breastfeeds most of the time during Saturdays and Sundays. P much prefers my breasts.
I guess i just have to accept that bottle feeding is among the sacrifices working moms and their babies have to make. For my next baby, i think i'll cup feeding early on.
When i'm with baby, he seldom takes the bottle from me. Whenever i gave him a bottle, he would just stick out his tongue. Or he would just turn his head away from the bottle. As i said, babies are smart. He might be thinking, Why would you give me this bottle when i can have the real ones there? So I never bothered preparing bottles when i’m with him. I don’t bring bottles and nipples when we travel.
I treat bottle feeding as a feeding option, given the chance and the choice, i would always direct breastfeed my darling boy.
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