How to teach a child to drink from a bottle: possible difficulties and tips for overcoming them

The sucking skill is inherent in babies by nature. A newborn who is put to the breast knows what to do to get milk. For almost all children, this mechanism turns on automatically. In some cases, when the mother has problems, the baby is first given a bottle , after which the child refuses the breast . A similar problem can also arise if a nursing mother needs to go away and in her absence the baby will be fed expressed milk from a bottle.

Let's try to cheat!

There is no crime in such deception as simulating breastfeeding.
Breastfed children develop better, get sick less, and behave calmer. And the point here is not only in the composition of mother’s milk (often the mixture contains more “benefits”), but in the sensations of the baby at such a tender age. When a child is at the mother’s breast, the “birth umbilical cord” is strengthened between him and the mother - a connection given by nature and lasting for 12 long years. Some people retain this “umbilical cord” for life.

This strong, close connection is very important for the further proper development of the baby! So there is no harm in trying to deceive the baby with a bottle with a nipple instead of a “live” breast, strengthening in him a feeling of confidence in the future on the one hand, and a feeling of satiety and peace emanating from the still unusual nipple, on the other.

How to properly hold a baby in the face of such deception?

Let's take the baby as you would hold him during normal breastfeeding: the head rests on the shoulder near the chest, the back and shoulders rest on the arm itself (at the same time you need to slightly press the body towards you), with the other hand you bring the baby a bottle, trying to “convince” him that the pacifier and your nipple are one and the same. In essence, this is how it is. If you are uncomfortable sitting (which happens after childbirth), try lying down, standing up, or taking any suitable position. The main thing is that the baby’s “beak” should be opposite your chest.

What to do if your baby won't take the pacifier

If your baby does not want to take the pacifier, there is no need to insist. In general, doctors strongly do not recommend giving a pacifier in the first days after birth; this should only be done in the third or fourth week. If the baby has already developed the skill of proper breastfeeding and is hungry, he may not perceive the pacifier, realizing that a nipple and a pacifier are not the same thing.

If your baby refuses to take the pacifier, try waiting another week or even a month. Try the training methods suggested below from time to time, but don’t insist if it doesn’t work right away.

Everything should happen at the right time, and then you will not have any problems.

To accustom your baby to a pacifier, sometimes you need to wait a few weeks or months.

A few reasons against

Some parents, wanting their child not to disturb them, allow him to spend all his free time with a pacifier in his mouth. If your baby is already used to a pacifier, this is quite easy to achieve. But under no circumstances should you do this, and here’s why:

• Having started sucking a pacifier, the baby gradually “goes away” into this process, ceasing to look around and, accordingly, ceasing to explore the world that surrounds him. He becomes detached and even a little meaningless in his gaze. If you keep a child in this position for a long time, weeks and months on end, he begins to clearly lag behind his peers in his development;
• Children who are used to sucking a pacifier for a long time may well begin to speak later than others, or defects will appear in their speech. This has not been scientifically proven, but such a risk is clearly not worth discounting;
• easy to train, difficult to unlearn. Over time, when you come to your senses, weaning the baby from the usual accessory in the mouth will cost both of you a lot of nerves;
• Over time, sucking a pacifier for a long time can develop in a person a bad habit, a kind of “tic of obsessive movements.” A teenager will bite his nails, while an adult will constantly put the tip of a pencil or pen in his mouth, etc.

An extremely negative situation is when a young mother, having gone out for an hour-long walk with her baby, spends the entire hour talking to someone on the phone, thrusting a pacifier into her little son or daughter so that she “doesn’t interfere.” As a result, instead of watching other children or animals or communicating, the baby simply sits stupidly for the entire hour in the stroller, with a pacifier in his mouth, staring with a meaningless, detached gaze somewhere into space.

Is it necessary to teach - pros and cons?

Any pediatrician will offhand give examples from his practice when, due to the habit of a pacifier, a baby had problems with breastfeeding. The baby may either grasp the nipple incorrectly or swallow air during feeding, which leads to frequent regurgitation. The baby hasn’t even had enough to eat, but he’s already refusing to breastfeed and is getting tired.

In such situations, stopping the use of the pacifier can immediately improve the situation. And yet such cases are exceptions rather than the rule. Therefore, let’s try to list all the pros and cons of using a pacifier, because forewarned is, as they say, forearmed.

When is it good to give a pacifier?

The orthodontic pacifier is recommended by pediatricians for the correct formation of the jaw and teeth

This accessory will be useful to you in the following cases:

1. If you are preparing your baby for bed. When a baby puts a pacifier in his mouth, it calms him, just like normal breastfeeding. In such cases, children usually fall asleep on their own and do not have to be rocked to sleep for a long time. But as soon as the pacifier has done its job and the baby falls asleep, carefully remove the pacifier from the mouth.
2. If the newborn has gas. Sucking movements usually stimulate the intestines, as a result, gases will pass faster.
3. If the baby is capricious at the moment when, for example, you are getting him ready for a walk, traveling with him on public transport, or sitting in line to see the doctor. In such cases, the pacifier distracts the child a little, and he begins to behave calmer. However, as soon as the baby becomes interested in something else, it is better to remove the pacifier.

In the first six months of a baby's life, the sucking reflex is very strong. From time to time the baby puts it in his mouth and tries to suck either his fist or his fingers, so for hygiene it is better to still give him a pacifier. The pacifier calms even hyperactive or excitable babies, so there is nothing wrong with having it in your arsenal until about a year old.

Why does a baby not want to latch on after a bottle?

The reasons can be completely different:

• The mother places the baby incorrectly.
• Child illness (sore throat, nasal congestion, painful teething).
• Bloating.
• Weakness and malaise (often observed in children born prematurely).
• Getting used to an easier way to get food.
• Individual features of the nipple structure, when the baby cannot grasp it correctly.
• Deterioration in the taste of milk during menstruation or after eating certain foods.
• Discomfort due to cold or heat.
• Unusual or pungent smell from mom.
• Stressful state of the mother, fear of pain during feeding.
• Short frenulum in a child.
• Audible or visual distractions.

Don't be angry or offended by the baby. You need to try to understand the reason in order to quickly solve the problem.

How to teach a baby to use a bottle

• Firstly - “calm and only calm” in any situation and circumstances. The tired phrase: “The baby feels the mother and her emotional state” works 100%. Therefore, before offering your child a bottle, convince yourself that it is necessary and will benefit the baby.
• Be patient. Despite their early age, children from the first days of life have their own character and their own requirements. It didn’t work the first time, offer it again and again. Even if it’s from the tenth or fifteenth, the child will understand that you wish him well and will agree to your conditions.
• Watch the baby. Try giving the bottle when he is in a good mood or hungry. If this does not help, choose another time, for example, when the baby is getting ready for bed. As a rule, during this period a natural reflex is triggered and the baby instinctively takes the bottle.
• If the baby is not even a month old, the feeding position will be important. Position your baby as if you were breastfeeding. Offer the breast first. And then slowly change it to a bottle. But it should also contain your milk, so that the baby does not feel much difference and gradually gets used to the nipple. Later you can replace the contents with the mixture.

The process of a baby learning to use a bottle

If the causes are eliminated, it is not difficult to accustom your child to a bottle. To do this, you just need to periodically give it to your baby, and very soon he himself begins to drink milk or water from it. Since the nipple still imitates the breast, this will definitely happen.

To teach your baby, you can use some techniques that will help him better accept a bottle with a nipple instead of a breast (permanently or temporarily). What can be done:

1. Give your baby a bottle when he is half asleep. Smelling the smell of milk, he will begin to suck and will not understand that he was given something other than breast.
2. Choose the right time. It makes no sense to offer a baby something to eat when he is not yet hungry, but you also shouldn’t wait for him to cry from hunger - this could lead to hysterics. You need to calculate the approximate time of the next feeding and offer him a new method.
3. Create an association. If the child is accustomed to receiving breast milk from his mother, he can involve his father, grandmother, or someone else in the family with whom the baby has a trusting relationship to teach him a bottle. This same technique will be very useful when there is a temporary need for feeding in this way. The child will have a clear association with another person, and the risk that he will refuse the breast in favor of the pacifier will be minimized.
4. Create a feeling of security. Breastfeeding is not only the process of receiving food, but also one of the moments of close intimacy between mother and baby. When feeding from a bottle, you need to try to create a similar feeling: hold the baby in your arms so that he feels warm, talk to him affectionately, smile.

By 8-9 months, the baby will already learn to hold a bottle independently, and then even take it himself. Such achievements make children very happy, because they can see the result of their efforts and patience. However, another small problem may arise here - the bottle may become a new toy. Then you will need to convey the difference to the baby and as soon as he is satisfied, .

A regular bottle of breast milk, just like a pacifier, helps the baby get used to feeding on his own. Mothers are not always able to feed their child if urgent matters arise. What to do if a child refuses to take a bottle? Here are a few points that will definitely help in this matter.

Useful tips

If the first acquaintance was successful and you need to consolidate the positive result, you should use several useful tips:

Is your baby fussy when bottle feeding? The mixture may be coming in very slowly.

In this case, you can enlarge the hole in the tip, but it is important not to overdo it, otherwise the baby will choke; as mentioned above, you should choose the most optimal shape of the nipple. It is also important to take several of them, as they tend to “fail” at the most inopportune moment; the temperature of the silicone tip differs from the temperature of the mother's breast, so the nipple (as well as the bottle) should be slightly warmed before feeding under running warm water. When teething, on the contrary, the pacifier needs to be cooled to soothe the gums; it is strictly forbidden to leave a child alone with a bottle, especially if he is under four months old and constantly lies down

In such a situation, the baby may simply choke; if the transition to feeding from a plastic container was temporary, you need to give the bottle with the formula to the child not on your favorite sofa (where breastfeeding took place) and in a completely different position. Of course, you need to remember to take extra care of your feeding equipment. Bottles must be regularly sterilized and washed with a brush, but without cleaning agents.

When teething, on the contrary, the pacifier needs to be cooled to soothe the gums; It is strictly forbidden to leave a child alone with a bottle, especially if he is under four months old and constantly lies down. In such a situation, the baby may simply choke; if the transition to feeding from a plastic container was temporary, you need to give the bottle with the formula to the child not on your favorite sofa (where breastfeeding took place) and in a completely different position. Of course, you need to remember to take extra care of your feeding equipment. Bottles must be regularly sterilized and washed with a brush, but without cleaning agents.

Thus, properly accustoming a baby to a bottle must take into account all factors: the first meeting, the psychological mood of all participants in the process, the shape of the nipple, the temperature of the mixture and other conditions.

The recommendations described above will help every mother achieve positive results. A little patience and effort - and the child will eat from a bottle without much prodding, to the delight of his parents and grandmothers.

How to train: 5 main rules

To teach your child to use a bottle with formula for its intended purpose, you should use the following rules:

1. The process should be constant - the baby is asked to take at least one sip every day, the dosage is gradually increased. It is best to conduct such “lessons” at those moments when the baby is hungry; in such conditions, he will quickly stop being capricious and try to satisfy his hunger in an accessible way. So, morning bottle feeding is the best option for beginners.
2. The transition to a new type of food for a child is extremely stressful, so the mother needs to try to create conditions in which the baby will be as comfortable as possible. So, he should be fed in the same position as before during breastfeeding, and the bottle itself should be placed so that it is in approximately the same place as the mother's breast.
3. There are situations when it is worth entrusting feeding the baby in a new way to one of the relatives, since the child smells the milk coming from the mother and can categorically refuse the formula, demanding the usual “delicacy”. The method is only suitable if the child is used to this relative and does not cry in his presence.
4. Moms need to be prepared for the fact that they may have to buy several bottles and nipples before finally choosing the right one. Therefore, it is better not to chase beautiful expensive models; the main requirements are safety and convenience for the baby.
5. You should not leave your baby alone with a bottle, especially if he is less than 4 months old, as there is a risk of choking.

Some mothers may make the following mistake: if they need to give their child a tasteless medicine, they begin “training” with it. In this case, it is quite natural that the baby will be capricious and refuse, because the bitter, healthy decoction is very unpleasant for him. Therefore, the first acquaintance with the nipple and bottle should be done using a tasty formula similar to breast milk, or mother's milk itself. Having placed the pacifier in the baby's mouth, you should press it lightly so that the contents go where they are intended and the baby feels its taste.

Another trick is to lubricate the nipple with a small amount of breast milk, this will reduce the likelihood that the baby will spit it out. You shouldn’t swear or be nervous if your baby doesn’t understand what they want from him. Only patience and systematic work will help overcome a child’s reluctance to eat formula from a bottle.

Why won't the baby take the bottle?

To accustom your baby to replacing his mother's breast, you need to understand why he is against receiving formula from a bottle. There may be several reasons for this:

1. The most obvious reason is that the baby is simply not hungry. For a small child, milk or formula is enough, but when he gets a little older (after 4 months) and begins to actively move, he will get used to the bottle sooner. Thus, the smaller the baby, the more difficult it is to wean him to a breast replacement.
2. Also, the baby may not be satisfied with the contents of the bottle. Babies who have previously tried breast milk do not always quickly switch to nutritional formulas, each of which has its own taste. Mom will have to change several product options before finding the optimal mixture.
3. The baby is extremely picky in terms of food temperature due to the high sensitivity of the oral mucosa. If your child does not drink from the bottle, the formula may feel too cold or scalding. The optimal temperature is 37 degrees, the same as for breast milk.
4. Also, the baby may react negatively to the feeding device itself. It is only the mother who thinks that the bottle is ideal, but the child is not satisfied, for example, with the width of the hole in the nipple, which affects the baby’s absorption rate of food, the smell and taste of the silicone product, and the shape of the container.
5. A child who was introduced to a bottle at 4 or 5 months may not immediately understand the purpose of this tool. As a result, instead of receiving nutrient liquid from the container, it begins to play, turning the useful device into a gaming accessory.

Sometimes the reason for unsuccessful training is a psychological factor. For example, a baby receives formula for the first time in a hospital or after an emergency separation from his mother. In this case, he begins to associate negative emotions with the bottle and the mixture.

Reasons for turning to the bottle

Usually, breast milk is enough for a newborn baby who is breastfed. But in certain cases, it is still necessary to accustom a child to a bottle.

The most common reasons for such situations are presented below:

1. Children under 4 months often suffer from colic and abdominal pain due to imperfections in the digestive system. In this case, special herbal decoctions come to the rescue - for example, dill water. It is also given in a bottle.
2. The need to supplement the baby's food appears in the spring and summer due to dry air in the room or high temperature. However, doctors are convinced that it is not necessary to specifically give water until 4 or 6 months, even in these cases. The child will receive the necessary liquid with milk.
3. Switching to a bottle “surrogate” is possible if the mother or baby is ill. Sometimes a nursing woman is forced to take medications that are contraindicated during lactation, then the baby temporarily feeds on formula. Due to lactase deficiency, infants also need to be switched to special baby food.
4. Not all nursing mothers can sit quietly on maternity leave. For various reasons, it ends prematurely when the child turns, for example, 4 months. There are also frequent cases when women are absent for a long time, and the baby remains with relatives.

The most common reason for turning to a bottle is a lack of breast milk or the baby is premature. In the first case, they resort to artificial formulas, in the second, they often use expressed breast milk.

But it’s one thing when the habit of eating from a bottle has been formed since birth. But if previously the baby sucked exclusively on the mother’s breast, the process of accustoming to a different “container” can take up to 4 weeks or more.

Some tricks for pacifier training

Experiment constantly! Children are unpredictable creatures. Today he likes the silicone pacifier, and tomorrow he will happily take the rubber one. Stock up on a whole arsenal. Let them be of different sizes and connectors, from different materials. Remember, if a child refuses a bottle or rubber nipple on the first day, this does not mean that he will never touch them again. Offer again after a short period of time.

It happens that a baby needs different nipples for water and formula. He prefers to drink simple liquid from a silicone nipple, or one with an orthopedic bite, which is also not bad, but breast milk or formula only from a rubber one, which, although it costs several times less, is more reminiscent of a mother’s breast. There is nothing strange in this, since we also eat soup from a large plate, and we prefer to eat main courses from smaller plates.

Be careful when choosing food. The child may not refuse the container with the liquid at all, but what is in it. If you offer your baby formula from a bottle, he may not like the taste. Experiment again. Now there is a huge selection on the milk porridge market in a wide variety of price categories. Most mixtures of the same price category are the same in taste. Therefore, it is better to take food of different prices for the experiment.

Pay attention to the composition. If your baby doesn't take regular formula, try a fermented milk product.

It is good for the intestines and has different taste properties. When the child adapts to this food, other dairy products can be introduced. As an option, for the first time you can choose a hypoallergenic mixture. It is the safest and best adapted to breast milk to taste.

If your baby won't take only water from a bottle, try sweetening it a little. There is no need to be afraid of dermatitis or other allergic reactions even at a very early age. A small amount of glucose will never hurt anyone.

Try to maintain the feeding regime for a little more than three hours if the child does not have and. If the baby is more than six months old, then you can not offer food for four to four and a half hours. When he is hungry, he should be very lenient about the bottle.

Surprise your baby with unusual tastes. If the child is just over two months old, offer weakly concentrated apple juice to get him used to the bottle. From 3 to 4 months, try a light pear concentrate.

If the child is not even a month old and the situation is hopeless, a syringe or a regular syringe can come to the rescue. Again, be patient and, when the baby is sleeping, slowly instill the necessary solution into the corner of his mouth. Let us note right away that this is a very long and labor-intensive process, but sometimes this is the only way to give the baby medicine and the required amount of food.

If your baby is over six months old and you are switching from breastfeeding to bottle-feeding, then you may not need a bottle at all. Try using a sippy cup. But even here, give preference to your child’s tastes rather than your own. Choose the color and shape that your baby likes best. Only if you like the sippy cup will your son or daughter use it with pleasure.

If you give up bottle formula from four months onwards, you can get by just fine with a spoon. To make the food a little thicker and not leak out, as well as for more satiety, you can add one instant cookie to the contents. The taste and consistency will change.

The most important and important thing is don’t worry and don’t panic. After all, your condition is passed on to the child

And first of all, he really needs a happy and calm mother. Approach the problem philosophically, over time it will definitely be resolved. You will remember this little difficulty with a smile on your face!

If the mother's milk disappears or there is not enough milk, a bottle of formula becomes necessary. There are times during breastfeeding when you temporarily have to express milk (for example, if the skin of the nipple is injured) and give it in another way. The need for a bottle also arises from 1-3 months - at this time the baby is gradually given water or herbal teas so that the tummy does not hurt.

Then the question arises: how to accustom a child to a bottle? Usually this does not present any particular difficulties, but sometimes it happens that the baby does not like something and he simply refuses the new way of getting food. It is necessary to identify such causes and eliminate them, then the feeding process will return to normal and the baby will be well-fed.

The need to use a bottle may arise for various reasons.

It is important for parents to accustom their baby to a new way of eating so that it becomes as natural as breastfeeding.

When should you use a bottle?

Mother's milk is the ideal nutritional liquid for every baby. If you have established lactation, then the use of bottles during the newborn period is completely unnecessary. But in some situations you simply cannot do without them.

If a baby suffers from colic, then one of the solutions to this problem is to supplement the baby with herbal teas to prevent the formation of gases and pain in the tummy. One of the most popular “anti-colic” remedies is the so-called dill water. The baby's need for supplemental feeding increases significantly during the hot season, with a dry indoor microclimate or at elevated body temperature. If your baby is sick or you are walking with him on a hot sunny day, you should periodically offer him a bottle

In addition, it is important to remember that a child under 12 months should drink about 120 ml of liquid per day, of course, not taking into account breastfeeding. If the baby drinks more water, then a full stomach will ask for less food, which, of course, is not acceptable. To feed a premature baby or compensate for the lack of milk, you have to resort to artificial feeding, and, consequently, to a bottle

Babies who have not been given breastfeeding are very quickly able to get used to its “surrogate”. If the baby is forced to eat from a special container after the mother’s breast, then the addiction may take longer. This happens at different ages - both at 2 months and at 9 months. Sometimes the reason for switching to a bottle is illness of the mother or child. If a woman takes serious medications that include lactation as contraindications, she temporarily refuses breastfeeding and the baby is forced to drink formula. Another prerequisite is lactose (milk sugar) intolerance. Usually it is enough to properly organize feeding, but sometimes it is necessary to switch the baby to a low-lactose diet. It is not always possible for a woman to complete her entire maternity term; sometimes she has to go to work early. In another case, a nursing mother has to be absent for a long period of time due to various circumstances. To solve the problem of feeding the baby, you need a bottle.

The child refuses formula

It often happens that the child refuses to eat the offered mixture. Inexperienced young mothers begin to worry because they believe that the baby is sick. However, it’s worth first understanding why a healthy child can refuse formula?

The child refuses formula. Normal or not

First you need to calm down yourself. Your baby doesn't need his mom to be nervous. Children often don't eat formula well simply because they don't like the taste. The formula may be ideal for one child, but another will not even try it. Try changing the brand of formula after consulting with your pediatrician; your baby may like the new formula better.

The baby is not hungry. Very often, the child has not yet digested the previous portion, and he is already offered a new one. Unlike breast milk, formula is richer and takes time to digest. Sometimes, during an illness, a baby may also refuse to eat formula because he simply doesn’t want to. You should not offer your child food earlier than 3 hours after the previous feeding. You just need to know the rule that a hungry child will not refuse formula. Teeth are being cut. Very often this is accompanied by pain, diarrhea, nausea and fever, and when sucking, the pain in the gums may intensify, so your baby will not want to eat. It is worth watching your child: if he abruptly refused to eat the formula, which he previously loved very much, then it is likely that his teeth will soon erupt. You just need to wait for this, and then the child will have an appetite again. The child may also have stomatitis, when any touch to the gums causes pain. You can see this disease and immediately go to the doctor for a prescription. When the pain subsides, the child will not refuse to eat. The nipple on the bottle does not fit the baby. Very often, young mothers choose the wrong nipple for a bottle with formula, or buy the wrong one in pharmacies or stores. For example, a hole that is too large or small will not allow the baby to eat in peace. Look at your baby while he is eating: if he drinks quickly, chokes and swallows air, then the hole in the nipple is too large. If she makes an effort and screams, then, on the contrary, she is small. Talk to your pediatrician or pharmacist to help you choose the right bottle for the formula and age.

Recommendations

If your child is breastfed, and you need a bottle solely for taking medicine or supplementary feeding, then it is not at all necessary to accustom your baby to it. Moreover, many pediatricians and pediatric dentists speak out about the negative impact of pacifiers and bottles on the formation of bite. Therefore, in this case, you can use a beaker, spoon or syringe without a needle. And if you can’t do without a bottle, then you have to try.

What to do to get your baby to start drinking from a bottle:

act gradually

To introduce your baby to a new object, let him examine the bottle and hold it in his hands when he is not yet hungry. Introduce bottle feeding gradually, starting with 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. When offering a drink, squeeze a drop of milk from the nipple into your baby's mouth.

imitate breastfeeding

Mother's breast is a source of maternal care, comfort and protection. Therefore, if it is convenient for the child himself, drinking from a bottle should be associated with breastfeeding. While feeding, hold him as you would while breastfeeding. The nipple of the bottle should be at nipple level. It is most convenient to place the baby on your lap and, holding him with one hand, hold the bottle with the other.

experiment

If you are faced with a newborn’s firm refusal to take a bottle, it makes sense to offer him a bottle with different nipples, the range of which is wide today. Let your baby try silicone, latex, standard round, flat, and orthodontic pacifiers that resemble a woman's nipple. Sometimes, surprising parents, children choose the cheapest regular pacifier. You can also offer a bottle, slightly changing the temperature of the liquid. After all, some babies love warm drinks, while others prefer cool ones.

choose the optimal time

Naturally, there is no point in offering a bottle to a well-fed child. But you shouldn’t wait until he’s very hungry either. A hungry baby will be nervous and capricious. And, as you understand, he is unlikely to want to study a new means of feeding, but will demand to be fed as before.

ask for help

The presence of the mother when trying to feed the baby from a bottle does not always contribute to success, especially if he is still breastfeeding. Therefore, ask a grandmother, nanny, or other woman who has experience caring for small children to help. Fathers of children are not always able to withstand children's whims. Therefore, at the initial stage of bottle training, it is better not to involve 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 move the pacifier along the baby's lips. It is possible that, following instinct, he himself will take her in his mouth, as he would take the nipple of a breast. Make sure the pacifier is taken completely

If the child does not show initiative, carefully place the pacifier in his mouth

Read also: How much breast milk or formula should a newborn eat per day in the first days of life

Once your efforts bear fruit and your baby agrees to take drinks and food from a bottle, remember to maintain hygiene and safety. Be present during the entire feeding process. If your goal is to supplement your baby with formula while still breastfeeding, buy nipples with a gentle flow so that your baby has to work as hard as he does while breastfeeding.

Read also: All about artificial feeding (IV)

Is it necessary to wean it off?

Now there are many supporters of late weaning of children both from the breast and from the bottle. There are mothers who believe that they should not wean their child off the bottle until he is ready for it. However, while the arguments regarding breastfeeding make sense, the situation with breast substitutes is different.

Attachment to her can negatively affect the baby’s development and lead to both physiological and psychological problems. What can late weaning lead to:

Refusal of “normal” food

For a grown-up child of 2 years old, it is very important to eat well, learn to eat adult food, and drink from a cup. These are necessary stages of growing up, and the habit of drinking from a bottle can prevent the baby from developing his taste preferences, trying new foods and switching to solid foods.

Sleep problems

A child who cannot refuse a bottle at night drinks a lot more fluid, which in turn leads to frequent urges to go to the toilet. And then each parent decides: either put him in a diaper at night, or wake him up to go to the potty. In the first case, you will have to postpone the process of weaning off the diaper, and the diaper may leak at night, and this will cause discomfort to the baby. Without a bottle, a baby over two years old can easily sleep all night without waking up.

Malocclusion and dental problems

Many dentists believe that the use of a pacifier and container with a pacifier negatively affects the formation of the bite. And drinking juice or milk at night (after brushing your teeth) can lead to early tooth decay.

Speech problems

Speech therapists say that children over two years old, accustomed to a pacifier, may have difficulty pronouncing sounds, which, in turn, inhibits speech development.

Psychological problems, addiction development

A child who is accustomed to calming down with a bottle and a pacifier does not develop useful skills in resolving conflicts or getting out of uncomfortable situations.

Baby won't take bottle

Newborn babies have a very well developed sucking reflex. Immediately, when the baby is just born, he is ready to taste mother's milk. But sometimes this is impossible for various reasons. It is in such cases that it is often necessary to resort to the help of bottles and special mixtures. If the newborn baby has not yet tasted mother's milk during breastfeeding, then he will immediately reach for the bottle. Well, if the child is already accustomed to feeding on breast milk, then you need to wean him from his mother’s breast. In this regard, a number of problems and difficulties arise: how to accustom a baby to a bottle if he does not take a bottle? Often, even the fact that it is the mother who holds the bottle does not help to cope with the problem of feeding the baby. So, why does a newborn baby stubbornly refuse a bottle? And how to bottle feed a baby correctly?

When is a bottle necessary?

Let us immediately note that you should offer your baby a bottle only in case of artificial feeding. When breastfeeding, pacifiers and pacifiers should not be used, since the baby will very quickly get used to them and may refuse the breast. Babies, along with milk, receive everything they need for full development, so they do not need any supplements.

In what situations does it become necessary to teach drinking from a bottle? There are several of them:

• Lack of breast milk. In this case, you have to transfer the baby to mixtures.
• The mother's use of potent medications leading to lactation disruption.
• Premature babies often have to be switched to bottle feeding.
• The need to give the baby medications. So, many children suffer from problems in the digestive tract, colic, and gas formation. To treat them, decoctions (for example, fennel) are used, which are most conveniently given using a bottle. If taking the drug will be one-time or short-term, you should not resort to innovation - the medicine can be given from a spoon or using a syringe without a needle.
• Additional soldering. If there is an elevated temperature or poisoning, the child needs more fluid than he receives from mother's milk. Therefore, there is a need for additional soldering. A similar situation is possible if the baby is forced to constantly stay in a warm room during the hot season and needs an increased amount of water.

There is no specific age that is optimal for weaning: it all depends on the circumstances forcing the mother to transfer the baby to artificial feeding. Let us note that in case of breastfeeding and the mother and baby do not have any health problems, it is quite possible to do without bottle training and it is even better to do just that.

Everything has its time

There are no uniform standards for when to wean a child off the bottle. An attentive and sensitive mother usually feels when it is time to start weaning - usually this age is 1, 2 years. You should not rely on the age at which other children wean themselves from their favorite toy, nor should you rely on the experience of grandmothers or the opinions of friends. Each fidget is unique, and the age at which this can be done easily and comfortably is different for everyone. One baby is ready to wean as early as one year, while another may take much longer. Most pediatricians agree that 3 years is the deadline for a small person to eat from an adult container.

However, general signs that the baby is ready to wean can be observed. For example, if your baby already sits well on his own, is able to hold a mug or spoon in his hands, shows interest and reaches for a cup on his own, then you can safely begin the transition to “adult” utensils.

There are children who at some point refuse a bottle or pacifier, most often this happens between the ages of 14 and 18 months. But if this didn’t happen to your baby, then this is absolutely no reason to be upset, you’ll just have to put in a little more effort. And remember that the older the baby, the more difficult it is to wean him from his usual actions and rituals.

How to wean your baby off night feedings: useful tips

Pay attention to the recommendations of pediatricians and experienced mothers. Adopt two or three methods, tune in to the result, but don’t force things. Abrupt refusal of breast milk or formula at night is serious stress for the baby

Larger amount of food during the daytime

Nutrition should be balanced, with a full range of vitamins and minerals, and a sufficient amount of calories. The task is to give the daily calorie intake during the daytime, so that in the evening, before bedtime, the little one does not have the desire to have a snack.

An hour before bedtime, offer your child kefir or cottage cheese. Some mothers give cookies with milk, which ensures satiety throughout the night.

Communication with mommy

After one year, the child not so much satisfies the physiological need for food through breast milk, but loves to bask next to his mother, to feel affection and protection. Pay more attention to your grown-up little one during the day, keep him occupied so much that by the evening the baby is tired and falls asleep soundly.

Did the little man wake up during the night? Do not offer breasts or a bottle with formula, pat the little one on the head, give a massage, sing a lullaby. After two years, put your favorite toy next to him to sleep so that the child feels warm and soft in the crib.

Replacing night feeding with water

The method is more suitable for an “artificial” baby. A simple technique will help prevent stress and make giving up the nutritional formula less painful. Dilute baby food with water and gradually reduce the percentage of the mixture.

After a couple of weeks, instead of baby food, only water should remain in the bottle. During the day you also need to diversify your diet, as for infants.

Connecting dad

Most pediatricians and psychologists advise involving a man in the process of weaning off night feedings. Let dad often put his one-year-old son or daughter to bed, sing songs, and mom also sit next to him, but will not take the little one in his arms.

Gradually, the mother moves away from the crib so that the father can pay full attention to the child, and the mother leaves the field of view. Pay more attention to the baby during the day, and dad should support going to bed. It’s good if a man also calms the baby down at night

It’s good if a man also calms the baby down at night.

Important! Many modern fathers cope with parental responsibilities just as well as mothers and are interested in methods of raising children and the rules of caring for a baby. Trust the man, do not limit communication with the baby, and the child will listen to dad just like you

Method for children aged two years and older

Some mothers continue natural feeding after one and a half years. Most children do not ask for breastfeeding at night by the age of two, but there are exceptions.

What is the reason? Most likely, the daily diet is not balanced enough, the child does not have enough calories to ensure satiety throughout the night.

Sometimes children try to attract mommy’s attention in this way and behave “like little ones” if they cannot achieve what they want in a different way. Perhaps the baby lacks affection and participation, the atmosphere in the family is tense, parents often quarrel in front of the child.

What to do:

What to do:

• change the psychological climate, surround the little one with care and affection, but do not allow them to push you around;
• Explain that he is old enough not to ask for the breast or a bottle of formula at night. Tell him that mom and dad sleep at night, don’t eat until the morning, and he should also eat well during the day and rest quietly at night;
• if there are older children in the family, involve them. Let them also tell the two-year-old that only little children eat at night, and “adults” no longer need mother’s milk. But you cannot laugh or tease your younger brother or sister about this (check how the older one explains the rules);
• Be sure to arrange your child’s own sleeping place if up to this point the little person slept with you. Buy a nice bed. If possible, choose a model in the shape of a car, a boat (for a boy) or a fairy-tale house (for a little princess).

Fighting difficulties

How to teach a child to drink liquid from a mug? Through consistent action and patience. It is also necessary to carefully study the baby’s condition at a particular moment. If the baby is sick or is teething, the lesson should be postponed.

In addition, do not forget that babies have a developed ejection reflex. Therefore, it may happen that when the child touches the lips and gums of the mug, the child begins to push it back with his tongue.

Is your baby still resisting the new drinking method? Try to find a cup that he would like. You can also offer your baby several mugs to choose from.

Use the play method by placing several toys around the baby. Let a teddy bear or baby doll “drink” some water. Then the child himself will be able to take the container in his hand and try to give his pets something to drink.

The question of how to teach a child to drink from a mug is decided on an individual basis. After all, one baby gets used to new dishes in a few days, while another masters this wisdom in a couple of months. But, in the end, every child manages to master this skill.

Why does a child refuse a bottle: 5 main reasons

• The most common reason: you don't like the content. Very often it depends on the temperature. Children, despite their angelic expression, are, oddly enough, vindictive creatures. Once you don't please them, they will remember it for a long time. Therefore, the liquid should not exceed a temperature of 37 degrees, and it is better to generally offer water at room temperature.
• Unusual taste. If a child refuses only a bottle with formula, but accepts other liquids with a bang, most likely he does not like the taste or smell of the contents.
• Uncomfortable nipple. The bottle with the formula may have a nipple that is too tight, the baby is not able to suck out the contents, or, on the contrary, it may be too big, so he will choke and be afraid.
• Unusual surroundings. Children, especially in the early stages, are very sensitive and receptive. If more than a dozen eyes are looking at them, he will never show his skills and will not drink “to order.”
• Inappropriate mode. It happens that the child was offered a bottle for the first time at the wrong moment, when he was not at all in the mood for lunch.

Tips and tricks for bottle weaning your baby

If the baby is breastfed, and the mother uses a bottle to give the baby herbal tea, water or medicine, then it is not at all necessary to accustom the child to it. Some pediatricians and dentists are confident that the pacifier negatively affects the formation of a child’s bite. Therefore, if parents are afraid of spoiling it, then they can replace the bottle with a beaker, spoon or syringe without a needle.

But if, nevertheless, a decision has been made to switch to mixed or completely artificial feeding, training is simply necessary, and you will have to make an effort for this.

How to accustom a child to a bottle, what needs to be done? To do this, you must follow the following recommendations:

Act gradually and methodically - in order to introduce the baby to the bottle, he needs to be allowed to study a new subject. When the child is not hungry, he should be given a bottle for familiarization. You need to get used to this method of feeding gradually, giving the mixture in the initial stages only a few times a day, moving on to a gradual increase in the number of feedings. If the mother plans to go to work, then the child should be taught to use a bottle about two weeks before the upcoming event. When inviting a child to take a pacifier, he needs to carefully squeeze a drop of the mixture into his mouth and watch the reaction;

Imitate breastfeeding - for a baby, mother's breast is associated with care, protection and reassurance. For this reason, bottle feeding should be as close to breastfeeding as possible. During IV, the baby should be held in the same way as during breastfeeding. The nipple of the bottle must be positioned at the level of the nipple. It is best to place the baby on your lap, holding him with one hand and holding the bottle with the other;

Experiment

If parents have had to deal with their baby’s refusal to breastfeed, there is no need to panic. You should offer your child a bottle with different nipples, which are not a problem to choose due to their wide range. Let your baby try standard round, orthodontic, silicone, flat, latex nipples and those that imitate a female nipple. Most often, to the surprise of their parents, babies choose the simplest and cheapest pacifiers. In addition to the pacifier, you can try changing the temperature of the baby food, as some children like warm drinks, while others like cool drinks.

Choosing the optimal time for feeding - you need to feed your baby only when he is hungry; there is no point in doing this before. You also cannot wait until the baby becomes very hungry. He will begin to cry a lot and get nervous, which means he is unlikely to want to get acquainted with a bottle unknown to him and will demand that mommy feed him the same way as before.

Ask for help - if the child was breastfed and is transferred to artificial feeding, then getting used to the bottle will be difficult and the presence of the mother at the same time can only complicate the process. For this reason, it is better to ask a grandmother or nanny to participate in training; you should not trust this matter to the child’s father, since he does not have the proper experience of caring for the baby and is unlikely to withstand the screams, crying and whims of the toddler. But a grandmother or nanny can handle this without any problems.

Be patient and unobtrusive - When teaching a baby a bottle, it is very important for mom to be patient and caring. When feeding for the first time, in order to set the baby in the right mood, you need to gently move the pacifier over his lips

Perhaps, following the instincts inherent in the child by nature, he himself will begin to suck the pacifier in the same way as before his mother’s breast. It is necessary to ensure that the baby takes the pacifier completely. If the child does not show any initiative, you should try to put the pacifier in his mouth yourself.

What is the reason for a child refusing a bottle?

It is normal for a baby to ignore the bottle. There's nothing scary about it. This happens because the child’s body contains the knowledge that its main diet should consist of breast milk, which the baby will receive not from a bottle, but from the mother’s breast.

It is for this reason that the child, on a subconscious level, reaches for the breast, and the nipple is much more convenient and pleasant for him than any nipple.

But often the reason that a baby refuses artificial feeding is not the bottle at all, but absolutely other reasons, which are that:

The child is not hungry - this is the most common reason that a toddler refuses a bottle, but for some reason parents do not pay attention to it. Here you should also take into account the fact that the need for the frequency and quantity of food intake depends on the age of the baby. Therefore, one should not be surprised if the baby, after reaching six months, begins to actively demand a bottle and drink from it with pleasure, although previously he refused it and denied it in every possible way;

The baby does not like the formula, tea or other food given from the bottle . Parents should understand that each infant formula has its own taste and sometimes it is very specific. It may be too sweet or even tasteless. Therefore, so that the baby can choose “his own”, he should be offered several types of baby food. And if you give a child tea, water or medicine from a bottle, and then food, he may not accept it at all, since he will associate it with something unpleasant and tasteless. Therefore, in the case of medications, it is better to give them in a different way or use ingenuity and imagination.

Hot or cold food

It should be remembered that the mucous membranes of a baby’s mouth are much more sensitive than those of adults.
Therefore, the temperature of the infant formula should be around 36-37 degrees. These are the temperature indicators that mother's milk has. Therefore, this fluid temperature is the most normal for a child. Inconvenient pacifier - a pacifier that parents like may not be to the taste of their child. He may not like its shape or the size of the hole through which the mixture enters. Sometimes the baby refuses the bottle, although he used to drink from it normally. This may happen because the parents bought a new nipple for the bottle, which is not the same shape as the old one. In addition, it can smell unpleasantly like rubber, interrupting the baby’s appetite.

Uncomfortable position and uncomfortable environment for feeding . The feeding position that is comfortable for mommy will not always be comfortable for the baby. You can try feeding him by sitting him in your arms, lying down, on the side, or in other positions. You may also need a change of environment to encourage your baby to start drinking from a bottle.

Perhaps one of the reasons described above is preventing the baby from getting used to artificial feeding; by eliminating it, parents will be able to accustom the child to a bottle.