How to Introduce a Bottle for Night Feeds

Both of my kids had both a bottle and breast right from the get-go, even though I exclusively breastfed them both at the beginning. I think introducing earlier rather than later tends to help with the bottle refusal a lot of moms experience. The other poster was right that if you drop a middle of the night feeding your body will produce less milk (especially at night) so only give him that feeding if he plans to keep it! Still, you can make up production by pumping in the morning or another set time your daughter doesn't need to eat as much.

As for refusing the bottle at night, my bet is that she's tired, would like a snuggle, and actually appreciates the extra work of nursing because it wears her out a little more to fall back asleep. Try giving her the bottle during the day (and simultaneously pumping) and see if it works better. Once she doesn't object as much, try again at night. Good luck.

Congrats on getting on track with breastfeeding after having such a tough start. Breastfeeding works on supply and demand. In order for your body to "get" how much milk it needs to make per 24hour period of time it is extremely important that your baby has unlimited access to your breast and to hold off on the use of artificial nipples/bottles during the first 4-6 weeks. by not pumping during the bottlefeeding session at night you will be signaling to your body to make less milk and this can effect your overall supply.
So that you have more energy during the night to deal with the normal waking of baby to eat and cuddle, try napping during the day when baby naps. Also, if you are not already, it is a good idea to keep your baby in your room at night. It is even easier if you have a cosleeper that attaches to the bed. This way you don't even have to get out of bed to feed. I don't know if you have tried nursing laying down but once you figure that out it makes nightime parenting a breeze. Please consider contacting your local La Leche League for breastfeeding info ( www.llli.org ) and going to a meeting for mother to mother support. It is so nice to talk to other nursing moms about what works for them for nighttime feedings without comprimising the hard work that you have put in to getting breastfeeding off to a great start.
As far as your husband it is important that he understands that feeding is not the only way to bond with his daughter. It is so helpful when dad is on board with understanding how important breastfeeding is for the health and wellbeing of you and your daughter as well as money saving.
Good luck!

YAY for you and baby. During the night is the best time to nurse baby it helps keep up your supply. try kellymom.com and googling breastfeeding. YOu can find tons of hints there LLL also has a website that is really good. the last feedings mt youngest 2 gave up were before bed, middle of the night and first thing in the morning. hang in there and know that you are doing a GREAT JOB!!

V. - It could be a number of things, but you have to do what is best for you too. If you need a rest and want hubby to join in, you may want to try a different bottle or nipple. We had the same problem - I nurse all day and introduced a bottle for the evening feeding. We tried several bottle/nipple combinations and the Dr. Browns works best for us. The nipple is smaller than some of the playtex nipples, and for our little girl, it works.
Our daughter didn't have nipple confusion at all and with the bottle feed, my supply is still good. She goes from one feeding to the next with no problem. If you feel like your supply is dropping off a little, then you can pump in the evening during the feed. Good luck!

I found that if my daughter could smell me or knew I was aorund she would hold out to nurse. Make sure that your husband is the only one to bottle feed her because if you try to bottlefeed her she will smell your milk and scent and want the snuggle time and refuse the bottle. I once slept a few houses downt he street at a relatives house (walking distance) to get a nap and to be out of sight so she would not hold out to nurse. But make sure you pump for every missed feeding. When I went back to work my caretaker would call me and let me know when my daughter ate and how many ounces so I would do my best to express around the same time that way I was ready for her again when I came home so she could nurse right away (rather than having just pumped and being empty). I was able to keep my schedule to the same as hers. When I went back to work my daughter nursed more at night...every couple of hours it seemed she needed to make up for all the bottle time she had during the day. That is my friendly advice and if she refuses you may have to wait a bit longer to reintroduce the bottle.

I ahve to agree with Dawn on this one....you rally need to understand that by introducing a bottle this early you may cause some nipple confusion. It takes breastfeeding mamas 3 weeks to establish thier milk supply for thier newborna nd beacsue you only just got your ltitle one to start bf'ing again, which is GREAT news btw, why would you want to rush back into giving her a bottle again? enjoy the closeness and bonding that you get with breastfeeding your little one. She is still getting the hang of it anfd you don't want to ruin a good thing. She is only 3 1/2 weeks old and already knows how easy it was to get milk from a bottle. if you reintroduce it too soon she may prefer ONLY the bottle beacsue of how easy it is to get the milk out. It is also a different sucking pattern so getting her to breastfeed and bottle feed is very different and not all baby's can do both. Is it worth the risk introducing the btotle back too son? up to you...but just wanted you to be aware. good luck and enjoy your precious baby girl!

This is such a hard decision to make. I introduced my son to a bottle about the same age. He did give me some trouble but eventually took it. Well it back fired on me, he did not want to breastfeed any longer. I was so upset and regreted the introduction to the bottle. Please think carefully about this decision.