Introducing bottles to newborn

Hey! We introduced a bottle to baby within first 2 weeks and I’m still managing to breastfeed now at 10 weeks and she happily takes breast or bottle. I know there’s lots of information about waiting but I think just go with your instincts and what works best for you and baby x

We introduced a bottle at 4 days old! Babe was losing weight and had a very inefficient latch so she needed some extra! She took it no problem. We use the Philips avent bottles. Look up pace feeding and follow this method when offering a bottle as it helps imitate the breast

Check out a “nipple shield” it’s like a silicone nipple to go over your breast while nursing and make sure you pump at least once or twice that day to help your let down

We introduced a bottle to my exclusively breastfed baby the day we got home from the hospital- I started pumping and giving a bottle here and there to get a little help, and eventually a bottle every morning so my husband could let me sleep, etc. Honestly it's what saved my sanity, I'd highly recommend it. My baby was a constant nurser. Apparently it didn't negatively impact breastfeeding at all because she's 3.5 yrs old now and still breastfeeding😅my doula had said nipple confusion is basically a myth and that actually introducing earlier is better because they get used to switching back and forth

@Rachael in what way would a nipple shield help?

I gave my baby a bottle from day one because of jaundice and latching issues. Even when he started nursing we gave him a bottle a day, then one every few days when my partner did the ‘night shift’ and woke up with him. I’ve literally never had an issue with nipple confusion and I’m so glad I ignored NHS advice, otherwise I wouldn’t have as much freedom to go out and sleep as I do now

@Levi how much oz did you give to your newborn?

I believe it was about 90ml. Sometimes he’d drink less, sometimes he’d want me to nurse him after so he’d want more. The best thing that worked for us to determine how much he wanted to eat was filling the bottle with about 120ml and pace feeding him so he had to work harder for it and didn’t overfeed himself, When he stopped I’d see how much he drank and eventually noticed a pattern of how much he’d drink before he was full. Eventually he was consistently wanting more but even 120 wasn’t cutting it anymore, so I upped his milk and he now drinks 130ml. God forbid you give him anything less than that 😂

On average babies drink between 3-5 ounces, but some babies want less and some babies want more. Just play around with the volume until you find out what satisfies your baby 🙂 this is for expressed breast milk though, I’m not too sure about formula if you were planning to give her formula instead.