Any suggestions for getting a baby to take a bottle???

Jennifer - posted on 02/16/2009

My daughter (now 7 1/2 months) went on hunger strike for a month and a half after I returned to work full time. She basically reversed her days and nights, getting up 2-3 times each night to eat. She would go about 9 hours during the day without eating much at all. Despite this, she continued to gain weight and develop normally! I tried everything; different bottles and nipples, different people feeding her, different positions of feeding, waiting until she was really hungry to feed her, feeding her before she got too hungry, feeding her from a cup/syringe/medicine dropper. Eventually, I just put the bottle away completely for about a week, reintroduced it with as little associated stress as possible, and she took it. She has been drinking from bottles about 3-4 times a day ever since. She does seem to prefer the brown orthodontic playtex nipples, and I read elsewhere that breastfeeding babies will often take these nipples when they will not take anything else. They seemed to gag her less than the other more traditionally shaped nipples! Best of luck!

Jennifer - posted on 02/16/2009

i love dr brown's bottles that is what i use. my second son never needed to be burped on those bottles no colic. i would recommend those bottles to every mother who needed to use bottles

Victoria - posted on 02/16/2009

Hi, you need to try different bottles I have one from Boots it is a Doctor Browns, Natural Flow anti colic bottle. The teet is like a nipple shape. I found using this together with holding her really close to you and position the bottle so you are mimicking the natural feeding position will get baby to take it. Make sure its nice of warm obviously but just keep persevering holding her really tightly and if she starts to jolt about and move her hands hold them down to calm her, i had exactly the same problem and was given this advice and it worked straight away. Once she has taken the bottle once though you need to keep giving it say once a day to ensure that they stay used to it other wise you will have the same struggle each time and lots of tears!!! hope this helps and sorry to assume baby is a she!!! xxxxx

Nikki - posted on 02/16/2009

I had to return to work 3 months after my son was born and getting him to take a bottle was so stressful. I bought EVERY brand of bottle out there, seriously. We tried having just my husband feed him with the bottle, waiting till he was VERY hungry - the pediatrician said to keep trying the bottle and he would eventually give in when he finally got hungry enough - I couldn't take it, he would scream so loud and so long that he would completely lose his little voice. We tried giving him the bottle when he was Just STARTING to get hungry, etc, etc, etc. In every scenario, he would start screaming the minute he saw the bottle coming anywhere near him! I was so worried that I wouldnt be able to go back to work. The nurses at my OB swore by the Playtex Latex Nipple (you cant put it in the dishwasher or boil it to sterilize it, but no big deal). So, I would put breastmilk in the playtex bottle and put it next to me. I would begin to nurse as usual and every couple of minutes I would swap out the breast for the bottle for just a minute until he realized what was going on and started to fuss. It seemed to work well as a way to get him used to the bottle without going completely crazy crying. It took about a week of doing that coupled with my husband feeding him once a night and he was ready to go! He has no problems feeding from the bottle with daycare or my husband. He will take the bottle from me as well, but still prefers the breast when I am holding him, which is probably just a matter of it being more comforting for him. I hope this helps in some way, I know it was a really stressful time in our household, but it all worked out eventually!

Jennifer - posted on 02/15/2009

u get him when he is really hungry. they won't refuse when they really want it. but a sippy cup might work too. my little guy drinks from all three breast bottle and sippy cup it takes a while but you know what they still drink. but u might need to burp the baby a little more because they take in more air because they are not used to it. when i give my baby a bottle with my milk i hold him almost they way i would if i fed him my breast, just because you give a bottle doesn't mean u can't hold him the same way. but don't worry it takes time for them to get used to. it's a new skill to master..good luck

Lisa - posted on 02/15/2009

I don't have any suggestions, as my 1st NEVER took a bottle, but I thought I'd share this...I was exclusively nursing my son, and we tried to give him bottles every once in a while, but he would not have it.  He was nearly 5 months when I went back to work, and he was going to go to the sitter.  We tried valiantly to get him on the bottle the month before, but he refused.  I finally called the sitter (nearly in tears) and asked her suggestion.  She was great and told me that he would take a sippy cup.  I was like "this young?"  She told me to bring 2 sippy cups with soft spouts each with 4 oz. of pumped breast milk for his first day.  I was totally skeptical, but went out & bought the Avent Magic Cups with the soft spouts (you can get hard ones for older babies), and when I called to check in that day she told me that she had just held him and he drank the entire first cup, then did the same in the afternoon.  We ended up trying it at home (my husband held him), and he refused.  It was like he knew that I was home and he had another option!  It was crazy.  I BF'd him until 15 months, then easily switched to just sippy cups of whole milk, but he was fine on the sippy even that young.  We never had to get him off of bottles, which I hear is pretty hard....so, I hope someone else has some good advice, but if all else fails you can try a sippy!  Good luck!

Danica - posted on 02/15/2009

get someone else to give the bottle. They know that Mama has the milk and will resist the bottle from you.