Not all babies from the first time agree to receive food from a bottle. But often mom just has no choice. In order to teach a child to drink from a bottle, you will need ingenuity and patience. And if you use some tips, the problem will be solved quickly and calmly, both for you and for the child.
Unfortunately, a mother cannot always put her baby to her breast. Sometimes this is prevented by her illness or forced excommunication from the child for a long time, and there are also frequent cases when breastfeeding is contraindicated.
Also, a mother can give her baby a bottle of herbal tea, water, children's fees. However, the main reason for teaching a baby to bottle-feeding is the transition to another type of feeding - mixed or artificial.
Why does your baby refuse a bottle?
The situation when a baby does not like to drink from a bottle is absolutely normal. After all, nature has ordered that the basis of his diet is breast milk, and the best means of feeding is female breasts. Therefore, the baby, from birth, unconsciously reaches for the chest, and the nipple is more convenient for him than any of the most expensive nipples. But the bottle itself is not always the cause of failure:
- the baby is not hungry
This is a commonplace reason, but sometimes parents do not take this fact into account. It is also worth considering that the need for children in fluids increases in proportion to their age. In addition, an older child and moves more often. Therefore, do not be surprised when a six-month-old baby is happy to drink from a bottle, which he stubbornly did not want to recognize in two months.
- the child does not like the drink that they give him from the bottle
The fact is that each adapted milk mixture has its own taste. It may be sweeter or fresher. So give the baby a try several types of mixtures.
Water, tea or a medicine, all the more, may not appeal to the baby. In these cases, ingenuity and imagination are required to water the child.
- cold or too hot liquid
Remember that the mucous membrane of the children's mouth is much more sensitive than that of adults. Therefore, always heat the drink to a temperature of 36-37 degrees. It is this temperature that mother's milk has. Therefore, this indicator is the most optimal for young children.
- wrong nipple
The nipple that you liked may not suit your baby at all. He may not like the rate of fluid intake, which depends on the size of the hole, as well as the shape of the product itself. It happens that a child refuses a nipple, although he used to drink from it with pleasure. Most likely, you recently changed a pacifier, the shape of which did not appeal to him.Or maybe she emits a sharp smell of rubber, interrupting the child’s appetite.
- wrong posture and improperly selected atmosphere
That position, which when feeding is comfortable for the mother, may be uncomfortable for the newborn. Try giving him a bottle while sitting on his hands, lying down, on the side and in other poses. Change the setting. Perhaps very soon you will find a pose and a place where the baby agrees to drink from a bottle.
We also read: how to choose a feeding bottle
Recommendations
If your child is breast-fed, and you need a bottle exclusively for taking medicine or supplementary feeding, then it is not necessary to teach your baby to it. Moreover, many pediatricians and pediatric dentists speak about the negative impact of nipples and bottles on the formation of occlusion. Therefore, in this case, you can use a beaker, spoon or syringe without a needle. And if you can not do without a bottle, then you have to try.
What to do so that the baby begins to drink from the bottle:
- act gradually
To familiarize the crumbs with a new subject, let him examine the bottle and hold it in his hands when he is not yet hungry. Accustom yourself to bottle feeding gradually, starting once a day and gradually increasing the number of feedings. If you go to work, you need to teach your child to drink from a bottle no later than two weeks before this event. Offering a drink, squeeze a drop of milk from the nipple into the baby's mouth.
- imitate breastfeeding
Mother's breasts are a source of maternal care, sedation and protection. Therefore, if it is convenient for the child himself, drinking from a bottle should be associated with breastfeeding. Hold it as you would while breastfeeding while breastfeeding. The bottle nipple should be at the level of the breast nipple. It is most convenient to place the baby on his lap and, holding it with one hand, hold the bottle with the other.
- experiment
If you are faced with a firm rejection of the newborn from the bottle, it makes sense to offer him a bottle with different nipples, whose assortment is large today. Let the baby test the silicone, latex, standard round, flat and orthodontic nipples, reminiscent of a female breast’s nipple. Sometimes, surprising parents, children choose the cheapest ordinary nipple. You can also offer a bottle by slightly changing the temperature of the liquid. After all, some babies love warm drink, while others are better than cool.
- choose the best time
Naturally, it makes no sense to offer a well-fed child a drink from a bottle. But also to wait when he is very hungry, is also not worth it. A hungry baby will be nervous and capricious. And, as you know, he is unlikely to wish to study a new means of feeding, but will demand that he be fed as before.
- ask for help
The presence of a mother when trying to drink a baby from a bottle does not always contribute to success, especially if he is still breastfeeding. Therefore, ask for help from a grandmother, nanny, or other woman with experience in caring for young children. Fathers of children are not always able to withstand children's whims. Therefore, at the initial stage of training for a bottle, it is better not to attract dad.
- be unobtrusive and patient
In such a responsible process as bottle training, the main thing is care and patience. At the very first feeding, try to gently draw a nipple over the lips of the crumbs. It is possible that, following the instinct, he would take it in his mouth, as he would take a nipple of the chest. Make sure the nipple is fully taken. If the baby does not take the initiative, carefully insert the nipple into his mouth.
We also read:How much breast milk or mixture should a newborn eat per day in the first days of life
When your efforts bear fruit and your child agrees to take drink and food from the bottle, do not forget about hygiene and safety. Be present during the entire feeding process.If your goal is to feed the baby with the mixture while maintaining breastfeeding, buy nipples with a gentle flow so that he has to “work”, as during breastfeeding.
We also read: All About Artificial Feeding (IV)
Video: teach the bottle
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Video gallery: How to bottle feed
At one time, it was necessary to introduce complementary foods for the daughter due to the fact that she was lying in the day department in the hospital and underwent procedures. But the daughter did not accept the bottle, they tried to change the nipples, but this did not lead to anything. Therefore, the husband fed his daughter with a spoon.
To teach my daughter to the bottle I had to make a lot of effort. For a long time I changed different bottles, since some she did not perceive at all. Pretended. that I am breastfeeding. My mother also advised me to feed at the same time. As a result, they accustomed to a bottle with grief in half.
From my own experience, I can also add that at the first attempts to accustom a baby to a bottle, it is better to use nipples that are reminiscent of a woman’s breast in shape (well, you know, wide in the lower part and gradually tapering). And you need to carefully look so that the nipple does not have too large a hole - turn the bottle upside down and count how many drops it drips in one second. Optimal - 1 drop per 1 second.