My usual suggestions to moms in this position:

1) wait till at least 4 weeks to introduce a bottle - 6 weeks is even
better, if a mom has that much "lead time". But don't start out right from
the first trying to "get the baby to take a bottle so he'll be ready in 6
weeks" - I've seen that kind of thinking really kill a good BFing start
many, many times. A week or so before return to work is usually fine.

2) when you're introducing a bottle occasionally just so that the baby will
be used to it when the time comes, don't substitute bottle feeds for "real"
(at breast) ones. And make the timing of the bottles kind of random - ie.,
not at the same time each day, but just sort of every now and then.

3) don't start trying to "push" the baby onto a "schedule" weeks in
advance - babies change so fast that its not worth mucking around with a
successful BFing experience. Besides, it's not likely to work, in my
experience.

4) keep the first couple of times with the bottle light-hearted - don't go
at it with a do-or-die attitude

5) *maybe* having someone other than mom introduce the bottle. Maybe it will
*have* to be the mom, at first. Maybe you'll have to try to make the
experience as different from breastfeeding as possible. Or maybe you'll have
to try to make it as much like BFing as possible. Babies are so very
different, and this is definitely an area where you have to be pretty
willing to just try all different approaches till you find what will work
for *this* baby. Remember, the baby hasn't read the rule book!

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY

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