Hello, I may be going back to work from May 1st. Please let me know when to start bottle (with BM) for my LO. I have half a dozen avent bottles...now here and there i am expressing milk in the bottles and giving him through 'Paaladai'. My Pedi is very clear on not to give formulas before 6 months. But i am not sure whether LO would get adjusted to bottles that time. Is it fine to train him with the bottles early? Please advise
Hi Padmini, Considering the hygiene part and that if you intend to nurse him @ nights too, I feel its best to go with sippy cup. I started with bottle only once a day in the first month, then discontinued and later after three months bowl and spoon and then sippy cup. http://www.indusladies.com/forums/infants/82241-sippy-cup-success-yay.html Bacteria breeds more in the bottle. The reason being is that the bottle cleaner does not reach the tip of the bottle and plus its a pain to sterilise too. Bowl-spoon feeding is a bit cumbersome to begin with but the most hygenic and you can safely nurse at nights too. This was just my experience.
Thanks so much Lee...even i thought of moving directly to sippy cup. I also have the Avent sterilizer, wont that clean the bottles perfectly? I am not sure, haven't tried yet.
Padmini, at that stage it is best to clean both sippy cups and bottles well and sterilise them... the newer cups can be started from 3 months. If yours is not those mega bottles cleaning should be easy. Avent sterilizer should do well, indeed... The advice is to wait till 6 weeks for breastfeeding to be well established and then start bottle feeding. If you are sure that the bfing is well established at whatever stage, you should be able to feed from both bottles and breast. Pick a feeding when he wont be very hungry, after he wakes up from naps - the feed before naps is when they would like to nurse to sleep. Good luck.
Padmini, I am feeding LO once/twice a day with cup-spoon Or the bottle with spoon. Yes and I like tikka said, choose a time when he will not be very hungry. LO sometimes feeds through spoon, but will still like to feed from breast. I hope she will get used to it in time.
Padmini, Who is going to manage LO in your absence? Its best if someone other than the mother introduces the medium. What I did was I started going to church for 2 hours or so after forty days and then my mother fed DD, in that way I got DD used to the medium. At home you can take any one time for LO to get used to the medium. Keep the same time assuming your work time. You can try yourself too and see if LO gets adjusted to the medium. Out here, paeds are not advising bottles. I consulted two paeds and both said use bowl and spoon sterilise and give baby. Again its a matter of choice, some kids do not remember much that they had milk through bottle and will adjust, others will be very strict about the medium and give up. Knowing your child's nature you can decide. I am not aware of Avent steriliser but if it helps nothing like it.
padmini, i guess every baby is diff, at the moment LO is happy with both bottle n breast although she loves the bottle, she doesnt really refuse the breast.. and i bottlefeed her myself. i was skeptical since babies do seem to refuse bottles once exclusively bf, but then thr are babies who prefer either.... so it really depends on ur LO irrespective of wat u use, bottles, spoon cup, sippy cup... bottle with spoon... please sterilize till ur bub is old enough. btw i started bottles with zoey only 4 days back.n i give her expressed milk.at the moment the plan is to give her only my milk till she is atleast a yr old... only if the pump thing doesnt sort out too well with me, then i think i wld put her on formula, but not before she is 6 months old.
Thanks tikka, sumanr, Poonam and Lee.. I have already started the medium when he was 2 days old, we gave him milk through Paaladai when he was in NICU and now i am cont it for giving medicines and he is fine with Paaladai. Sippy cup, yes it is a good start, but i think to give that, atleast he should get his neck support. my MIL would be taking care of him in my absence, by then i join wrk he wld be 5 months and wondering whether he will adjust to bottles. My SIL's daughter simply refused the bottles when she tried that in her 3rd month, so she started it from 45 days for her son and he is fine with that. My concern is if I introduce bottle at the later stage say at 4th month and if he refuse it, my MIL wld be suffering feeding him. Also, please advise, do i really need a breast pump to pump and feed him in my absence. I want to breast feed him atleast till 1 yr. If i join back work my May, I wld be feeding him only in the morning and nights. Wld that be enough with formulas? and my Pedi strictly said no to formulas b4 6 months.