Lolli’s Lesson: Introducing a Bottle

I think I may have found my blog assistant. Noah has provided me with the BEST content. I mean, look at her!!! What a doll baby. She is going to be such a good little momma some day…

Noah girl just turned a year old a few weeks ago. Already got the “mom” thing down!

When do I need to give my breastfeeding baby a bottle? This is a great question, and one of the most popular questions I get, sometimes even before families leave the hospital. The very first thing to note is that anytime you are going to be away from your baby during a feeding, you will need to figure out a way to feed your baby. This doesn’t necessarily have to be in a bottle, however, the bottle is the most common way to feed a baby when you are not breastfeeding. Likewise, if you are going to be away from your baby during a feeding, you will need to pump or hand express your breasts to maintain your milk supply.

My recommendation to breastfeeding families is that you wait 3-4 weeks before first introducing the bottle. This is my recommendation, not a hard and fast rule. You can introduce a bottle any time you would like to—-remember, you are the parents of this baby, not me! However, we know that having baby at the breast is the best way to establish a full milk supply. Typically, by two weeks of age, a breastfeeding mom and baby seem to settle into somewhat of a routine. Sore nipples are healing, baby is latching well and has multiple wet and poopy diapers. Usually at two weeks of age, we expect a newborn to be back to birthweight. (remember we expect initial weight loss—check out that post here!) And if all of these things are happening? We will say “you have arrived” with establishing breastfeeding.

At 3-4 weeks, your baby will be ready to experiment with another way of getting breastmilk. Does this always go well? Not always. In fact, someone other than mom may need to give the bottle. Especially if moms plan to go back to work, this is a great time to begin bottle feeds. I generally suggest beginning with one bottle per day leading up to a return to work when babies will be eating from a bottle perhaps multiple times a day.

I am frequently talking with moms as they begin to prepare to return to work—and more likely than not, a bottle is going to be a big part of that routine. Early introduction and consistency of daily bottle feeds after establishing solid breastfeeding is the key to success!