Weaning: How do you switch from breastfeeding to bottle-feeding?

First thing: put the end of breastfeeding into perspective
Next: Focus on gentleness and support for bottle-feeding
Find THE bottle baby will love
Give her the perfect bottle
Don't forget: choosing the right infant formula
As an added bonus, our advice on how to cope with the difficulties of weaning.

Weaning is one of the first major stages in a baby's life. Initially breastfed and fed on demand, baby will soon switch from breast to bottle. Not always in agreement, sometimes confused or on the contrary completely cooperative, he may react in different ways, and so will you. You may even be surprised by ambivalent feelings. As we told you some time ago, the milk blues are sometimes hidden behind the nostalgia for breastfeeding. But, because the vast majority of weanings go off without a hitch, let's take a look at how to give yourself the best chance of getting your baby to accept the bottle.

First thing: put the end of breastfeeding into perspective

Baby bottle sucking on its mother's breast

Nothing is more normal than to feel a twinge of sadness at the thought of weaning your baby. It's the end of an era, when you were absolutely everything to your baby: the protective, loving, nurturing mother. Whether by choice or obligation, you're one of those moms who stop exclusive breastfeeding and switch to mixed breastfeeding, then to bottle-feeding, in your baby's very first months.

But fortunately, the end of one period always heralds the beginning of another! Your baby is no longer an infant; he's waking up and doing a few things on his own. For both of you, it's the advent of a different kind of sharing.

Whether breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, the most important thing is the love transmitted through the act of feeding .

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for newborns up to the age of 6 months. However, in 2013 the Epifane showed that at 3 months, 39% of children were breastfed. By 6 months, only one in four was being breastfed. Four years later, in 2017, the proportion of children still breastfed at 6 months had fallen to 22,8 % according to the national average.

Then: focus on gentleness and support for bottle-feeding

For your baby, breastfed from the very first day of life, nothing is more natural and instinctive than drinking from your breast. That's why the introduction and installation of the bottle as a new everyday feeding object should be as gradual, gentle and attentive as possible. Temperature, texture, shape, handling... almost everything is different between the breast and the bottle, so you need to be patient and kind in order to switch from one to the other without mistrust.

Give yourself time and discover new sensations

It takes about a full month to wean your baby from exclusive breastfeeding to bottle-feeding at every meal. However, depending on your emotions, your child and your possibilities, this time can be shortened or lengthened. So give yourself as much time as you can to give yourself and your baby the right to say no, or not to feel like it, or not to be able to do it, and to start again the next day.

By bottle-feeding rather than breast-feeding, you can enjoy your baby's face. Because he's no longer buried against your breast, but turned towards you, you perceive new emotions and new expressions every day. If breastfeeding offered you a carnal and almost primal exchangebottle-feeding offers a different, but just as rich, interaction, like the beginnings of a discussion between you.

Choose a graduated approach with no deadlines

If weaning your baby is your choice, then it's up to you and you alone to make sure it goes smoothly. If it's linked to going back to work, or if you feel your milk is beginning to dry up, you have a deadline. However, you can always choose to wean your baby gently, by offering to start bottle-feeding earlier. You may feel as though you're depriving yourself of a few weeks' feedings, but you'll also benefit from a more pleasant transition that leaves you no worries about your child's ability to feed without you.

With a view to helping your baby become more autonomous (an idea that will never leave you), why not start by replacing one daily feed? Between 3 and 5 months, baby eats an average of 4 meals a day. Keep, for example, the precious morning and evening feeds - all the more so as they are necessary to avoid breast engorgement - and start by giving a bottle during the day. As with breast-feeding, don't focus on quantities, especially the first few times. Once you've accepted this bottle, you can add a second one in a few days or weeks. The period of mixed breastfeeding has begun!

Baby accepts it? Keep up the rhythm of two feeds and two bottles for another week, until you finally switch to bottle-feeding only. To make things easier, offer him bottles of your milk first, if you want to pump, before switching to an infant formula.

Baby in his mother's arms drinking his Elhee physiological bottle

Withdrawal is not an exact science! Its success depends on a number of factors, including timing, but also particular emotional conditions. If baby agrees to take one bottle a day, but not two, that's okay! You can try again later. That's the whole point of starting weaning early. And rest assured, the end of breastfeeding doesn't necessarily mean the end of feedings. If you're ill or tired, your little one may come back from time to time to ask you for more, until he or she stops altogether.

Another thing: create a new ritual for bottle-feeding.

Starting and ending the bottle with a cuddle, talking, explaining, singing to reassure your baby, introducing meals with Dad... Time is your best support in avoiding the little fears and frustrations linked to this major change that is the end of breastfeeding. And creating rituals makes things much easier.

The force of habit is a powerful motor of acceptance that can help you ease the transition from breast to bottle feeding. So, if you haven't already done so, introduce a reassuring ritual that baby will associate with feeding time. And, if you can, take advantage of a quiet time when you're alone together.

Practice skin-to-skin cuddling! Since bottle-feeding will soon replace breast-feeding, give baby the ultimate compensation by cuddling skin-to-skin while he eats. Comfortably installed in an armchair or rocking chair, slip baby into a sling or simply lay him against your chest. Lulled by your heartbeat and relaxed by your warmth, he should find it easier to indulge in his new snack.

Find THE bottle baby will love

Anticipation can sometimes overcome the most difficult problems, giving you time to think about everything (or almost everything). Before you give your baby his or her first bottles, take the time to review your various container choices. Not all bottles are suitable for your baby, and this is even more true when it comes to making the transition from breastfeeding.

Choose the right size

Find a healthy material

Choose a physiological teat

This is perhaps the element that has the greatest impact on baby. The bottle nipple gradually replaces your nipple. Its shape is different, as is its texture and the flow of milk sucked in by the infant. As a result, your baby may simply reject it. No way! The physiological teat facilitates the transition from breast to bottle, thanks to its asymmetrical shape designed to adapt to children's mouths and palates. It's very supple, so baby doesn't feel uncomfortable and doesn't have to make any effort to drink. And if it's made from medical silicone, as is the case with Elhée bibRond teats, it's odorless. Everything you need to quickly adopt it!

the perfect bibRond

Taking all these considerations into account, Elhée one day set herself the task of imagining the perfect bottle for healthy, serene baby feeding. It would be healthy, gentle and practical for moms too. What's more, it would be beautiful. Some time later, with the help of a team and a team and production line, the Elhond bibRondthe bibRond Elhée was born.

call-to-action-bottles

Today, Elhée's little pink heart accompanies the round feeding bottle around the world. The words of the mothers who have tried it and adopted it.

Don't forget: choosing the right infant milk

Baby in his mother's arms, tugging on the physiological nipple of his Élhée anti-colic bottle.

But weaning is not just a question of technique or equipment. This first dietary transition is above all a matter of taste. From breast milk to infant formulas, there's a whole world of formulas to choose from.

From classic cow's milk-based powdered milk, to formulas designed for the digestive comfort of little allergy sufferers and thickened milks, all you have to do is make your choice... and follow your baby's lead. As it's possible that the first milk you choose is the right one, you may have to switch brands several times before you find the right one for your child.

From a practical point of view, use only infant formulas recommended for your child's age group: first-age milk before six months and second-age milk after that. The quantities and method of preparation are always indicated on the can.

Bonus: our mom's secrets for coping with the difficulties of weaning

But that's all theory. In practice, you may have to wean your baby earlier than planned. Maybe you won't feel like it, or on the contrary, you'll go ahead and enjoy bottle-feeding sooner. Maybe baby will cry a lot and you'll feel helpless. Or maybe baby will be the first to refuse to feed, and you'll feel helpless. It's also possible that baby will take his first bottles easily and then suddenly refuse to continue drinking them...

In short, as you'll have gathered by now, and if you've already had a child you'll know, theory and practice when it comes to motherhood aren't always linked. So, here are a few mommy secrets to share and help each other out:

Change places between breastfeeding and bottle-feeding. The idea is to create a new moment, a new space between you, at the breast of which baby will no longer automatically seek a feed. Were you breastfeeding in the bedroom? Choose the sofa in the living room, or the bench on the terrace if the weather's fine.
Tilt the bottle when feeding and/or use a slow-flow nipple so that baby doesn't feel overwhelmed. With a bottle, milk flows faster than when feeding!
Let someone else give the first bottles. Even if it's a bit hard, letting Dad give your child his first bottles can ease the emotional transition by drawing baby's attention away from his meal.
Gently warm the milk. Since breast milk is naturally lukewarm, warming the milk in the bottle before feeding may help!