Baby Prefers Bottle

[bloominginHK]

My son is 9 months and has been a nursing champ until about a week/week and a half ago. It seems all of a sudden he won't nurse but prefers a bottle. He feeds 4 times a day 7:30am, 12 noon, 4pm and 7:30pm. He does okay on the 1st two feeds and then that's all I can get him to nurse.

Is it possible that he just prefers the bottle? This makes me really sad. Not that there's anything wrong with formula but I love nursing and wasn't quite ready to stop.

Would appreciate any input! Thanks!

 

[LLL_Sarah]

Dear bloominginHK,

When babies prefer the bottle it is usually a flow problem. The flow from the bottle is constant whereas the flow at the breast starts fast and then gets slower and slower until the baby looses interest.

As your baby is already nine months old, one suggestion would be to stop the bottles and offer a cup instead. This way the baby will not get any sucking and be more likely to breastfeed. Also he will not get so upset at the breast because he won't have the fast flow of the bottle to compare to.

Often babies are more willing to breastfeed when they are either just waking up or about to go to sleep, especially during the night. If this is the case for your baby try to make the room cool and dark to copy the nighttime environment during the day.

Does swapping sides help? If so, then it is fine to swap sides 6, 7, 8 times during the feed

It is very common for babies to be more fussy in the afternoon and evening time and more common for mothers to be under stress at these times. It can be a long time between lunch and dinner - make sure you have a sit down and a snack to boost you energy levels.

But remember as long as you are breastfeeding your baby has the benefits of being a breastfed baby. As the baby takes less milk during the day the antibodies in the milk concentrate and so even with one feed a day he is still getting a lot of protection from your milk.

Best wishes,
SARAH