Choosing the right bottle is often an emotional choice, especially if you are a nursing mom who would rather
not give your baby a bottle at all.
The week before you head back, pump a few times at home and let someone
else give your baby her bottle during daytime feedings to prime her for day care.
And, if you skip feedings and have the nursery
staff give your baby a bottle instead, you're missing an opportunity to build a stronger supply of breast milk for your baby.
Although waiting to
give baby a bottle till he's really hungry may seem like good logic, it only makes it more difficult for him to accept a bottle.
Sometimes a woman will ask her partner to
give their baby a bottle so she can run out to the store by herself or get some «me time» without baby attached.
During the week before you return to work, do a dry run of spending time away from your baby, pumping and having someone
else give your baby a bottle.
A poor latch is similar to
giving a baby a bottle with a nipple hole that is too small — the bottle is full of milk, but the baby will not get much.
Once breastfeeding is well established (after at least 2 to 3 weeks),
start giving baby a bottle of breastmilk so he or she will take it when you go back to work.
However, if the baby is having any trouble latching on to the breast or is inconsistent about his / her breastfeeding, I would not
recommend giving the baby a bottle at this point.
Remember to know your pumping rights, build a freezer stash, have someone else
practice giving your baby a bottle, be sure your care provider knows how to do paced bottle feeding, and give yourself plenty of time to get into this new routine.
Transitioning from Breast to Bottle Even if you plan on
giving your baby bottled breast milk, the transition from boob to bottle can be difficult for you and your baby.
I actually don't tend to directly contradict people if they are talking just to me about their own experience - after all, it may not be objectively true that
giving a baby a bottle helps them sleep through the night earlier, but if the person in front of you is convinced that it did for * her * baby, doesn't it sound a little rude to flatly deny her subjective experience?
While you'll likely
give your baby a bottle sooner or later, the longer he has to get used to latching and expelling milk from the breast the better — think of it like breastfeeding practice for a solid foundation.