Which bottles/nipples for newborns?
- Thread starter jaetee
- Start date
carang
Registered User
every child will have their own preference. my son didn't care about the bottle, but he really liked the nipples with the "flaps" or "wings" on the sides. now, he doesn't care as he only drinks his milk from a bottle. (i really should try to get him off of the bottle altogether, it's just that he loves his milk still and drinks about 9oz per serving 4-5 times per day!
If you're going to breastfeed, most experts advise not introducing bottles at all for the first few weeks. It is recommended to give other milk (if needed) via a feeding cup or a syringe which they should have at the hospital. That way you avoid any risk of "nipple confusion", which is a common cause of breastfeeding problems. Basically the sucking action is quite different between a bottle and the breast, and in the early weeks when the baby is learning to breastfeed then it's best for them to concentrate on that alone. Also, your milk supply is likely to be better if all your baby's sucking is done at the breast.
Of course some clever babies can manage both equally well, but many are not so lucky!
Lots of people want to be able to give bottles now and again, but if you introduce them too early (and too many), you increase the likelihood that your breastfeeding relationship will last days/weeks rather than the weeks/months you were envisaging. 4 to 6 weeks is supposed to time when breastfeeding is regarded as well established and you can introduce a bottle without risking nipple confusion. You will be surprised at just how fast 4 weeks can pass when you are looking after a newborn baby 24/7!!!
You don't sound very confident about your potential ability to breastfeed. Maybe you have had friends who were not able to breastfeed successfully. Perhaps they didn't get the right support, information or help, or tried to cope by themselves without seeking help. Rest assured that if you have the right support, information and help, there are very few women who can't breastfeed successfully. I have found La Leche League (www.LLLHK.org) very helpful to me personally - they give advice for free on the phone and at their meetings. There are also individuals such as at Annerley Midwives who do home visits for a fee.
Of course some clever babies can manage both equally well, but many are not so lucky!
Lots of people want to be able to give bottles now and again, but if you introduce them too early (and too many), you increase the likelihood that your breastfeeding relationship will last days/weeks rather than the weeks/months you were envisaging. 4 to 6 weeks is supposed to time when breastfeeding is regarded as well established and you can introduce a bottle without risking nipple confusion. You will be surprised at just how fast 4 weeks can pass when you are looking after a newborn baby 24/7!!!
You don't sound very confident about your potential ability to breastfeed. Maybe you have had friends who were not able to breastfeed successfully. Perhaps they didn't get the right support, information or help, or tried to cope by themselves without seeking help. Rest assured that if you have the right support, information and help, there are very few women who can't breastfeed successfully. I have found La Leche League (www.LLLHK.org) very helpful to me personally - they give advice for free on the phone and at their meetings. There are also individuals such as at Annerley Midwives who do home visits for a fee.
somebodyfamous
Registered User
dr brown! less gassy for babies 
Breast feeding doing fine. nipple confusion isnt really an issue
Breast feeding doing fine. nipple confusion isnt really an issue
rani
Administrator
We didn't have a problem with nipple confusion either. I gave D his first bottle at 6 weeks. We only gave him 1 bottle a day and it was usually at his last feed at 10pm, which DH was responsible for and he enjoyed. When I joined the Well Baby Clinic at the Canossa, I got a bag of freebies. One was a 4oz Nuk bottle. We started with Nuk and then switched to Avent later.
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carang
Registered User
we never had a problem with nipple confusion either. my boy got both from about one week. we tried the cup feeding but at 4am after being up and down most of the night, we just couldn't hack it any more. we also found that there was much less wastage with the bottle than with the cup feeding. never had a syringe, but if we had, we probably would have used that.
we tried avent, but that was the ONLY bottle/nipple that he didn't like.
we tried avent, but that was the ONLY bottle/nipple that he didn't like.
The bottles with the "wings" are called Pigeon and are also available at Mannings.
We also started off with Avent and all seemed well, but after a few weeks he started to refuse the bottle. We then switched to many other brands such as Dr Brown, tommy tippee, chicco, mothercare, nuk, pigeon but with little success. In the end, I gave up on the bottles altogether, but if you have to return to work then you will need to persevere. Good luck.
We also started off with Avent and all seemed well, but after a few weeks he started to refuse the bottle. We then switched to many other brands such as Dr Brown, tommy tippee, chicco, mothercare, nuk, pigeon but with little success. In the end, I gave up on the bottles altogether, but if you have to return to work then you will need to persevere. Good luck.