https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:32:33 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-48698 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:43:32 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 48698@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>WOw, this is a great thread. Thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-48560 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:10:22 +0000 SugarplumsMom 48560@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Bump =) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-47424 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:51:03 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 47424@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skibobrown: Good point. A friend of mine has had two daughters who refused bottles completely.</p> <p>I should also have made clear in my post that we fed Baby Y the formula with a dropper to try to avoid this issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-47331 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:28:34 +0000 katdevargas 47331@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>your nipple vs. a bottle nipple also fit into the baby's mouth differently. your nipple has erectile tissue in it &amp; will extend down into the baby's mouth:<br /> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wvnXfDoO8N8/S7CQ1hd-2iI/AAAAAAAABoc/BzSU3p98uag/s1600/latch+technique.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wvnXfDoO8N8/S7CQ1hd-2iI/AAAAAAAABoc/BzSU3p98uag/s1600/latch+technique.jpg</a><br /> I can't find a good diagram like that of a baby with a bottle, but the nipple is much shorter &amp; in general the flow is much faster. my breastfeeding class teacher told us that you never need to go above a level one nipple if you're breastfeeding b/c then the milk comes out too easily &amp; the baby doesn't need to work for it, which is one of the reasons that they can over-eat on a bottle - there's too much coming out too fast for them to have the time to realize they are full.</p> <p>she gave us a whole booklet to take home with info on this sort of thing &amp; I am not at all explaining it well. I'll find it when I get home &amp; type up what it says about this. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-47046 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:29:56 +0000 heffalump 47046@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Like others said, we had an issue with nipple preference. My milk didn't come in right away so we had to suppliment with formula. My baby just got too lazy for the nipple, because it's so much easier to get the milk from the bottle. </p> <p>We ended up doing a whole big routine to get her back to the breast. We used breastflow bottles so it was harder to get out, and my husband would always feed her (after I nursed). He would wait until she opened her mouth before putting the bottle in, wait for her to take 5 sucks, and then pull the bottle out. Then he'd have to wait for her to open her mouth again. It was a long process, but it worked! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-47035 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:14:43 +0000 skibobrown 47035@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not to change the topic here, but I'd like to also point out the opposite of nipple confusion. I think Mrs. Bee pointed this out recently, and that is that some babies start to prefer the breast over the bottle if they are exclusively breastfed for too long. I was one of those babies, and I flat out refused to drink from a bottle. My mom (luckily a SAHM) was literally glued to my side until I stopped breastfeeding b/c there was no other option for feeding me. </p> <p>IMHO this topic is pretty overwhelming. If you introduce the bottle too early then baby might refuse breastfeeding. If you introduce the bottle too late then baby might refuse the bottle. Add this to my growing list of mommy worries... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-47016 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:03:13 +0000 Maysprout 47016@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with the others, it's kinda a nipple preference. We introduced bottles of pumped milk at 2 weeks and didn't have any trouble with her taking a bottle or going back to the boob. She has an obvious preference for the boob but she's never cried about it or refused a bottle for any long period, and now she prefers spoons so we don't even bother with the bottle most of the time. </p> <p>When they're first born I'd avoid giving a bottle because the nipple stimulation from nursing helps your milk come in and if baby knows they get fast flow from bottle while they're just getting drops of colostrum it could set up a bad cycle of you not getting enough stimulation, which delays milk coming in or lower production. Those first couple weeks are important in establishing a good supply. For us I lucked out because baby loved to nurse, so even though she wasn't getting much out the first couple days she still nursed a lot and that helped things along. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-46979 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:31:29 +0000 Mrsbells 46979@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wow you two really explained it to me very well! Thanks a lot of taking the time to type up detailed posts like that. It has really helped my understanding of the whole issue. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-46962 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:18:42 +0000 Lozza 46962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, as I understand it, nipple confusion occurs when a baby is exposed to both boob and bottle, expects them to work the same way, and gets confused/frustrated when they don't. Usually what I hear about is how the bottle is easier, and the baby doesn't have to latch correctly or suck as hard to get milk out, and the baby expects the boob to work the same way which can lead to nursing problems or not wanting to eat unless it's from a bottle.<br /> Most women don't NEED to supplement with formula till your milk comes in (I mean, formula wasn't an option till the 20th century, and kids did fine)- you'll start producing colostrum right away, and your baby (in the vast majority of cases, though there are exceptions) will do fine on just colostrum till the milk comes in. (Also, remember that newborns only eat tiny amounts at a time) For women who don't want to supplement with formula, but may be having nursing difficulties, there's also the option of using a pump (your hospital should have one for you to use there) and then feeding the baby what you pump. We used a finger syringe to give LO colostrum that I pumped when we were having trouble getting him to latch properly. We also gave LO a bottle of formula in the hospital because both he and I got so frustrated trying to nurse that I think we both psyched ourselves out. Would he have been ok without the supplementation? Yeah, I bet he would have. Did it seem like a huge deal at the time? You betcha. (I cried). Did it create any lasting problems with nursing? Nope. In retrospect, is it something I care about? No way.<br /> Our lactation consultant encouraged us to give LO one bottle a day (preferably pumped breastmilk) from the very beginning to a.) get him used to a bottle and b.) keep me sane. There were times when we'd do more like 2 or 3 bottles a day and I think he did start to prefer the bottle and was fussier about nursing, but then we'd just cut out bottles for a few days and he'd deal. As for whether babies are hungry right away... if you want to BF, it's great to try to do so right away (they say to give it a try that first hour after birth). But if your baby doesn't really want to eat much at all that first day, it's not really a big deal. Our lactation consultant, pediatrician, nurses, etc. were all kind of like "yeah, we don't really worry about how much they eat on Day 1, as long as [if you want to BF] you're trying to get them on and latched and eating." They only got worried if a baby wasn't starting to eat regularly on Day 2. (At least in my experience) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-46944 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:03:47 +0000 pelikila 46944@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also, some babies latch right away after birth and drink colostrum and are satisfied. Some babies take coaxing. My son happened to latch right away without issue and was pretty sleepy after his first feeding of colostrum and I just had to keep trying to feed him for the next 24 hours every two hours by offering. Sometimes he'd latch, sometimes he wasn't interested and wouldn't. If baby isn't latching you can always try to pump colostrum to help stimulate your breasts and feed the colostrum to baby via dropper, finger, bottle, etc. It all depends on your comfort level. keep in mind too that when a baby is born, their stomach is itty bitty tiny and it doesn't take much to make them full, hence why they typically eat every couple hours or more frequently. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-46941 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:00:22 +0000 pelikila 46941@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I personally don't think it is nipple confusion so much as nipple preference. In the beginning, babies have to work to get the milk out of the breast harder than they would for a bottle so some times they refuse the breast if they've been given a bottle since the bottle is easier. After the milk comes in breasts get engorged and sometimes baby will have trouble latching until some of the milk is expressed so that can be troublesome too. Some people have inverted or flat nipples so that can be hard for a baby to learn to latch onto as well. A bottle nipple doesn't change, is relatively easy to latch onto, etc so babies can start to prefer a bottle nipple since it is easier to get what they want. So many bottle manufacturers are trying to make an option that is as similar shaped, textured, flow, etc to the breast to help prevent or circumvent that possible preference. That is why many times people are told to not give a bottle or pacifier until breastfeeding is well established, usually by 6 weeks of age or so. Some babies don't develop this preference and have no problem transitioning from breast to bottle and back. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/pls-help-me-understand-nipple-confusion#post-46933 Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:52:44 +0000 Mrsbells 46933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>From reading Mrs Yo-yo's recent blog post as well as other similar breastfeeding stories I'm a little confused about nipple confusion. What does that really mean? is it not ok to feed them formula until the breast milk comes in or does giving them the bottle make them less likely to want to nurse? Also When the baby is born are they hungry right away? </p>