Healthy, full term babies don't need supplementary bottles with water, glucose or formula.

All your baby needs is your milk.

By giving bottles to your baby he will nurse less at your breast and your milk supply will go down.

Another problem is the danger of your baby becoming nipple confused. The sucking action in feeding from an artificial nipple is quite different from suckling the mother's nipple.
During breastfeeding baby's tongue, jaw and mouth work together in a coordinated rhythm. Baby's tongue thrusts forward over the lower gum to cup the breast, the lips are flanged out around the areola, and the gums compress the collecting sinuses under the areola.

During bottle-feeding, the action of tongue, lips and jaw is very different. Since milk flows easily from the bottle nipple, baby's tongue thrusts upward to control the flow of milk.
His lips are pursed tightly around the artificial nipple and the jaws do not need to compress the nipple to extract the milk.
When the baby tries to suckle the breast in the same way, he fails to obtain the milk from the breast effectively or to stimulate the milk let-down.
This is called "nipple confusion" and often results in a frustrated baby who begins to prefer the bottle.

Studies found that many babies become nipple confused if given a bottle during the first 3-4 weeks of life.
For some babies it may take many bottles, others become confused after just one bottle.
If you plan to use bottles it is therefore best to wait until your baby is at least 4 weeks old.

Pacifiers can change suckling patterns and cause nipple confusion just as a bottle nipple so if you are planning to use a pacifier it is better to wait until baby is about 4 weeks old. (See also section PACIFIERS).

If your baby does need to take supplements for some special reason, it can be given in a way that your baby does not become nipple confused. For example supplements or medicines can be given in a cup (choose a plastic one which you can bend to form a spout), a plastic eyedropper, a spoon or a syringe.
Keep baby upright when you try this feeding methods and give baby small sips at a time. To satisfy his sucking needs he may want to suck on your clean finger.

For information regarding individual Breastfeeding Consultation by online lactation consultant please click here.