Some breast fed babies can be reluctant to take a bottle when first offered. This is because the teat of the bottle is not soft and malleable like a nipple and babies have to learn to suck differently.
Try rubbing the teat of the bottle in your bra to get your smell on it. Leave the teat tucked in your bra for a while and it will become warm and smell familiar to baby.
Offer the bottle when baby is not starving.
Getting your partner or another person to offer the bottle to baby, if they smell breast milk they will often refuse the bottle from you.
Be consistent and persistent – offer the bottle at least once a day, each day.
It can take several weeks of persistence for baby to take a decent volume. Initially, it won’t matter whether there is breast milk or formula in the bottle; it is the concept of the bottle and the teat that the baby is struggling to adapt to.
