Breast milk is the very first thing infants taste, and thus it is very tough to get them accustomed to the milk bottle. If your baby is throwing a fit over accepting the milk bottle, here’s how your baby will start loving the milk.
- Mix Breast Milk with Cow milk – Sometimes, infants hold on to the taste of breastmilk a little too long to enjoy the goodness of cow milk. No matter what, weaning them from the habit of breastfeeding seems challenging. You can habituate them gradually by mixing breast milk with cow milk. As days go by, the proportion of cow milk can be increased.
- Distract Your Baby with Colorful Bottle – Babies get engrossed in their surroundings. They are surprised and thrilled by the smallest of things. Use that opportunity to bring in colourful toys to awe your child, and sneakily insert the bottle in their mouth so that they don’t even notice.
- Cuddle up – Holding up your baby close to your body just as do while breastfeeding will give them a sense of safety. Babies feel your skin, your touch, make sure it’s not detached suddenly even when bottle feeding. Weaning off your baby is a slow emotional process. Take one day at a time.
- The Right Temperature – An infant is habituated to the warm feeling of their mother when they breastfeed. Make sure the milk is of more or less of the same warmth as the breast milk. Ideally, the temperature should be neither cold nor too warm.
- The New-cup trick– A classic trick in the books! Bringing the milk in a colourful cup will distract your baby from the milk itself. It’s one of the best ways for a baby to wean off and start loving the milk bottle!
- Longer Feeding Interval– Infants develop psychological abilities to recognize repeated tastes and visions. The smell of cow milk may start to irk the baby’s senses if you are offering the bottle very frequently. Hence, space out time between two feedings. Make them feel hungry enough so that they do not refuse the bottle anymore and easily wean off.
- Visit a Lactation Consultant– If none of the above methods works for you, it is best to visit a professional. Visit a lactation consultant to know the right way to wean your baby off their breastfeeding habit.
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