I think we can all agree that as parents, we value a healthy happy baby above all else. With that said, it can still feel discouraging when you set out to breastfeed with the intention of getting to bond with your baby and find yourself bonding with your pump.
Let's talk about breastfeeding versus bottle-feeding mechanics for a moment. Breastfeeding tends to require more work than taking the bottle. Breastfeeding requires sufficient tongue elevation (or lift) and tongue cupping to form a tight seal, stretch the nipple and extract milk from the breast continuously and rhythmically.
While the same mechanics are ideal for bottle feeding, babies that struggle to breastfeed may compensate with other techniques when offered the bottle. Some babies that have a hard time sucking may use compression techniques to extract milk from the bottle.
A baby can't compress the nipple on a breast to extract milk. It doesn't work the same way that a silicone nipple does.
So, if a baby with a shallow latch and weak or uncoordinated suck has a choice, they may prefer the bottle. For a lot of babies and moms this totally works and if it works for you and your family and you feel that things are going well, then there's nothing to change :)
However, for some babies that are compensating with other techniques during feeding, there can be a tendency to experience challenges with the following:
taking in too much air while eating, which can cause gas and/or reflux
prolonged feedings
lots of movement, wiggling and/or arching during feeding
popping on and off, latching, losing the seal, re-latching
requiring to take frequent breaks
If your goal was and still is to breastfeed, or if your baby is gaining weight, but spitting up a lot, gassy, frequently uncomfortable, or taking a long time to eat, reach out to your local provider trained in infant feeding and lactation practices to further assess oral motor and functional feeding skills.