Introducing a bottle? How and when?

[centrestage88]

Lo is just 7 months. He has been exclusively latched on, never took a bottle.  I'm his main carer.
I would like him to be bottled for his 130pm feed by my mum. What is the best way to get him to take it?
 After lunch, I tried giving him water via a bottle ( he usually takes it via a cup) and surprise! he knew how to suck via a bottle, so I'm hoping that he will do the same with milk.

Since its the 130pm feed that I'm looking to bottle him, should I
- only introduce the bottle to him at the 130pm feed?
- should I or my mum feed him the bottle?
- What if he rejects the bottle? Do I offer him the boob immediately after then? Or let him go hungry till an hour later and then offer the boob or bottle again?
- how much milk should he be taking in this 130pm feed? He feeds 5xs during the day but it is not evenly spaced due to his naps.  (8am, 1030am, 130pm, 530pm, 715pm)

Also, should I try to get him to take his water after each meal via a bottle instead of a cup to get him more used to a bottle? Or should I stick to giving him water via a cup after meals and just give the bottle for his milk feed? ( so that he wont forget how to drink via a cup?)

Thanks ladies!

[Katet]

TBH at 7mo I'd go straight to a cup. My DS2 wouldn't take a bottle at 4.5mo (when I really needed him to by 5mo as I had a function  I needed to go to for my job - even though I was on Mat leave, I had many contacts that it was important I was there)  So at 5mo he was managing to take about 30-50ml from a cup, so I fed him when I left at 9am & then DH just offered him the cup along the way & he had about 80ml & by the time I got home at 4pm I fed him again. 

Once he was taking the cup at 5mo I kept giving him the cup for his 10ish feed as it meant that I could give it to him "on the run" more easily. He did take less, but he made up the rest of the day & I never had the challenges of getting him off a bottle like I did with DS1 & TBH it is 'recommended' for teeth that you don't bottle feed past 12months anyway, so I think if he takes water from a cup, give him milk from one too & skip the bottle.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Kate I was always under the impression that being off the bottle for teeth by 12 months was more geared towards a child who would be carrying that bottle around and sucking on it for ages, where as mine have always been guzzlers so it did not really matter. But in saying that if a lo is already able to use a cup I would totally run with that as the skill is already there, and you don't have to use a bottle really.

If you do go the bottle route I had more success getting someone else to do the feeds at first - DH or my DD's. DD3 was about 5.5 months when she finally took a bottle and we tried a few types before she settled on one.

[*Ali*]

I believe it is that the milk pools at the back teeth before LO swallows when sucking from a bottle so it is still recommended to be off the bottle by 12mo, here anyway. It does depend on what milk you are giving though as breast milk isn't anywhere near as bad for teeth as other milks due to some of the bacteria-killing components of breast milk. If it is breast milk I wouldn't worry about using the bottle for now. You're only just over halfway to 12mo and LO will be much more capable with a cup by 12mo. My DD has been having a cup of water with every meal since we started solids 3.5 months ago but she is still not very good with it. She wastes a lot (which would break my heart if I had pumped that milk!) and she only really manages to drink an ounce or so. She will take 7-9oz from a bottle.

If your mum is around I would let her offer the bottle but if she isn't then I'm sure it is fine for you to do it. I give my DD a bottle of expressed milk every night I am home and she takes it from others on the rare occasions they try her with it.

I would just keep offering the bottle until she takes it unless she gets very upset. If she isn't due a sleep you have plenty of time to come back to it. And with breast milk you don't need to worry about reusing milk that has been offered, you can stick it back in the fridge and keep trying it for the rest of the day.  Formula needs to be drunk within 2hrs of her mouth touching it as the saliva and milk combo causes the bacteria to multiply rapidly.

Also check out our FAQ Breastfed babies and bottles

[centrestage88]

Thks for advice ladies.
My mum prefers a bottle to a cup. She says a cup is way too messy and that lo drinks too little from it. I don't want him to lose his ability of cup drinking though, so I will keep giving him water from a cup after meals. ( so I cant transition him easier when he is older)

He took his first bottle feed ever yesterday. Downed 100ml in a go then rejected the rest. I was really glad that he took it well but he was really jittery the rest of the afternoon and slept poorly. But he had slept poorly even before his bottle feed so it might have been his temperament that day.  His milk bottle feed was at 130pm. His next feed ( breast) was at 515pm.
I'm glad he chugged it down so he doesnt have milk constantly in his mouth. Will make sure that he doesnt carry it around and take sips. Is it common to be off bottles at 12 mths? I see so many 3 year olds still drinking from bottles.
How much expressed milk should I give him in each feed? He's 7 months old and drinks 6xs a day. ( 5 day feeds, 1 night feed). Solids are mnimal for him. He's a small baby, abt 8 kg.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I am not sure on what amounts mine took at that age, or if it is different with ebm vs formuĺa as mine did formula in bottles. My oldest ditched bottles really early, like 6 months as she preferred a sippy, then a cup, don't actually remember with my middle DD and DD3 had a bottle up to around 10/11 months but still uses a very bottle like sippy cup for milk twice a day, otherwise she uses an open cup. Fairly common her to be done with bottle by 12-18 monhs if using them but most people go to some type of spill proof sippy and not an open cup right away.

[centrestage88]

Thks, will bear in mind to ensure that he knows how to drink from more than just a bottle or boob when he gets slightly older so he can be off the bottle.
Pumped 160ml out today but he only drank 120 ml and seemed very satisfied until his next feed, so I'm reassured that im providing him enough milk.

[*Ali*]

One study found average breast milk intake at 7mo is around 30oz but babies vary greatly so that isn't a magic number you need to get down him, yk?
http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/#solids
If he's having 6 feeds a day I'd go for 5oz in each bottle to start. If however you find he is consistently taking only 4 then you can offer less. Or if you only manage to pump 4oz for that feed for example then I'd offer that and assume he'll take a bigger feed from you next time as long as he doesn't cry for more.

My older two never took a bottle. DD does and at 9.5mo is not near being able to drink significant amounts from a sippy despite having water in one every day.  Plus there is no waste or mess with a bottle which is important to me when it is breast milk that I have worked so hard to make and pump. I see lots of 12-24mos with bottles but it is much less common after 2yo and certainly by 3 I'd think that would be the minority of children. 12mo is the ideal but not always practical.

[centrestage88]

Thks ladies! He has accepted the bottle. Still prefers the boob, but he will take about 3 oz from it.  appreciate your help!

[*Ali*]

I'm sure if you offer consistently he will start taking more.