Hi, all

I get this kind of call frequently as well, and while I usually try to
reassure moms that there are other--perhaps even more preferable--ways to
feed a baby who isn't at the breast, the reality is that many look at cups
and syringes totally outside the "norm" of how a baby is supposed to be
cared for. (As if bottles were supposed to be in that norm....)

Anyway, I have a few tips for these moms, and share them willingly, because
in doing so, I may just keep a baby nursing a little longer in addition to
whatever/however else he's being fed:

1. DON'T give a hungry baby a bottle! At least not at first. It drives me
nuts to hear folks say, "If he gets hungry enough he will eat!"
Unfortunately (well, no, make that fortunately! ;-) ) baby doesn't recognize
this strange piece of plastic as being something that will take care of the
hunger pains in his belly.

Imagine if you were crawling across a desert, half starved and dehydrated,
and someone came to your rescue and handed you a nintendo....

2. A bottle will be a novelty for baby, just like any new toy. Give it to
baby at a time he is relaxed and in an alert stage. Let him mouth it and
check it out. He's eventually going to discover that there is something
familiar in the bottle (hopefully).

3. Don't force the nipple in his mouth. Tap the lips and wait for him to
open. Don't force it!

4. Someone other than mom probably needs to give the first bottle, and the
closer to feeding time, the more important that is. BF babies are smart
enough to know where the real stuff does and should come from.

5. Experiment with different positions. Some babies do better in a cradle
hold, some prefer to sit facing out, watching cartoons or something mindless
on tv or out a window. Some may do better if the caregiver is dancing.

6. Baby needs to learn to associate what is in the bottle to the bottle.
Smell can help. Have caregiver wrap the bottle in a gown/shirt/nursing bra
of mom's so he smells her again. Might be helpful if the caregiver
(especially if someone outside the immediate family) didn't wear perfume or
other strongly scented stuff.

7. I've heard one tale of a dad putting on his wife's robe and sticking the
bottle under his arm and "nursing" the baby. (Gives new meaning to a
"supernumerary nipple," eh?)

8. Remember that this is a new skill and may take some time before baby is
comfortable with it as an alternative feeding method.

Hope this helps!

Melissa Vickers, IBCLC
[log in to unmask]