Nipple Confusion

[adelynn]

Hi All

I am a new mother to a week old infant and is currently doing total breast feeding and have some questions regarding feeding expressed breast milk to my child.

1. If i want to feed expressed breast milk to my child but want to avoid nipple confusion (as told my the nurses @ KK), how should i feed? The nurses @ KK recommended cup feeding or spoon feeding, but that takes painfully long.

2. At what stage/age can i introduce the bottle to her & still avoid 'nipple confusion' and how should i do the introduction?

Thanks!

 

[ohstrawberry]

Hi,

My baby is now 2 weeks old, abt 1week old, i already pump out my breastmilk to bottlefeed him at night cause sometimes at night my mum can help to feed him if i'm too tired.
Daytime i will still let him latch on, so far he don't have any issue with nipple confusion, moreover he also sucks on pacifier. Guess it depends on your baby if she can adapt to the change.

 

[camom]

I was told 6 weeks.

 

[diymummy]

Best way to prevent nipple confusion is by cup feeding. This was told to me by GlenE's lactation consultant.

Best time to intro bottle is after 1 mth. This is what my friend told me.

Personally, I did what ohstrawberry mummy did. I express and feed. I breastfeed directly as well. My son did experience a little nipple confusion so I switched to total direct latching with only 1 bottle feed a day so that he still knows how to use the bottle. All these were done in his first month.

 

[Stan]

Right from day 1 i bottle feed my baby with EBM as well as latch... Only very slight confusion......usually she will 'test test' a bit and proceed to drink her milk...

 

[pink kitty]

in light o this my bb oso experinced nipple confusion i oso latch on direct n bott feed ebm is it distressing for bb to switch from nipple to bott during each feed

 

[adelynn]

Dear All

Thanks for the replies. I am currently doing cup feeding as told my KK's lactation consultion(or my hubby in the night) and it is very tiring for him especially that he has to work in the day.

For mummies who do both latch on and bottle feed in the same day, how does your baby react to the bottle and the next latch on after the bottle feed? and does it cause any 'distress' to the baby to be switching between both?

 

[woofy55]

so glad to hear that some of u intro both bf and bottle feeding.. cos i took it very hard when today we gave him bottle feed.. cos he was crying non stop and refuse to take from my breasts. Will try latching on later on him again.. if bo bian then give bottle feed.. wish me luck - i still hope to enjoy the unique feeling of latching.. and i only did it for 10days (my baby just born).

 

[uddermummy]

hi adelyn, you may want to try feeding using a syringe cos that was what i did initially for dd.

The prob with syringe feeding is that your bb will expect to have milk fed to him very quickly, and may get impatient when you latch him on. That was what happened to me.

if you are going to use the syringe, don't squirt the milk into the back of bb's throat, cos that will make the bb gag, but squirt the milk along the inner side of his gums so that the milk will trickle down his throat when he swallows.

alternatively, you may want to feed your bb at night using the lying down position. You lay on your side, tummy to tummy with bb, and bb's mouth is at the level of your nipple. You then latch bb on.

To feel more comfortable, you can curl your arm under the pillow, and prop another pillow between your knees. You'll have to make sure that your back is straight and not feeling any strain.

 

[adelynn]

hi adelyn, you may want to try feeding using a syringe cos that was what i did initially for dear daughter.

The prob with syringe feeding is that your baby will expect to have milk fed to him very quickly, and may get impatient when you latch him on. That was what happened to me.

if you are going to use the syringe, dont't squirt the milk into the back of baby's throat, cos that will make the baby gag, but squirt the milk along the inner side of his gums so that the milk will trickle down his throat when he swallows.

alternatively, you may want to feed your baby at night using the lying down position. You lay on your side, tummy to tummy with baby, and baby's mouth is at the level of your nipple. You then latch baby on.

To feel more comfortable, you can curl your arm under the pillow, and prop another pillow between your knees. You'll have to make sure that your back is straight and not feeling any strain.

Hi uddermummy

thanks for the alternatives. I will try using feeding in the lying down position. Sounds easy but not sure if i can get the hang of it, will try tonight.

We gave up on cup feeding cuz it was taking too long and my hubby got tired in the day and it dun make sense for me to cup feed her when i can get her to latch on (haha, lazy me)

I am hoping to be able to maintain 100% latch on until at least when my girl turns anything between 6 to 8 weeks, before introducing the bottle.

 

[uddermummy]

hi adelyn, you're welcome. Actually, if you find that bb is latching on well, and is putting on weight, you could intro the bottle at most once a day.

diff babies react diff to the bottle. My girl was v confused by the bottle and gave me sore nipples, so i avoided the bottle as much as possible.

 

[adelynn]

hi adelyn, you're welcome. Actually, if you find that baby is latching on well, and is putting on weight, you could intro the bottle at most once a day.

diff babies react diff to the bottle. My girl was very confused by the bottle and gave me sore nipples, so i avoided the bottle as much as possible.

my girl has this 'habit'. before she latches on, she seems to be like licking the nipple for some time, as though exploring or tasting it. i sometimes have to take the nipple away from her (sometimes several times over) and try again before she latches on. Is this normal?

How do i know the signs of nipple confusion? What would the baby typically do?

 

[uddermummy]

lick the nipple? Is it because she can't latch on?

My ger now will finger my nipple, but she does that when she's full and doesn't want any more milk.

If your ger can't latch on after you've introed the bottle or pacifier, and is giving you sore nipples, then that's considered nipple confusion.

some bbs, like my ger, takes a while to learn how to latch on properly.

when she's latched on properly, you will feel your ger's mouth forming an air-tight suction around your nipple. The tongue will actually be licking the bottom part of the areole, and you shouldn't feel pain at the nipple at all.

if you feel discomfort, you can use your index finger to push bb's chin lower so that the mouth opens wider. but if at any time you feel ouch, then you'll have to relatch bb.

Also, the top and bottom lips will be like fish lips and will be curled outwards.

 

[adelynn]

lick the nipple? Is it because she can't latch on?

My ger now will finger my nipple, but she does that when she's full and doesn't want any more milk.

If your ger can't latch on after you've introed the bottle or pacifier, and is giving you sore nipples, then that's considered nipple confusion.

some bbs, like my ger, takes a while to learn how to latch on properly.

when she's latched on properly, you will feel your ger's mouth forming an air-tight suction around your nipple. The tongue will actually be licking the bottom part of the areole, and you shouldn't feel pain at the nipple at all.

if you feel discomfort, you can use your index finger to push baby's chin lower so that the mouth opens wider. but if at any time you feel ouch, then you'll have to relatch baby.

Also, the top and bottom lips will be like fish lips and will be curled outwards.

not sure if it's cuz she can't latch on cuz when i take the nipple from her and 're-introduce' and tease her with it she is able to latch on. so i'm not sure if she is unable to latch on well or she is just 'playing or exploring' the nipple...

I had some pain and sore nipples when she was just born and we were still getting 'used' to each other.. now i dun have any pain or such...

i will try to introduce the bottle to her. Any recommendation on teats?

 

[Mummy to Baby V]

- More appropriate to introduce bottle after milk supply is well-established from week 6 (growth spurt), and before week 8.
- if baby loves the bottle, 1 bottle alternate days.
- if baby doesn't like it, try once a day.
- if stop introducing bottle to baby for a while, he may reject the bottle like my boy. Then try cup-feeding.
Our experiences shared at cups Mummy's Reviews

Side lying position to feed is very comfortable and Mummy can have a good rest while feeding baby.

Happy breastfeeding!

Cheers,
Mummy to Baby V
Win a $30 Modern Cloth Diaper at Mummy's Reviews Giveaway

 

[uddermummy]

not sure if it's cuz she can't latch on cuz when i take the nipple from her and 're-introduce' and tease her with it she is able to latch on. so i'm not sure if she is unable to latch on well or she is just 'playing or exploring' the nipple...

I had some pain and sore nipples when she was just born and we were still getting 'used' to each other.. now i dont have any pain or such...

i will try to introduce the bottle to her. Any recommendation on teats?

if you are able to latch on well, and she's feeding well, you could try with one bottle a day. Some pple say can intro after 3 weeks, some prefer to wait after 6 weeks when the breastfeeding relationship is more established. If you need to go back to work soon, you may want to start sooner. But must trial and error.

I used the teats that came with the medela bpa free bottles. My ger was fine with those. Maybe you can try those that you have first? If she rejects them, then maybe you can look for those that say they are for breastfed bbs.

My ger also started to reject the bottle when she was about 3 months old. She's now drinking her water from a sippy cup with straw.

Remember not to intro the pacifier to your ger at the same time as the bottle, to avoid more confusion. :001_302: