Will giving my baby a bottle sabotage my breastfeeding journey?

True or false: Bottles will sabotage your breastfeeding journey

False. Bottles are not the enemy of breastfeeding. They can be useful tools in your journey to grow and feed your baby. It is completely possible to raise a baby and never give them a bottle. It is also completely OK to use both a bottle and still exclusively breast milk feed!! Bottles are a great vehicle to give your milk when you are not able to directly breastfeed your baby. Such as when you work, have an appointment, or just need a break. 

To be sure the bottle don’t interfere with our breastfeeding goals, remember:

🧷Make the bottle work like the breast. Stick to the slowest flow baby will take. It should take your baby about the same amount of time to take a bottle as they feed at the breast. This is different for every baby, but around 15-30 minutes is usually recommended. If you have a very fast flow, you can use a faster flow bottle nipple

🧷Make sure baby latches deeply to the bottle, lips flanged like at the breast and not just on the tip of the nipple. You want to avoid bottle nipples that promote a mouth that looks like it’s drinking from a straw

🧷You need to feed something to maintain milk supply: If baby is feeding from a bottle, you should be feeding your pump. “Nipple confusion” is just flow preference. If baby is getting more milk from a bottle than they would at the breast, they may become frustrated at the lack of flow or volume. Make sure your caregiver isn’t overfeeding from the bottle. If you’re not pumping what they’re taking, work with an IBCLC to figure out why

🧷Only offer a pacifier after baby has fed or when in the car/attempting to sleep. Remove the pacifier once it’s done it’s job and the baby is asleep or calm

🧷Feed the baby at first signs of hunger and don’t wait until some imaginary time for them “to be hungry”. Watch the baby and not the clock

🧷Don’t fall for the marketing. Bottles that “look like the breast” usually don’t work like one. It’s the nipple that matters, not the shape of the container. Use a tapered bottle nipple like the Pigeon, Evenflo Balance, Lansinoh, Guilicola, Evenflo Classic, or narrow Dr Brown’s