What should I do if my baby is used to drinking milk from a bottle and doesn't want breast milk? The correct way to feed

For newborn babies, breast milk and formula are the main sources of food. However, there are many cases where babies are used to eating with bottles and pacifiers and are not used to breast milk. What should we do? How should we feed our babies correctly?

What should I do if my baby is used to drinking from a bottle and doesn't want breast milk?

Stop giving your baby a pacifier

First, stop giving your baby a pacifier immediately. Even if you need to feed your baby expressed breast milk, do not use a pacifier, but use other methods, such as a small spoon, syringe, medicine feeder, etc.

Help your baby latch on correctly

Secondly, patiently and tirelessly help your baby learn the correct latching position, so that the baby faces the nipple (no need to twist the neck), the head, shoulders, and hips form a straight line, and the baby is comfortably held in the mother's arms. Use the nipple to tease the baby to open his mouth wide, and once it opens wide, let the nipple go straight in and reach behind the baby's tongue. The baby's nose should be slightly attached to the upper side of the breast, and the lower lip should contain more of the areola. If this does not work, break it and try again.

Induce your baby to open his mouth to suck milk

If the baby refuses to open his mouth and shows sucking movements with his mouth closed during feeding, you can rub his earlobes or tap the soles of his feet to get him to open his mouth. At this time, quickly putting the nipple and most of the areola into the baby's mouth will induce effective sucking.

Let your baby slowly get used to the nipple

It is best to keep your baby in your arms, give him the nipple whenever you have the chance, and feed him when he is in a good mood and not too hungry. Generally, babies with nipple illusion are unwilling to wait for milk to be secreted. You can squeeze your breasts before feeding, and then give the baby the nipple after the milk "comes down". In this way, the baby does not have to wait and milk can be secreted immediately. You can also use a small spoon to let a little milk flow from the areola to the nipple into the baby's mouth when the baby starts sucking, inducing his swallowing reflex and successful sucking.

Gradual feeding

Don't deliberately starve your baby, thinking that he will feed when he is extremely hungry. This will make him weak and even cause dehydration. Even if the baby has a serious nipple illusion and firmly resists the nipple, the extreme measures that need to be taken are: on the first day, do not give the pacifier or the nipple, and use other methods to feed the baby with expressed milk; on the second day, do not give the pacifier, use the nipple to comfort the baby, and also feed the baby with milk in other ways; on the third day, feed the baby exclusively with the nipple, and feed before the baby is hungry.

Weaning off formula

First, wean your baby off formula milk and insist on not feeding your baby formula milk. At first, your baby may refuse to cry after only one or two mouthfuls of breast milk, but you must insist on not feeding your baby formula milk. It doesn't matter if your baby eats less breast milk, you can feed him more often. As long as you persist, your baby will soon eat breast milk.