Introducing a bottle to your breastfed baby is a significant milestone, and choosing the right bottle is crucial for ensuring a smooth transition. The mōmi bottle was designed with breastfeeding mechanics in mind and in collaboration with lactation specialists, making it an excellent choice for parents looking to introduce a bottle and preserve their breastfeeding relationship. 

In this guide, I’ve put together best practices for introducing the mōmi bottle - including tips from an experienced IBCLC. 

The key is to approach this transition with confidence and preparation, ensuring that both you and your baby are comfortable with the new routine.

Letting go of guilt: the role of bottle feeding in a breastfeeding journey

Let's start by addressing any guilt you might be feeling. Introducing a bottle of pumped milk (or formula) doesn’t mean you’re stepping back from your breastfeeding journey. Think of it as adding another tool to your parenting toolkit—a way to create a sustainable routine that supports your breastfeeding goals beyond the newborn stage.

When done right, bottle-feeding won’t diminish your milk supply or interfere with the nursing sessions you want to maintain.

Since mōmi was designed as a tool that supports breastfeeding, introducing the bottle can:

• Give you the flexibility to leave your baby for a few hours without worrying about hunger.
• Allow you to return to work or take care of other responsibilities.
• Offer your family and other caregivers the chance to bond with your baby through feeding.
• Support maternal mental health by offering an occasional break from nighttime nursing or constant care.

Breastfeeding works on a supply and demand basis. If you plan to introduce a bottle regularly, make sure you’re pumping with the frequency of nursing to make up for the milk that isn’t being removed from your breast. Offering bottles won't  harm your supply in the long run, but consistently skipping a breastfeeding or pumping session could.

When to introduce a bottle to a breastfed baby

The timing of bottle introduction is critical to preserve your breastfeeding relationship. Experts generally recommend waiting until your baby is around 3 to 4 weeks old before introducing a bottle. This gives you time to establish a strong breastfeeding foundation. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breastfeeding is considered “well-established” when the following criteria are met:

• Your baby can easily latch at the breast.
• Breastfeeding feels comfortable.
• Your baby has exceeded their birth weight.

Mary Enger, RN, BSN, IBCLC, is a lactation consultant in private practice at Pikes Peak Lactation in Colorado. Mary likens a baby’s process of learning to feed with a bottle to learning a new language. “Bottle feeding is like a different language compared to the breastfeeding language. Brand new babies are not often wired to be bilingual. However, by three weeks or so—for a term, healthy newborn—they’re ready to start ‘learning to speak’ their second language. It is best for baby if that second language (the bottle) is as similar to their mother tongue (the breast) as possible. I believe the engineered mōmi nipple offers that closest similarity.” Mary emphasizes the importance of waiting to introduce the bottle until breastfeeding is well established. In doing this, the mother preserves the nursing relationship and her supply. “Having first mastered breastfeeding, baby can learn to feed strongly from the bottle and then go back and forth to the breast with ease. This feeding versatility and competence can be a very important part of a healthy breastfeeding journey."

If you’re planning to return to work after maternity leave, you may want to practice bottle-feeding several weeks before you go back. This gives you and your baby time to adjust to a new routine, minimizing stress.

Getting ready to introduce the bottle

Before offering a bottle to your baby, it’s important to prepare both yourself and your little one for the transition. Here are some tips to get ready:

• Build a reserve of milk: Pumping after your morning feeds is a great way to collect extra ounces, since many women find their milk supply is higher at that time of day. You can also use a hands-free suction device to capture letdown milk from the breast your baby isn’t feeding on. This milk can be frozen and used later for bottle feeds.
• Start with freshly pumped milk: For initial bottle feeds, use freshly pumped milk rather than refrigerated or frozen milk. This helps your baby adjust to the bottle without having to adapt to the slightly different flavors that can develop when milk has been stored. Once your baby is comfortable with freshly pumped milk, you can gradually introduce refrigerated and then frozen milk.
• Choose the right moment: Introduce the bottle on a low-stress day when both you and your baby are feeling relaxed and you have plenty of time. Avoid introducing the bottle when your baby is sick or fussy, as they may be less receptive to trying something new.
• Timing is key: Offer the bottle when your baby is showing hunger cues but isn’t overly hungry. Respond when baby is showing early signs of hunger, like:
• Sticking out their tongue
• “Rooting,” which describes how a baby might turn their head and open their mouth as they search for the nipple
• Hand-to-mouth movements, or hand-sucking
• Clenched hands, or forming fists with their hands
• Opening and closing their mouth

How to offer a bottle of pumped milk for the first time

Patient parents who introduce the bottle gradually are set up for a smooth transition. Now that you know how to optimize the timing, with breastfeeding established and baby’s early hunger cues:

• Get in position: Start by getting yourself and baby into a position you use to nurse. Some babies prefer being held on their side, while others may like being cradled in your arms with their head supported. The key is to ensure your baby and you feel stable and comfortable. IBCLC Mary Enger says, “Babies won’t want to ‘suck swallow breathe’ if they’re on high alert. They need to feel safe.” 
• Angle the nipple: When you’re ready to feed, hold the bottle at an angle that allows the nipple to fill with milk (nearly horizontal). Mary advises, “Start with [the nipple] on the baby’s upper lip and rest it right under the nostrils. There’s a reflex there that’s part of the rooting reflex. If you wait with light pressure there, when the baby is ready to eat, they’ll drop open their mouth and bring their tongue forward. That’s when you put the bottle into the baby’s mouth. This creates a deep latch, getting the nipple back to the sweet spot between the hard and soft palate, just like they need to have with breastfeeding. This process of taking in the bottle nipple will help baby’s tongue to be ready to work. When baby starts to suck, hold the bottle at an angle that allows the nipple to fill halfway with milk. The nipple will likely be nearly horizontal. This allows baby to take the milk from the bottle, and not have it pour into their mouth without any effort from them.” 
• Set the mood: Just like older humans, babies will struggle to learn if they’re overly tired or hungry. Make your baby as comfortable as possible with conditions you know they like. For example:
• Adjust the temperature, lighting, and volume in the room until baby seems comfortable.
• Make sure baby is clothed comfortably.
• Try the bottle at different times of the day or night.
• Get into a warm bath with baby if they love water and offer the bottle there.
• Use a shirt or article of clothing that you’ve worn to give baby the comfort of your smell, if someone else is offering the bottle.
• If you, the nursing mom, will be offering the bottle, try doing so while enjoying the same skin-to-skin contact that baby is used to from nursing.
• Nail the approach: Your breastfed baby is accustomed to a warm, human nipple with all the right smells to trigger their latching instinct. You can simulate these factors with a bottle by:
• warming the nipple in a bowl of warm water or by rubbing it between your (clean) fingers;
• offering the bottle with a drop of milk on the nipple. That familiar scent will help help baby understand what it’s for.

How to introduce formula to a breastfed baby

If you plan to introduce formula for bottle feeds, consider letting baby start bottle feeding with breastmilk, since they’re already comfortable with that smell and taste. 

Having seen that baby takes a bottle of milk comfortably (without an increase in gas or fussiness), you’ll also be able to more quickly identify any sensitivities or preferences that your baby may have with any given brand of formula. 

• Start with a combination: Once baby has taken a bottle of freshly pumped milk, you can begin by mixing a small amount of formula with breast milk—perhaps 25% formula to 75% breast milk. Gradually increase the ratio of formula until your baby is comfortable drinking a bottle of formula only.
• Switch with ease: Once your baby is drinking all formula bottles, you can switch back and forth between the breast and bottles of formula as you wish or need to.

Overcoming bottle refusal

It’s normal for some babies to resist bottle feeding at first. If your baby refuses the bottle, don’t get discouraged. Here are some tips to help:

• Practice patience: It can take four or five times before your baby will drink from the bottle effectively. Don’t be discouraged, stay calm and keep trying whenever you feel up to it. 
• Consider your timing: Don’t wait until the day before or even the week before you need your breastfed baby to take a bottle. Babies are very sensitive to their environments, and may pick up on the bottle as a source of frustration if you’re feeling stressed that they won’t take it.
• Feed when baby is healthy: Babies seek comfort when they aren’t feeling well, and comfort to a breastfeeding infant means cuddling into your chest and nursing. If your baby has a cough or a case of sniffles, wait until they are fully healthy before introducing a bottle.
• Pick the right time of day: Does your baby enjoy mornings or afternoons best? Most children get more irritable as the day goes on, so we recommend offering a bottle when they are in a joyful, calm mood.
• Remember what baby likes: If baby is most comfortable on the move, offer the bottle while slowly walking or gently rocking on your heels. 
• Let your partner offer the first few feeds: Many children will drink more easily from a bottle when offered by someone other than their mom. When babies recognize their mom’s smell, they’ll often wait to nurse at the breast. If your partner feels anxious about giving baby a bottle, look to a trusted relative or friend who has fed babies before, and will approach the situation with confidence. 
• Warm up the contents and the nipple: Some babies will drink milk or formula cold, but the majority prefer their milk to be warmed. Additionally, they are used to drinking from and latching onto a warm breast. If they are met with something cold on their tongue, they know it is foreign. Keep everything warm so that it feels familiar and comfortable.
• Leverage baby’s natural instincts: Stroke your baby’s lips from top to bottom with the bottle nipple so that they open their mouth wide. Then allow them to accept the nipple rather than poke it into their mouth. By mimicking a breastfeeding latch, they are building on their feeding knowledge and using that skill to translate to a bottle. 
• Use the bottle to play together: This tip from lactation experts works, because it can help baby decide that bottles are something fun that they enjoy. Mary Enger suggests, “Get your baby watching the bottle. Hold it to one side where they can see it, and then slowly move the bottle to the other side of their face. Watch them move their head from side to side as they look at the bottle. You can also play a tuggy game with the bottle. Help baby get the nipple in their mouth with a strong seal, then gently pull it out just a little, and then let them pull the nipple back into their mouth deeply. You can do this a few times, then surprise them by pulling it gently all the way out and laugh. As baby gets used to the bottle being part of a game, their anxiety about a bottle can lessen." 
• Get expert help: There’s a whole world of professionals who are trained to assist with feeding challenges. One of these, a certified neonatal occupational therapist who specializes in infant feeding, has written some great advice for when your breastfed baby still isn’t taking a bottle. 

Maintaining Your Breastfeeding Relationship

Two of the biggest concerns that I hear from breastfeeding parents who are introducing the bottle is the fear that baby will develop a nipple preference (and refuse the breast), or that they’ll suffer a decrease in milk supply. Our experts designed mōmi specifically with that first concern in mind. To avoid potential problems with milk supply, continue to offer the breast as often as you would normally, and consider add extra pumping sessions to make up for any milk that isn’t being removed during bottle feeds. 

Conclusion: You’ve Got This!

Remember, learning to bottle feed is a new skill for both you and your baby, and it may take some time for everything to click. Stay patient and calm, and don’t be afraid to try different techniques to find what works best for you. Before you know it, your baby will be happily feeding with mōmi, giving you more flexibility and freedom in your feeding routine. You’ve got this!