Encouraging Baby to Accept Bottle
When to Give Your Baby Their First Bottle
Don't attempt to introduce bottles to your baby when he is very hungry. He is more likely to be happy to try the bottle if he isn't wildly hungry. Choose a time your baby is relaxed and content, but not tired. Strange as it sounds, your baby is more likely to accept a bottle from someone other than you. This is because babies can smell their mother's milk, and if they are breastfed, associate their mothers with breastfeeding. Ask your partner or relative to give your baby their first bottle, and subsequent bottles if it's possible. Once they are used to it they will be happy to have a bottle from you.
To make the transition from breast to bottle easier for your baby, try expressing some breastmilk and using this in the first bottle you give your baby. If your baby accepts this, use a blend of breastmilk and formula milk, and then switch to just formula milk for the next bottle. Put a bit of breastmilk on the teat to encourage your baby to drink the bottle and pour some sterilised, warm water on the teat to warm it up.
Depending on your baby's age when you wean him off the breast, he might be able to hold the bottle himself and enjoy exploring it. He might even put it in his mouth and feed himself.
Teats come in all shapes and sizes so if your baby doesn't seem to like the teat on his bottle, try a different one. Teats made out of latex are generally softer than silicone teats. If your baby rejects the bottle, it may be that the flow of milk is either too fast or too slow for him. Switch to a teat with a different flow to see if this makes a difference.
Weaning Straight from Breast to Cup
Some parents skip the bottle stage altogether and wean their baby from the breast straight to a cup. The advantages of this is that it avoids the need to wean your baby from a bottle to cup later on (NHS guidelines recommend that babies should switch from bottles to cups by the time they are 12 months). A sippy cup is a beaker with two handles, a lid, and a spout for your baby to drink from. You can introduce a sippy cup to your baby when they are 6 months, but while some are happy to drink from it, others aren't yet ready to give up their bottle! If you want to try a cup, its best to avoid non-spill ones, as they require your baby to suck the water out, rather than teach them how to sip. Take your baby shopping with you and let them choose which one they like. Show your baby how to use it and congratulate them when they use it properly. Be patient with your baby, it can take babies a while to get used to something new. Let your baby play with the sippy cup, giving him time to 'discover' it.
