Teats that MOST resembles nipples - for breastfed babies

My breastfed baby is almost 5 months old. I breastfeed and also bottlefeed him (once a day) with expressed milk and he usually takes from both happily with no nipple confusion. Recently very often he refuses the bottle even when terribly hungry BUT he happily accepts the breasts. I have no clue why he suddenly changes his taste.


Have been using Avent bottles.


I changed the 1mth+ teats to 3mth+ when he has passed 3 months. But till now, close to 5 months, he sometimes still rejects the new teat and when I change it back to the old one, he drinks prob because sometimes he got choked by the fast flowing milk. Anyone got similar experience with their babies?


I usually let helper feed him bottle so that he won't see me/ smell me. I tried feeding him bottle myself and he did take it too. It's just recently he became so fussy about the bottle. Is it sthg to do with teats? or teething? Anyone can recommend teats that resembles the nipples most so that I can give it a try?


I'm back to work soon so I must solve this problem asap. Thanks!

Here's just one opinion: babies are smart. They're born smart, and they learn fast. He knows the difference, and he knows what he wants. But, humans are also flexible and we can learn. When you go back to work, he'll figure out that he has to accept second best, or he may even mostly say "no thank you" to the bottle and wait until you return home from work to nurse a whole lot in the evening and at night. (He may start eating solids soon, too, if he doesn't like a bottle.) The transition to your job may be a bit rough on your helper, not to mention baby and you too, but you will all get through it. Do your best to express or pump a lot at work (it's not fun), and unless you want to wean from the breast plan to nurse a whole lot while you are home in order to keep up your milk supply, because baby is in fact the best pump. And, he loves his time with his Mama. But I honestly advise don't fret terribly much now over something that will happen later. You will all get through it. By six months of age, I predict that (if you let him) your babe will self-adjust his feeding schedule so that he abstains from the bottle while you are gone and then nurses a whole lot when the real thing is there. I've "been there done that" and I don't regret my decision just to prop my feet up and spend time with that baby! They are only little once! Since you are away so much at work, breastfeeding gives you the perfect excuse to spend a lot of time together at night and weekends. Let your helper take over the house care and cooking. You just recognize that your primary contribution to the family is that job and taking care of that little one -- when you get home prop your feet up as much as possible, sleep as much as possible (mine slept with me and nursed much of the night with very little disruption to my sleep), and take care of yourself. Don't feel guilty if that's all you get done, that's a lot in itself. I'm not a "breastfeeding nazi" as one poster recently referred to breastfeeding moms as being. To the contrary, I support choice. But BF is do-able while working if you really want to, especially after the six month mark when baby really can go a bit longer and starts taking some nutrition in the form of solids. At this point, though, I think that all you are experiencing is a natural preference for the real thing that is being expressed by a real, smart, little human who knows what he wants -- which is that he wants his Mama in preference to all else!

Chu Chu (Japanese brand) has teats that resembles nipples. Please PM me and i'll pass them to you... they are new - used only once. my baby does not like them.

Hi Lasez - I just pm you. Thanks!


Meiguoren - Thanks for your advice. Totally agree with what you said. I actually feel so blessed that I can spend the whole time with him, play and BF till he reaches 6 months. And am planning to continue BF after returning to work, coming back home first thing to BF every day. I will start him on solid soon and since he already developed a structured 5-6 feeds a day, I think I'm only going to miss two of his feeds after returning to work. Still I hope to get everything well-prepared to put my mind at peace :)

you can get the MAM bottles from mothercare

The Tommee Tippee idea is a good one. Mine actually never went to an artificial nipple. By four months they were drinking from a sippie cup. Even preferred breast milk that way, though most of the time they would look at it and say "are you kidding?" Wanted solids and other foods from outside sources and wanted their milk from mom.

Babies at this age can drink from a plastic cup or a sippy cup. Give that a try.



When mom's return to work or are spending more time away, some babies will also reverse cycle preferring to wait until you arrive home to have a breastfeed rather than accept breastmilk from another source.



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