Introducing a Bottle to Your Breastfed Baby
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Introducing a Bottle to Your Breastfed Baby
Maybe you're heading back to work, maybe your partner wants to share a night feed, or maybe you'd simply love a couple of hours to yourself. Whatever the reason, offering a bottle of your expressed milk doesn't have to mean the end of breastfeeding. With a little patience and the right approach, many babies happily do both.
When Is a Good Time to Start?
Most UK guidance suggests waiting until breastfeeding is well established before you bring in a bottle, which for many families is around six weeks. By then your baby has usually got the hang of feeding at the breast, and your supply has had time to settle into a rhythm. If you're returning to work, try starting a few weeks before your first day, so nobody is learning under pressure.
Every family is different, though. If your baby needs extra milk earlier for a medical reason, follow the advice of your midwife or health visitor.
Let Someone Else Offer It
Babies are clever. If you're right there, smelling of milk, your little one may wonder why they're being handed a bottle instead. It often goes more smoothly when a partner, grandparent or friend offers the first few bottles, ideally while you pop into another room. Choose a calm moment when your baby is showing early hunger cues, rather than when they're already upset and very hungry.
Try Responsive, Paced Bottle Feeding
Bottles can deliver milk faster than the breast, so a slower, baby-led style of feeding can help your baby stay in charge of how much they drink, and make switching between breast and bottle feel more natural.
Paced feeding, step by step
- Hold baby close and fairly upright, with their head and body in a straight line, and make eye contact.
- Invite, don't insert. Gently brush the teat against your baby's top lip and wait for them to open wide and draw it in.
- Keep the bottle fairly level, tilted just enough to fill the teat with milk, so your baby has to suck to get a flow.
- Pause every so often. Lower the bottle or tip it down slightly to give your baby a little break, just as they'd naturally pause at the breast.
- Follow their lead. If they turn away, push the teat out or slow right down, they may have had enough. Never encourage a baby to finish a bottle.
Protecting Your Milk Supply
Breast milk works on supply and demand, so if a bottle replaces a breastfeed regularly, your body may start to make a little less. Expressing at around the time your baby has their bottle can help keep things steady, and it also builds up a handy store for next time. A hands-free pump can make that much easier to fit around a busy day.
If Your Baby Says No (at First)
Plenty of breastfed babies refuse a bottle the first few times, and that's completely normal. Try again another day, try a different time of day, or try a different teat shape or flow. Some babies prefer their milk slightly warmer, closer to body temperature. Keep sessions short and relaxed. If it's not working, stop, cuddle, and come back to it later.
Good to know
Once your baby has started drinking from a bottle of expressed milk, use it within an hour and throw away anything left over. If you're worried about your baby's feeding, weight or nappies, speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP. The National Breastfeeding Helpline is open 24 hours a day on 0300 100 0212.
The MOCHi Wearable Breast Pump fits discreetly inside your bra, so you can express hands-free and keep a supply of milk ready for whoever's doing the next feed.
Shop the Wearable Breast PumpBreast, bottle or both, every feed is a cuddle and a connection. #MOCHiMums
The advice on timing and responsive bottle feeding in this post reflects current guidance from UK NHS trusts. It's general information, not a substitute for advice from your midwife, health visitor or GP.
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