We did. It was a challenging process, but worth it!
A quick summary before the details:
*Try the breast before every feeding
*Make the bottle difficult to use compared the breast (with the aid of the nipple shield on both)
*All oral satisfaction requires work (no easy pacifiers)
*Success comes when baby is not overly hungry, emotional or wound up
FYI - we were feeding pumped milk. I had surgery and was unable to BF at the time.
So this is our story and how we overcame the bottle. We too fought flow preference, and we were using the slowest flow nipples we could find at the time.
About three weeks after surgery, I was able and ready to put her back on the bare breast. She kicked, screamed, and howled every time. It was emotionally exhausting, but we kept trying. And it didn't work at first. We saw many LCs and no one could tell me what to do. I was always pretty frustrated with the lack of info, even though the LCs were all very nice and tried to help us. I came up with a new process on my own to help us through the transition, so here we are making a pubic debut with this method. :-)
First off, we discontinued the use of "easy" pacifiers. The Nuk style just stays in the mouth and babies don't have to work to keep it in. So, we opted for the Soothie brand. The baby actually has to use the muscles in the mouth to keep the paci in. Better muscles + more patience = better success in breastfeeding. Also, we wanted to make sure that she had to "work" to get any kind of oral satisfaction. Normal bottle flows and Nuks are easy compared to waiting for let down and actively breastfeeding! I guess in a sense we wanted to gently mold her in a different direction, if that makes sense. That's why we started with changing the paci.
Moving on!
It was important for me to make her transition to active breastfeeding as seamless as possible. From artificial bottle to the breast seemed like a big leap. For a gradual transition that I thought the baby *might* be comfortable with, I enlisted the help of the nipple shield. We wanted the switch to be "her" choice - with a little coaxing, of course! Eventually she chose the path of least resistance, which of course is what we set her up to choose.
We made the bottle a pain in the rear for her. We wanted her to get the idea that the breast is easier. Because she had developed a strong affinity for firm rubber rather than breast, I found a small size nipple shield (that ones that are more pointed and narrow), and we placed it over the tip of the slow flow nipple every time she ate.
The nipple of the bottle had a single hole, and the nipple shield had four holes in the same pattern a button from a piece of clothing would have. So, if you can imagine the setup with nipple shield placed right on top of the bottle nipple: basically the shield prevents the bottle from flowing as fast because the bottle hole is covered by the shield. The baby has to work really hard to suck the milk out.
(Note: Its a pain in the butt to keep the nipple shield in place over the bottle nipple, but it does work if you keep at it! Also, the first time around you must check the flow to make sure your setup works. We sucked on the bottle before we gave it to baby. We used tea so that we could taste what was coming through.)
Once we had her eating from the bottle that way reliably - and NEVER without the shield, we started offering the breast first WITH the SHIELD in place over my nipple. She would kick and cry, then we would comfort her and move to the bottle again. And we did this every time she needed to eat.
Keep in mind that every offering, both breast and bottle, included the same shield.
We also made sure to offer the bottle in a breastfeeding type position every time, so that in case I wanted to pull a switch-a-roo, the bottle, the breast and the shield were all right there in the same place. In my case, the chosen position was a modified football hold.
The breakthrough came during "sleepy" feedings and middle-of-the-night diaper changes. She would be really, really drowsy but just starting to stir. I offered the shielded breast first, and she just took it in her mouth and gave it some "paci sucks". I am sure that she had no clue what she was doing, as she was still pitching fits during the daylight offerings!
Within a couple of minutes, I let down and she ate! Believe me, I was holding my breath the whole time and PRAYING for let down!
It took over a week for the transition from shielded bottle nipple to shielded breast to be made completely. We fed from the breast with the nipple shield for a month to make sure that the transition was complete. And then, we started going back to the beginning and offering the bare breast at each feeding. If she complained, we used the shield again. And so on and so forth until we weaned from the shield and on to the bare breast!
Anyway, I know this is long and probably somewhat random. I have tried to be complete in my explanations, but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! I will help any way that I can - and please know that it IS possible!
We are quite proud of our success, and I know that you can be as well. It does take some time and the transition is not immediate, but it can be done! Its just takes some creativity when you have a stubborn, sweet little baby. :-)
Good luck!
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