First bottle of EBM - When?

[ShelbyMay]

All the books I've read have warned not to give babies their first bottle of pumped milk until at least 4 or 5 weeks of age, to make sure that breastfeeding is well-established. On the other hand, I've heard from several people that they followed this advice and their DC wouldn't accept a bottle. They feel that it is due to waiting too long to introduce it.

DH and I are invited to a party this weekend, and I am considering leaving DD for a few hours with my mom and a bottle of EBM. She will be about 3 weeks old. I just don't want to do the wrong thing.

My questions are:

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?

[LeslieR]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
after 4 weeks

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
yeppers

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
nope, he just was not interested in bottles-only wanted the boob (wouldn't even take a pacifier)

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
I'm really not sure. It really sucked that DS wouldn't take a bottle. I could only be gone for 2 hours at a time. Eventually he came around and took bottles from MIL, but he still gave DH trouble. That being said, the fact that we have been so successful in our bf'ing relationship makes me very leary about offering a bottle any sooner with the next child. I also count myself lucky that I am not going to have to break him from the bottle.:)

[Kiley]

I will answer for myself (DS 11 mo) and my friend (DD 3 mo).

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
me - 2 or 3 weeks; friend - 2 days (her DH took over one feeding during the night)

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
me - the first bottle wasn't a problem but after the 3rd or 4th he didn't take them. he didn't start taking them well until one week after I went back to work. we also had to switch bottles (from Medela to Avent to Dr. Brown's). friend - DD took them great (one/night) but then they got lax and she didn't get one for several weeks and then refused. she went to daycare and now takes them just fine after they switched bottles (from Avent to Playtex).

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
me - no nipple confusion but I do feel and have experience in that a baby can have a strong preference for how they are fed (breast vs bottle). In our cases, the babies preferred breast. I'd hate to have it go in the other direction.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
No, with the next baby, I will also wait 2-3 weeks before doing a bottle.

*My son still prefers the breast to bottle to this day and gets 2 bottles/day. Some days he refuses to drink from the bottle at all and just nurses more at night. To get him to drink more from the bottle, we switched from a level 1 nipple to a level 3. I know you are a ways off from this, but I thought I'd mention it. He also never took a pacifier probably because we waited until that time to introduce it and he didn't like it.

[jeninef]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
I think around 2 weeks old. We had a lot of problems with bfeeding and I was paranoid that he wasn't getting enough to eat, so under the direction of a lactation consultant(who we had met with personally several times), we gave him a few feedings of EBM.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
No, DH gave it to him and he didn't remember DS having any problems taking the bottle. But he definitely prefers the boob over the bottle!

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
No problems with nipple confusion. I had specifically asked the lactation consultant I was seeing, about nipple confusion being a possible problem and she told me that by then it shouldn't be an issue...but I have heard to wait until 4 weeks before introducing a bottle also.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
No. DS gets maybe one bottle a week for one feeding, so mommy can get a break and get out of the house...but other than that he is EBF. He is 51/2 mo. old. Maybe we were lucky that DS didn't have nipple confusion...but it worked out for us.

[kindermom]

My questions are:

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
--2 or 3 weeks.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
--Nope. M was a champion nurser from the start. The big thing was inding the right bottle for her. Her inital prefernece was for the Playtex Nurser.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
--Nope. Again, M is a champion nurser/eater. She took right to the breast in the hospital, did not mind pacfiers but did not have a strong desire to have them. I did not force M to take a bottle. I just followed her head.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
--Not at all. I think it is important to follow you child's lead. Some kids refuse. In that case, you can not make them take the bottle. Other times, they are open to it. It is hard to say what is best for others!

[smiles33]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
--3.5 weeks, when she was re-admitted to the hospital with a 103 degree fever caused by an infection. This was after 2-3 days in the hospital, as I was exhausted from sleeping on a couch so I could feed her every 2 hours. She was in the NICU which doesn't have beds for parents to sleep overnight.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
--Nope. DD was also a champion nurser (the doctors/nurses were all impressed by her VERY strong suck). And she seems to have no problems drinking from any nipple/bottle, as the hospital used those disposable nipples on the Medela storage bottle of EBM and we switched from Avent to Evenflo glass bottles after reading about the plastic leaching problems here on CC.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
--No, see above. Since she must take a daily antibiotic, she gets a bottle of EBM every night so she has not had any issues. If anything, she sucks down 4 oz in less than 5 minutes (and this is on the newborn nipple!).

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
--I had hoped to start a bottle once in a while during her 4th or 5th week since I'm going back to work when she's 16 weeks old, but her NICU stay hastened the process.

[goldfish]

My questions are:

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?

DD - 6 weeks
DS - 1 week

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?

DD - YUP - it took her MONTHS to take the bottle and it was so stressful for us!
DS - not at all

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?

DD - no
DS - none

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?

If I could go back, I would have absolutely given my DD a bottle sooner. I feel like we waited way too long until 6 weeks. I'm convinced that this is why my son has absolutely no problems with an occasional bottle of EBM, we introduced the bottle when he was just a week old.

[EJH]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?

Hmm...3 or 4 weeks.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?

nope not really, though she definitely preferred au natural.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?

nope

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?

Nope. 11 months later she's still a fabulous nurser but takes bottles of EBM for daycare. Never was a fan of the pacificier but the bottle thing was fine for us.

[jbemommy]

1. DD was about 3-4 weeks old for her first bottle.
2. She didn't have any problems taking the bottle, we used Avent.
3. No problem with nipple confusion--she had EBM while I was at work and nursed when I was at home, no objections to either method.
4. I wouldn't change anything, it worked out well.

[J&K2003]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
4 weeks

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
Not initially. We ran into a rough patch a couple of weeks later, but it was over in a few days.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
No.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
No- it has worked out great for us. DD nurses when I am at home and drinks EBM from a bottle when I am at work.

[wildcat]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
2 weeks (per the advice of our LC)

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
Nope! DD isn't picky how you feed her, boob, bottle, sippy, etc. However, in all of DD's 9.5months, I've never given her a bottle myself. When I was home on maternity leave, DH gave DD 1 bottle of EBM each evening while I pumped (that way she would always take a bottle and so that DH got to feed her also). Now she gets EBM at daycare, and I BF her all other times.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
Not at all. We also introduced the paci at 2 weeks - we didn't want to, but she had a fussy day and we gave in and she LOVED it, unfortunately she still does:rolleyes:

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
Not at all. I will do the same with our next baby.

[Natrat80]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
around 4 weeks

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
Not at first. But we gave her so few bottles that towards the end of the first year she started to refuse them.


3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
Nope, she always remembered the source of the milk! :p

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
I think with the next baby I might try to pump more often so that DH could feed the baby some.

[jules1025]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
2 weeks

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
Not at first. We gave her one bottle a week until she was 12 weeks old, then we skipped a few weeks. After that she refused to take the bottle. Even today, at 6 months old she will not take a bottle, and I've tried all the tricks.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
No

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
Yes, I'd make sure we gave her one bottle a day of EBM. I will do this next time!!

[NYN]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
In the hospital (nurses did not believe in nipple confusion).

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
Not at all.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
Yes. She started to refuse my breast. I went through hell and spent loads of money seeking help. Finally after 10 days she latched on.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
I will never bottle feed another child if I can help it. As it is I never bottle fed my DD b/c of what we went through in the beginning. We started cup-feedings at 5 months and then went straight to straw cups after that.

[shaqangel]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
9 days old

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
none at all

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
no - he's still doing really well with the breast and bottle. some days he has only the breast and some days both and we dont have any problems at all.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
no

[IrishEyes]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk? Somewhere around 5-6 weeks.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle? No.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward? No. We had no nipple confusion issues even with a pacifier in the mix, which started the second night at the hospital when we realized he needed to suck for comfort.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back? Nope. But DS was easy-going in terms of feeding issues, so we were in luck there.

[ellybella]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk? 3 weeks. i was so sleep deprived i couldn't wait. our lactation consultant said it was ok.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle? dh gave him his first bottle and he took it without hesitation. now (4 months) he only has a few bottles a week, and it's usually from dh.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward? he was getting one bottle of ebm a day, until we moved him to his crib at 7 weeks. at that time he was only up once or sttn. we had no confusion.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back? nope.

[LIZNKEITH]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk? Around 4 days old

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle? No

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward? No. She went back and forth between the boob/bottle just fine. It wasn’t until I had removed her from my breast for a few weeks that I couldn’t get her to latch back on.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back? Yes, but not because of nipple confusion. I truly believe the pump (combined with BFing) tore up my nipples, which led me to taking DD off for a few days (I thought it was her. It wasn’t until I was EP and it continued that I realized it had to be the pump), which led to her not latching back on. Next time, I want to try to avoid the pump for the first couple of weeks, unless it’s to relieve engorgement.

[Kanga]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk? 3 days old

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle? Nope, I gave her the first bottle and she didn't hesitate.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward? No, but as she got older (3-4months?) she started fussing somewhat at the breast because she was frustrated with the flow. Whether or not this has anything to do with a bottle since it showed up later, I'll never know

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back? Next time we'll wait until at least 3 weeks, or at least until breastfeeding is obviously well established. I had no idea just how painful bfing was, and she had a strong suck, so when she didn't latch on correctly it was even more painful. I nearly jumped in pain everytime she latched on and dreaded feedings, so we decided to give her a bottle and at the time it was MUCH easier, but as bfing progessed and dd perfected her latch it was hassle. Also, I could never pump more than 4 ounces total, so when she began taking more than that, I ran into a supply problem. With the next child I hesitate to even give a bottle. I hope NIP will be easier for us this time because still at 9 months old, dd refuses to nurse w/out a nipple shield.

[AlisonCO]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?

DS - 1 week (I had to have surgery)
DD - 4ish weeks

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?

DS - No
DD - Was OK the first time, but then refused after

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward? No with both. DS from 1 week got 1 bottle a day until 1 year. DD only got a bottle sporatically. Both definetely preferred the breast.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?

DS - No, I would have waited longer if I hadn't needed the surgery, but it was fine.
DD - Yes, be more consistent with offering the bottle. We did the first time at 4 weeks and then were not consistent after that. SHe all out refused the bottle from 2-5 months. It was more stressful for DH than me and at one point I came home to DH syringe feeding DD because she wouldn't take the bottle.

[LRL]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk? DS was 6 weeks old- I wanted to wait as long as possible since we were having trouble breastfeeding.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle? DS took that bottle well from DH, and a couple thereafter. Then the problems started. DS started to refuse the bottles (Dr. Browns). He did not get another bottle until he was four months and I was going back to work. We ended up switching bottle brands (to Playtex) and he takes the bottle now like the breast.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward? No. DS always preferred to get his milk straight from the tap!

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back? I think that I might have researched my choice of bottle more. While the Dr. Browns bottles are supposed to give the baby less gas, this was really negated by the fact that my DS would scream his head off if we tried to feed him with a bottle. He got much more gas that way. Now we have no screaming with the Playtex bottles, and DS has much less gas! Go figure! :rolleyes:

[yby1]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
4 weeks old

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
He hated the bottle at first. We had to try different brands and figured out that he prefered the Dr. Browns bottles. From weeks 8-10 he got one bottle in the afternoon, he would scream when we would give it to him. By week 11, he accepted the bottle. I went back to work when was was 13 weeks and he has been getting 2 bottles a day since then.

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
No. DS very much prefers the breast. He won't even take a pacifier.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
No.

[Daniel's Kitty]

How old?
2 weeks

Any problems
Nope there was something in the bottle and that is all he cared about. Now he refuses bottles though.

Nipple confusion
No, we also let him have a pacifier since he was such a suck monster.

Doing things differently
Not have three days to get milk and ds starting a growth spurt.

[Sandie78]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk? From the very beginning we did both bottle (with EBM or formula) and nursing.

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle? no

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward? no

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?no

[Ole Miss Bride]

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
About 4 weeks, I think?

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
Not at all. Hurt my feelings a little, actually. :p

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
No.

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
Well, I wish I would have continued offering him bottles with some consistency - like, at least once a week or something. I got really lax about it, and now, at 7 months, my kid has no idea what to do when you put a bottle in his mouth. It's not a huge deal because I don't leave him very often, and he's starting solids, but still. It would be nice if he'd take one.

[adoredh]

Pretty much the same response as most of the other mom's

1. How old was your DC when he/she was given that first bottle of pumped milk?
3 weeks

2. Did you have any problems getting DC to take the bottle?
Nope, even video taped it! LOL!

3. Did you have problems with the dreaded nipple confusion afterward?
Not at all

4. Would you do things differently if you could go back?
HECK YES!!!! I would have kept on giving him a bottle once a day or every other day! I can not go ANY WHERE for more then a couple of hours. DS nurses every hour to hour and a half during the day for about 5 to 10 mins each time. So with an almost 10 month who refuses the bottle, and doesn't take a sippy cup (even the nubbys) for more then just to play with them, bites! I'm so greatful to have such a wonderful nursing relationship, and I have no problems NIP, but I really wish we started out DS with DH giving him a bottle at night, and right to sleep. It now takes me nursing him to get him to sleep. (which tonight, just took me over 2 hours of on and off again CIO and nursing) SO, that's what I would do differently for my family get DS used to a bottle after a couple of weeks, and use that instead of nursing him to sleep, to help him learn how to put himself to sleep on his own... if that made any sence...