When to Give a Breastfed Baby a Bottle
Feeding your babe expressed milk: Your questions answered
When tin yous start feeding your babe expressed breast milk? What's the best way to practise it? And should you be concerned about 'nipple confusion'? We respond your questions about expressed milk feeding
When should I outset giving my baby expressed milk?
If your baby is healthy and breastfeeding is going well, at that place'south no need to rush into giving her expressed milk. For the first four weeks, you're working together to initiate and build your breast milk supply while she learns to breastfeed efficiently. While there is limited data,1 it is idea that unnecessarily introducing bottles during this crucial start month could interfere with these processes.
But if your newborn struggles to latch or suck for any reason, and so start expressing milk as shortly as possible after the nascency. Read our articles on overcoming problems in the first calendar week and feeding breast milk to your premature baby or infant with special needs for more advice, likewise as getting support from your healthcare professionals.
How tin I feed expressed milk to my baby?
There is a range of expertly designed feeding solutions that can help you give expressed milk to your baby, depending on your and her needs.
For example, Medela's innovative Calma teat will only permit milk to flow when babies create a vacuum by sucking. This ways they tin feed from a bottle using the same technique, natural language motion and jaw movement they would at the chest.ii,3 Developed with breastfeeding experts from the Academy of Western Commonwealth of australia, Calma allows your baby to suck, swallow, break and breathe just as she does when breastfeeding.4 Past maintaining babies' natural sucking behaviour, Calma is designed to make it piece of cake to switch from chest to canteen-feeding and back over again.
Medela also makes conventional canteen teats in two flow versions. And all our teats tin exist attached directly to the bottles you express milk into, minimising the risk of spillages.
If your newborn needs expressed milk, simply yous don't want to offer her a bottle until she'south get used to breastfeeding, you could use a infant cup designed for short-term feeding. This allows your baby to sip or lap your expressed milk – exist conscientious to avoid spills! It'south advisable to have a healthcare professional on hand the kickoff time y'all apply the baby cup, to brand sure you're both getting the hang of it.
For babies who need expressed milk supplements in improver to regular breastfeeding, a supplemental nursing organization (SNS) can be helpful. This has a sparse, flexible feeding tube that can be fixed aslope your nipple to requite your baby expressed milk while you lot're breastfeeding her. This allows your infant to stay at your breast longer, which further stimulates your breasts to help maintain your milk supply, and too helps improve her breastfeeding skills. It can be useful for mums with low milk supply or with adopted or surrogate babies.
If your baby tin can't create the suction needed to breastfeed – perhaps because of a disability, built condition or weakness – you could try a feeder designed for babies with special needs. These allow infants who can't suck to feed using gentle compression instead.
What's the best way to innovate a canteen?
If breastfeeding is going well and you've decided it'southward the correct time to give your baby a bottle of expressed milk, follow these tips:
Accept your time
Don't look until your big night out or kickoff 24-hour interval back at piece of work to introduce your babe to the bottle. Showtime trying with a small amount of expressed milk, in a relaxed and unhurried way, a couple of weeks beforehand. Gradually build up to giving a full feed of expressed breast milk from a bottle.
Pick your moment
Ideally your breastfed baby should be alert, just non likewise hungry, the first fourth dimension she has a bottle of expressed milk, so that she is as relaxed equally possible.
Delegate feeding duties
Your baby may be confused or frustrated when you offer a bottle, as she's used to your breast. It might be easier if someone else gives the outset bottle, and y'all stay out of the room so your baby tin can't see or smell yous.
Not too hot, non likewise cold
Your baby may be more likely to take the expressed milk if it's around torso temperature, 37 °C (98.6 °F).
Dip and sip
Effort dipping the bottle teat into some expressed milk before offer it, so it tastes and smells of your chest milk. Then gently stimulate your baby'south top lip with the teat to encourage her to open her oral cavity.
Positioning for bottle-feeding
Feed your babe on demand and caress her in a semi-upright position. Never bottle-feed her while she's lying apartment or prop her up with the canteen, in instance of choking. Go at her pace, with equally many pauses every bit she needs – you can even endeavor switching sides during the feed.
Be patient
Don't worry if she doesn't take to the canteen straight away – information technology may have several tries. If she pushes the canteen away or becomes upset, comfort her and wait a few minutes before trying again. If she notwithstanding won't drink from the bottle, look a few more minutes and so breastfeed her as normal. Try again with the canteen at a dissimilar time of twenty-four hour period.
How much expressed milk should I requite my baby?
Every baby is unlike. Inquiry shows that in babies aged one to half dozen months, one babe may take as petty equally 50 ml during a feed while another may accept every bit much as 230 ml. Showtime by preparing a bottle with around 60 ml, and come across if your infant needs more or less. You'll before long learn how much she typically takes – merely don't ever pressure her to terminate the bottle.
How can I ensure bottle-feeding is prophylactic for my babe?
E'er clean and sanitise your breast pump set and bottles according to the instructions, and wash your hands before pumping, treatment milk or feeding your baby. Follow our guidelines for storing and thawing your expressed milk safely.
If warming your breast milk, place the milk bottle or bag into a bowl of warm water or a warmer, or run information technology under a warm tap (max 37 °C or 98.6 °F). Never warm chest milk in the microwave or on the stove elevation.
Will my baby cope with switching from breast to canteen?
Mums sometimes worry that if they introduce a bottle also soon, their baby will get accustomed to the artificial teat and struggle to return to breastfeeding. Others are concerned about the opposite problem – if they don't get their baby used to a bottle early she may never take one later. Both of these problems are commonly referred to as 'nipple defoliation'.
Experts disagree on whether nipple confusion is really an consequence.1 Certainly sucking from a conventional bottle teat that doesn't require a vacuum to exist created is less effort for a baby than sucking from mum'south nipple, as the milk flows more freely and gravity lends a mitt. And some babies do seem to have a preference for breast or bottle, and never take to the other. But many babies switch happily betwixt the ii.
If you're still struggling to feed your babe expressed breast milk, speak to a lactation consultant or breastfeeding specialist.
Source: https://www.medela.com/breastfeeding/mums-journey/feeding-expressed-milk
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