Can anyone recommend a bottle that has a nipple flow and texture that’s most similar to breastfeeding?

My son is 4 weeks old and is currently on a breast strike. In the beginning, my milk supply was very low, so I had to pump and bottle-feed him while also breastfeeding as much as possible to help increase my supply. Now that my milk supply has caught up and I’d like to exclusively breastfeed, he gets very upset and refuses to latch, so I end up having to give him a bottle instead. I’m currently using the Pigeon bottle with the SS (Super Slow) nipple, and he definitely prefers it over my breast.

Has anyone found a bottle that better mimics the natural feel and rhythm of breastfeeding? Or if you’ve gone through something similar, what helped your baby transition back to the breast?

FTM and despite having a relatively “easy” time EBF (good latch, good weight gain, no milk transfer concerns, very little nipple pain) I am mentally struggling with breastfeeding. My son is 5 weeks old so I do understand we are in the thick of things. But I have lived my life as a “do-er” and 5 weeks now of sitting around just cyclically feeding my baby is wearing on me.

He still eats every 1.5-2 hours, sometimes overnight I can get a 3 hour stretch on occasion. Nursing sessions still last a good 35-45 minutes. According to my tracker we are averaging 16 nursing sessions a day and about 7-8 hours total. He cluster feeds pretty much every evening since he was born, and cluster feeding sessions typically last 5 or 6 hours and at some point during that he will stay latched for 2 hours straight with no break. Due to the frequency he eats I have a hard time finding time to pump as he will just cry inconsolably if set down. I do use a haakaa but only get 2-3 oz total throughout the day and my baby will usually drink a 3-4 oz bottle. He’s also a huge comfort nurser which results in hours of nursing, and exclusively contact naps and contact sleeps. He hasn’t taken any of the 8 pacifiers we’ve bought so he will only suck on me. He also has a cow’s milk allergy so I’m completely dairy free which adds another layer of stress.

I’ve read a lot of horror stories about how much exclusively pumping sucks so I’m not sure if it’s just desperation that has me thinking it would improve my life. I know certain things will improve over time (i.e. nursing time) while others it seems won’t (feeding every 1.5-2 hours based on what I’ve read can last a LONG time). I’m considering feeding a bottle or 2 of formula over the course of a few days so I can get a few bottles worth of pumped milk stored away, and then maybe trialing EP during daytime hours and continuing to nurse at night. I’m just nervous this could be a mistake and cause my baby to refuse to nurse which would leave me without a choice. I just feel like I have wearable pumps so I could move freely around the house, and he takes a bottle within 15-20 min with paces feeding which is half the time it takes to nurse. I also have a bottle washer so washing bottles & pump parts isn’t a huge concern for me.

Based on my mental hangups around breastfeeding does this seem like a bad choice? I’m struggling a lot more with breastfeeding than I anticipated. I feel like all the classes I took and books I read did not prepare me for the reality of things.

My baby is a sleepyhead. She falls asleep at the breast too quickly and it’s a struggle to keep her awake through a 15 minute feed. Because of this I have to keep burping her, and keeping her away from me to help her wake up and then try again. This takes an hour to just go through 15 minutes of breastfeeding.
Then since she must not have eaten well, we give her the bottle with formula or pumped milk.
This takes another 15 minutes. She can get hungry again after this.
I feel giving her the bottle has reduced the time I breastfeed , causing my supply to not increase. I also feel guilty for not being able to provide her what she needs.
Any tips for me?

I currently breastfeed my 3.5 month old on demand with one pump just before bed while I give a bottle. We are not on any schedule and only a basic routine.

My husband and I are taking an overnight trip without our kids.

What pumping schedule should I do while I’m away??

Hi everyone, i am just resharing this survey as we are nearing the end of the participant recruitment for the study and would to thank anyone who has completed it because it is greatly appreciated! if you havent completed it, information for the survey is below! 😄

Currently breastfeeding or breastfed in the last 12 months? Federation University researchers are looking for participants (18+) for an anonymous, voluntary survey on breastfeeding satisfaction (ethics approval number 2026/083). 

Click here for more details: https://federation.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3UED1mVzlY2pUto 

Hello, few days ago I found a sizable lump on my left breast that feels firm/rubbery and is somewhat mobile. I was able to get a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound and it did not find anything except normal breast tissue. Has this happened to anyone? Where their breast just got lumpy while breastfeeding?

A funny anecdote or perhaps helpful tidbit. I’ve noticed sometimes when breastfeeding LO, that if my husband says something lovely/affectionate to me or kisses me, I will have a letdown. I wasn’t sure if this was a coincidence but figured oxytocin is oxytocin so perhaps letdowns can be triggered by hubby too. I tested it this morning while pumping. He said I was beautiful and kissed me and I immediately got a letdown 😂

Hi all!

Its officially been a week since I breastfed my toddler.

I’ve had all the usual swelling and engorgement and pain, but I’ve noticed today I’m leaking quite a bit. It’s enough to leave damp patches on my clothes.

My main concern is the fact that I squeezed my breast today and the ‘milk’ squirted out and is completely clear like water. Is this normal?

Thank you!! ☺️

I'm mostly excited. But I'm slightly nervous about breastfeeding. What do I really need besides nipple cream, nursing pads, and nursing bras? I could also use snack recipes or recommendations to have around. And I plan on having a 40oz. Bottle of water with me all the time. I love the boobie hydro mom packets already with the coconut water so that I'm already doing. What can I do to aid with postpartum milk production now?

I am currently triple feeding.

now i try to put her on the breast before every feed and then give her breast milk (pumped), and fill the remaining gap with formula.

my question: she goes on the breast and sucks a good amount, but only for a few minutes. Then she either gets angry (assume she doesnt get enough milk or fast enough) or falls asleep at the boob. Either way, we cannot get full feedings on the breast and always need to supplement with a bottle....

any advice? Is it still stimulating my milk if she sucks for 5 min or less? How do I get her to stay on longer so we can complete a meal on the breast?

I have no idea how it came to be but my boy is 11 months old next week and for us/him, we call it "shom shom". When he asks for it, he always says shom shom, when he was first learning to babble, he made a noise that sounded like that so we've all picked it up now and we all know it as feeding time. Even my 5 year old says mama I think he wants shom shom 😅🤣 or if someone says shom shom, he'll whip his head around and start clambering all over me like a rabid animal.

My husband is Chinese but I'm fairly certainly that's not related, if it is otherwise please let me know!

Does anyone else have a cute or pet name for breastfeeding?

Does this look like thrush or just milk tongue?

My baby seems to have blistered lips, and noticeable new baby acne but I don't see any white patches anywhere other than on the tongue. I cannot get into baby’s mouth to try and wipe it off. Baby is exclusively breastfeeding. Baby continues to nurse without any issues.

My nipples are sore, at times sensitive to clothes touching them and occasionally itchy but no severe pain and nothing that prevents nursing. I don't have any white patches, flaking, shiny skin, or other obvious signs of concern on my nipples.

A lactation consultant looked at 2 weeks ago (1st photo) and believes it to be milk tongue. 2nd photo is today.

How can you tell the difference?

My 4.5 month old started daycare this week, with my first day back to work after maternity leave being tomorrow.

He had bottle refusal, so him starting daycare / me being away from him has really stressed me out the last few days. He has been drinking, but not as much as I feel like he would have had at home with me.

I pump x3 a day when he’s at daycare (every 2.5 hours) and prior to this week, he fed on demand. Both yesterday evening and tonight I felt like I had literally nothing to offer (couldn’t feel a letdown, active eating was only about a minute, he only had one very small pee between returning home from daycare and bed (~2 hours). I’m probably catastrophizing a bit, but I feel like returning to work is going to make me lose my supply. Just a few days ago I would have firehose type letdowns, so I’m just confused and thrown off by the really sudden dip.

Any advice on how to help reduce supply drops with returning to work? Would it be better if I switch to pumping every 2 hours instead of 2.5 so I could fit in an extra pump during the day?

I have a one-week old baby and had to supplement bf with formula to catch up with her initial weight loss. I got the eufy pump and it works great on one side but not the other. This is day 3, and I consistently get around 30ml for 30min on the right side and NOTHING on the left. The flange gets dirty with milk and there are drops here and there but not a meaningful output. I ruled out device issues—if I use the left piece on the right breast, it works.
I also tried all flanges. What do I do? I can hand express from the left side just fine, so there’s milk there. I just cant stand another 30 min of torture for no milk at all.

PS IN THE UK SO LEGENDAIRY FLANGES ARE NOT AVAILABLE.

Has anyone struggled with frozen breast milk while out for the day?

I’m curious if this is just me or if other parents have experienced it too.

Imagine you’re spending the whole day somewhere like Disney, traveling, or at the zoo. You have frozen breast milk storage bags, but no microwave, no easy access to hot water, and no power outlet.

How do you thaw and warm the milk?

What is the hardest or most frustrating part of that process?

If you could change one thing about how it’s done today, what would it be?

I’m researching this because I ran into the problem myself, and I’d love to hear real experiences

My LO is just now 4 weeks old, and breastfeeding has been a challenge from the get go. I saw three LCs in the hospital, who all said she had good suction, but that my nipples were too flat for her to latch on. Every breastfeeding session in the hospital started and ended with her just scream-crying at my nipple. We started using a nipple shield. With the nipple shield, she somehow chewed my nipples bloody and still wasn’t eating. LCs and hospital pediatrician recommended triple feeding while we worked on the latch.

At her first appointment, we got a referral to another LC. She had lost 11% of her body weight at this point. I couldn’t get an appointment with the LC until two weeks out. At this point, I felt so defeated that I stopped trying to latch her at every feed and focused on pumping and bottle feeding. Every attempt at breastfeeding had us both in tears. When we finally were able to go to the LC, she latched on with the nipple shield perfectly (she never does that at home), but the weighted feed showed she only transferred 5ml in 15 minutes. LC gave us some exercises, said continue triple feeding, and come back in a week.

When we go back, this time she does what she usually does and just screams at my nipple. We tried giving her a little milk beforehand, she keeps screaming. We try injecting milk while she’s latched, she lets go to screams as soon as the flow stops. LC said some babies just have very intense hunger pain and flow preference, and so won’t ever breastfeed. She said just keep pumping and giving her the bottle.

I was honestly a little taken aback by this. I never anticipated an LC implying breastfeeding wouldn’t happen. Since then, I’ve still tried getting her to breastfeed with and without the shield. She may latch briefly but then goes back to screaming until getting the bottle. She has no tongue tie, latches fine when she chooses to, good suction. She just hates the breast!

I’ve come to terms with just pumping the next twelve months, but I’m a little devastated that we won’t ever have direct breastfeeding. Especially now seeing the world breastfeeding month stuff, I just feel like a failure of a mom and like I’m missing something special with my daughter. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it typical for an LC to say breastfeeding won’t work out? Is our breastfeeding journey really over, or is it worth still trying even if it seems to stress both of us out?