Teaching My Baby to Take a Bottle with 3 Simple Techniques-Giveaway

Disclosure: I am part of the PTPA Brand Ambassador Program with Philips Avent and I received Compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Shortly after Baby Cormac was born, my husband and I began preparing for our first night out without our little one. We have season tickets to the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and the concert on November 18 featured Tanya Tagaq, a performance I knew that I had to see. So, I used my Philips Avent Comfort Manual Pump to stock up on milk and got my Philips Avent Natural Bottles ready for our baby.

When the big day rolled around, I saddled my sister with instructions and headed out the door feeling excited, but apprehensive. My husband had tried to get Baby Cormac to take a bottle a few weeks ago when I was running errands, and our little darling hadn’t been very enthusiastic about it. But my sister, in addition to having three girls of her own, is also a nurse. I was confident that her skills combined with our Philips Avent Natural bottles would keep our baby fed.

baby-with-bottle

Imagine my surprise when I got home and learned that my baby had slept the entire three hours we were away! My sister and I were both a little disappointed that she hadn’t been able to try feeding him, but I decided that to make our next excursion easier, I would start trying to give Baby Cormac a bottle a little more often. And these are the three techniques I’ve been using to increase my chances of success!

Staying Nearby

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While the entire purpose of giving Cormac a bottle is to be able to leave the house without him, I believe that he’s just too confused and overwhelmed by the concept of eating without me to really want to try it. So, even though my husband or my oldest son has been the one holding the bottle, I’ve been making sure I’m in the room with Cormac when we try bottlefeeding him, giving him the familiarity he’s used to.

As he gets better at drinking from the bottle, I’ll start leaving after a few minutes to let him eat on his own. I’m hopeful that the gradual progression will help him to eventually take a bottle without wondering where I am and why I’m not breastfeeding him.

Reducing Nipple Confusion

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The hardest thing about giving a breastfed baby a bottle is getting them used to the difference in milk flow and overall mouthfeel. That’s why reducing nipple confusion with a bottle designed to mimic breastfeeding as closely as possible is a must.

Philips Avent Natural bottles are the perfect way to do that, with a wide breast-shaped nipple that lets baby latch on more comfortably. The nipples come in four different flow rates to keep up with baby’s growth properly. And, best of all, the advanced anti-colic valve helps reduce air swallowed during feeding to help minimize colic!

Tracking Progress with the uGrow App

bottlefeeding ugrow screenshots

I’ve fallen in love with the free Philips uGrow app for tracking my baby’s development. Everything from his sleep patterns to his feedings to his special milestones (like the first time we made him laugh!) can be tracked and recorded using the app. And that includes our progress with bottlefeeding!

Monitoring feedings is as simple as logging into the app and choosing the Feeding category. Then I can select whether my baby has breastfed or taken a bottle. But what really makes the app so handy is that I can even monitor the amount my baby drinks with each bottle, so I can see if he’s improving with each attempt. I was pretty excited when he got up to 10ml recently!

Have a new baby that you want to teach to take a bottle? Philips Avent is offering an incredible giveaway that you won’t want to miss! One lucky Mommy Kat and Kids reader is going to win a Philips Avent Natural Essentials prize pack containing two 4oz Natural Bottles, two 9oz Natural Bottles, a microwave sterilizer, two soothing pacifiers and a bottle brush, an $88 total value! Please note that this giveaway may appear on other blogs, and that your information is being collected by Philips Avent and not by Mommy Kat and Kids.

baby-resting

Even though getting Baby Cormac comfortable with a bottle is a slow process, it’s one that we’re all enjoying. My husband loves having the chance to bond with baby a bit during feedings, and we both love the fact that it will give us a little bit more flexibility and freedom in our routine. We’re hoping that when we head to Ontario for Christmas, our baby will be ready to stay with his grandparents, so we can sneak in a date night!

And even if Cormac is never really enthusiastic about having to take a bottle, just giving him the option makes me feel more comfortable about leaving him with somebody else for a while. Thankfully, pumping with the Philips Avent Comfort Manual Pump is so easy that I can ensure there’s always milk ready for him if I need to go out for a while!

If you’re introducing your baby to his first bottle, check out the website to see why Philips Avent Natural bottles are a great choice. Combined with the uGrow app, they’re designed to help baby have a great experience moving from breast to bottle and back!

Philips Avent December Giveaway

17 thoughts on “Teaching My Baby to Take a Bottle with 3 Simple Techniques-Giveaway”

  1. Chandra O’Connor

    My daughter was a preemie so I had to pump and bring to hospital. A double one would have been great I had the old manual one not so great.

  2. I didn’t use a breast pump but I am not sure if it was even a thing when I have babies. You see I am entering for my daughter who is due to have our fist grandchild May/18. Her 1st as well so we are looking for everything baby. Everything has changed since I had babies It is overwhelming :)

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