How do I get my daughter to take a bottle?She REFUSES anything that's not the mommy

Shawna - posted on 10/28/2009

My daughter was the same way!! Not so much she didn't want anything that wasnt mommy, but she gagged at the taste of formula. I have to mix baby fruit in it. The thicker stuff like bananas works better. Worth a shot.

Ledi - posted on 10/28/2009

i totally understand your predicament and am going through the same! difference is i would like to mix feed my Lukas, breast milk and formula. he is 6 and a half months now and takes water and juice from his bottle but not formula milk. i think he is hungry at night as he is up to feed up to 6 times! am eternally exhausted. i love to breastfeed him but not when i feel so ran down in the process. maybe i will try some of the things you are and hope that he gives in

Taysha - posted on 10/27/2009

Thanks, that is the next suggestion up in the long line of trying for the bottle! Hope it works too!!

Ashley - posted on 10/27/2009

it's sweet and most things baby are not. I'm about to give it to my son in his cereal, it works for me. You can put it in the bottle and if you are still having a hard time try a little on the nipple of the bottle... hope it works for you

Taysha - posted on 10/27/2009

I bought a latex nipple today and she sucked for 30 seconds and then remembered how much she hates it and refused again but I feel good about that progress. I'm going to try a sippy again in a few days.
What does the Karo do for accepting the bottle?

Ashley - posted on 10/27/2009

my mom put Karo syrup in my first bottle. She ran out of milk and I wouldn't eat at all that first day. It's by the regular syrup just try a little at first it can make for loose stools... hope it works for you

Kimberly - posted on 10/27/2009

try a latex or silicone sippy cup, thats what i have to do with my daughter because she wont take a bottle at all, but she loves her sippy cups. I tried a NUK brand sippy cup and she loves to suck on that but its hard for her to get anything out of it, but then we tryied a NUBY and she loves it because she can actually drink out of it

Lucy - posted on 10/27/2009

My daughter is nearly 7months and also refuses to take a bottle from anyone, I wouldn't recommend the leaving her until she's that hungry she'll take the bottle, as i tried this and my daughter went 6hours with NOTHING!!!!!!!!! At this point she'd got herself so upset and I worried about dehydration etc so I fed her.



I've now introduced a sippy cup with water at meal times and i'm hoping as she grows older she'l not be as fussy and will take milk from a cup.



Is it just the night time feedings that are making you want to switch to formula, as it's a myth that formula makes them sleep better, my daughter still wakes up between 1 and 3 times to nurse, some babies just take longer to sleep through than others. You could find yourself still getting up 3 times to feed, only you'd have to sterilise bottles and make and warm up the formula!



If you can stick with nursing for the next few months, the amount of feedings will reduce as solids are increased, so it may not seem so much as a burden.



Good luck!

Hanna - posted on 10/26/2009

It might have to do with flow rate rather than nipple shape. my son had that problem backwards -- he was a C, so i couldn't nurse him once he came out & they gave him formula to get his blood sugar level back up. from there on out, he downed a bottle right then & there & another one 2 hrs later and ate a full bottle every 2-3 hours the entire time he was in the hospital & by the time my milk fully came in, he enjoyed the bottle & wouldn't take breast because it was flowing way too slow for him (and he was born 9lb 4 oz with an appetite of a crocodile).

i would try a #2 or even #3 nipple to see if that helps. and are you still pumping & giving or switching her to formula? if it's formula, she might not like the taste. also, is she on solids? if she is, then add cereal to milk & give it in a bottle (again, use at least #3 nipple). i know it's bad and choking hazard blah blah yadda -- it's not that bad -- if you are monitoring what she is doing, you are fine. and with cereal nipple, the choking hazard comes from cleaning it improperly where the nipple starts cracking at the Y edges making the hole larger. or alternatively, not putting enough cereal to thicken out the mixture so it's too liquid and flows too fast. i give my son his milk+cereal the consistency of a tomato sauce (the one in the metal can) where it flows with no problems, but it's no longer liquid. i hope this helps. good luck!

Chessa - posted on 10/26/2009

I had the same problem!! We tried everything, I tried leaving the house, different bottles, different formulas, everything. At 7.5 months he finally just took it one day like he'd been doing it the whole time. I started cutting out feedings that day and by 8 months he was completely done with me! I would just keep trying every couple days... she'll take it one of these times! (Every couple days because I thought that he would get stressed out about the bottle when we were trying too often... like he would see it and just freak out!)

Taysha - posted on 10/26/2009

Thanks for the support! I'm trying to cut out one feeding a few days at a time. I can't seem to get anything out when I pump now but she never took the breastmilk from the bottle either so all the milk that was pumped early on went to waste. It makes me uncomfortable for her to get hungry enough to take the bottle, but it is coming to that!

Kristin - posted on 10/26/2009

ha ha i have the opposite!!! I wish I could get her to nurse sooo bad, but she was 9 1/2 weeks early and the bottle is so much easier. I used to do daycae however and we used to try to implement it once a day. It was easier for us since mom was gone, and it was the only food for the baby, but if the baby wouldn't eat for one feed, and 2nd feed is here and still won't eat, we'd call mom to come nurse or pick up and take him/ her home. It just takes doing it over and over again.

Tamara - posted on 10/26/2009

You might be able to pump, so when the baby is ready to eat, she has something that she's familiar with and then maybe move on from there. I personally don't breast feed so I'm not exactly sure what to tell you

Melissa - posted on 10/26/2009

Babies can smell mom and know that you are the food source. This may sound a little harsh and I dont mean for it to be but baby will eventually get hungry enough she will take a bottle if that is all that you are offering her. Good news is, solids are not far off maybe you can hang in there just a little longer?

Heather - posted on 10/26/2009

My daughter wouldn't take a bottle until she was 10 months. Try to give her baby food, cereal before bed to keep her full during the night. Have dad or someone get her back to sleep and just train her to sleep through the night. You'll both get sleep and relief tension. Get her more focused on food and juice. When she's ready she'll go to the bottle and you can just slowly eliminate breast feeding.

Aideen - posted on 10/26/2009

you poor thing...its a difficult situation. I sleep through most feeds myself so I can't compare. Was the bottle feeding much easier? I often wonder whether its less or more work...

Taysha - posted on 10/26/2009

She won't take a bottle from anyone! I work in the morning and my sister comes to watch her and she won't take it from her either. Dad has tried too and no success. We have done the feeding lying down but she seems uncomfortable and tries to roll over. I'm happy I made it to 6months with nursing. I could only do 3 with my son before he had really bad acid reflux! I had no problems with him switching to a bottle. She is just stubborn :)

Aideen - posted on 10/26/2009

Sorry can't help much now as i've not been there myself. (Still breast feeding at 8 months.) I have heard some babies wont take bottles from mom....so maybe dad could try? I think she knows what's good for her though! I'd imagine she will continue to need a feed or two at night...and you'll have to get up to get a bottle now. steralise and all. Have u tried Breastfeeding lying down...you can sleep through those nighttime feeds!