I just wanted to share this informative article on bottle feeding babies who also nurse. It offers great insight that I had never been told before. It is by Eva Lyford and is from
KellyMom.com:
Often, as infant feeding specialists, lactation consultants and other experts in the field of human lactation are asked how to properly bottle-feed a baby. Direct breastmilk feedings from the mother’s breast are always preferred to any artificial source or substance. In addition, there are often
alternatives to bottle-feeding, such as cup feeding, which should be explored. For the baby who has to be bottle-fed, following is some information to help make the experience a good one for the baby and also to make sure that breastfeeding is fully supported even when artificial feedings are used.
This information can also be useful in evaluating infant care providers and for instructing them on how to bottle-feed a breastfed infant. Note that when working through any feeding difficulties with an infant, a
lactation consultant is an excellent resource for evaluating methods for their appropriateness to the specific situation.
While useful for any bottle-fed infant, this information is particularly targeted towards infants between 12 weeks and 6 months of age.