Will not take a bottle

Talia - posted on 03/02/2011

my daughter would never take a bottle. I did manage to leave her a few times at around 6 months though! She happily drank breastmilk from a cup held to her lips :)

Keara - posted on 03/02/2011

i had the same issue, what worked for us is, find someone with some experience with bottle feeding babies, dad if he knows how, or grandma, who ever is available... get the bottle all ready and get them to sit on the couch with the baby in front of them so that he's facing out and turn on the tv or have something to visually stimulate him and then completely leave the room... let them handle it... apparenlty they can smell their mom from up to 10 feet away so if you are within that range they won't want the bottle cuz they know that the breast isn't far away,. i got this advice from my lactation consultant, and even tho we had to try a few times to get it right, and try a few different nipples, we finally got it right, and now he doesnt' care what nipple it is and i can even feed it to him as long as i'm not cuddling him like i'm gonna bf him... good luck

May - posted on 03/02/2011

Totall understand... Gone through bottle rejection at 4.5mths recently with my gal. She finally took the bottle bit by bit for past 8 weeks! It does comes with tears, persistence and never give up attitude! I start off with bottle at every feed n firm tell her, she will get to drink from mama after bottle for 8 weeks! Now she's taking 4oz from bottle compare to only 1oz! It's tough but can be done... All the best, dear! Oh 1 more thing, get the right teat or rather soft type n try a few times till bb get used to it for about a week before U put it away. Mine was NUK rubbery teat but she likes fast flow compared to smaller teat!

Bernadette - posted on 03/01/2011

my daughter wouldn't either. I didn't go back to work until she was on solids as I couldn't leave her for more than a couple of hours (not that I wanted to go back to work earlier anyway, but even if I had, I couldn't) She started solids at around six months, so at least I knew by then that if I had to leave her there was something she could be given if she got hungry. She also started drinking from a sippy cup at around 6 months, but only water at first. I first tried the sippy cups with the silicone spouts, but all she wanted to do was chew these as she hadn't used bottles so didn't know what to do with them. And chewing them made the water go everywhere! So i switched to one with a spout that was firm but flexible, where it didn't matter how much she chewed it because it wouldn't spill. After a few goes of using this one, she finally learned that if she wanted anything out of it, she had to suck. And that's how she learned to drink from a cup. Once she knew how to do it, we were also able to give her milk in it and then we also reintroduced the silicone spout ones, and even bottles. She never had her main feeds from a bottle though, she just wouldn't be satisfied with that even if it was my milk. If a drink was all she was after, she'd happily take a bottle or sippy cup but if a feed was what she wanted, it had to be me.

Monica - posted on 03/01/2011

I had the exact same problems with my DS. He REFUSED ever bottle we tried! I finally tried a long thin straw in a small bottle without the lid full of fresh pumped breastmilk. He LOVED it! It was all that worked from 4 until around 9 months when he decided he could drink from a Sippy Cup. He prefers the Munckin sippy and Born Free (at first he would only use them to chew on but finally started drinking from them), I was able to finally use up my frozen milk although I primarily used it in cereal once he started solids around 6 months as it doesn't taste as good as fresh milk.

Monica - posted on 03/01/2011

I had the exact same problems with my DS. He REFUSED ever bottle we tried! I finally tried a long thin straw in a small bottle without the lid full of fresh pumped breastmilk. He LOVED it! It was all that worked from 4 until around 9 months when he decided he could drink from a Sippy Cup. He prefers the Munckin sippy and Born Free (at first he would only use them to chew on but finally started drinking from them), I was able to finally use up my frozen milk although I primarily used it in cereal once he started solids around 6 months as it doesn't taste as good as fresh milk.

Ruth - posted on 03/01/2011

my little girl was like that we ended up getting a thermos straw flask she took to that with a little encouragement but it was worth the effort oh we went with the thermos because you can buy replacement straws and accessories which is great because you need them trust me lol

Christine - posted on 03/01/2011

Hi,

I have four kids under the age of six.. all were breast fed only... If he does not take a bottle by now.. he probably wont at all.. Most babies if they dont take a bottle in the first month.... wont .. they know what momma feels like and that plastic bottle is not it... they are used to skin contact.. and that is hard to replace if your child care isnt daddy or grandma... ( if by chance it is a family member...that u feel comfortable asking... they can try laying the baby on their bare chest(bras permitted with grandma).. and then trying the bottle.. )

Sorry I couldnt help more... good luck!

Heather - posted on 03/01/2011

My son had the same problem. From birth he refused to take a bottle. I tried all different kinds of bottles, nipples an sippys with no luck. At 8 months old he started to take a bottle, the nuby natrual, But my son also has a feeding problem, he doesnt an muscle tone in his jaw which makes it hard for him to suck an swallow. He wouldnt eat any food till he was nine months old but that was also due to him having multip food allergys.

Peggy - posted on 02/28/2011

That's a great point, Tiffani! If I remember correctly (my little guy is 2 now), he wasn't drinking while being held either. It wasn't a critical issue for us because I've been able to stay home. I hope you find something that you're boy likes, Nichole.

Judith - posted on 02/28/2011

Hi Nichole,
Congrats on your new pride & joy!
Well it's been a while for me, my daughter ( who was quite a preemie too) just turned 10 in Dec and I too used the breast pump as well since she was in the hospital and a bit when she came home. I used the AVENT collection is excellent to me; I never had to switch her once I started. I think the nipples are great and he should be ok! so try them. I used AVENT all throughout her toddler stage/ 3yrs. I love that product line and so did she.
Good luck with your choice.
Blessings with your son. :-)

Tiffani - posted on 02/28/2011

My baby did that but decided if anyone was feeding her a bottle that she didnt want held. Try car seat or swing when giving bottle

Nichole - posted on 02/28/2011

I did not introduce a bottle until he was about 3 months. Maybe I waited too long? I just didn't want him to get nipple confusion. I will try the sugar on the nipple, thanks for the idea!

Sabrina - posted on 02/28/2011

3 out of my 4 children have had this issue because I am a S@HM. Just curious but when was the first time you introduced a bottle to your little one? My best advice and the thing that has worked best for me is putting sugar on the nipple. They like the sweet taste and will start to latch. Once they are latched and realize that there is good stuff inside. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Shreyna - posted on 02/27/2011

Carolina, Have you considered keeping the frozen milk for your next child, or when your son is old enough to drink from a big boys cup, or donating the milk to the hospital? That way you aren't just throughing it away. I am sorry that mommy's milk in a bottle isn't working out for you. I hope that it will soon. Also, I just had my second baby and my son (2 yrs old) loves drinking mommy's milk in a big boys cup. It makes him feel like he is still loved and a part of mommy, and that mommy is giving him attention too. good luck.

Shreyna - posted on 02/27/2011

I didn't read through all of the post to see if anyone posted anything like this... but my son had the same problem. I soley nursed him but wanted to give him a bottle because he was having a hard time latching on properly and it really hurt (it took us 9 months to get it down). I wanted to give him a bottle to help give me a break. He cried and screamed and would not take it because it had breast milk and he knew it was not mommy but he was getting mommy's milk. finally i tried giving him water in a bottle and he finally took a bottle and enjoyed it. after he got use to the bottle with water and had no problems taking that then I tried breastmilk and he took it just fine. Your son is probably confused at why all of a sudden he is getting mommy's milk from a different source. Try giving him something else in the bottle just to get him use to it, then slowly introduce mommy's milk in a bottle. hope that helps.

Jenn - posted on 02/27/2011

My daughter never took a bottle. At 6 months she would drink water out of a soft nippled sippy cup but would still not drink milk from it. She is now 17 months and I gave up trying. She still nurses for milk and drinks water from a cup. I wish you better luck then I had!

Peggy - posted on 02/27/2011

My son drank from a bottle for my husband for about 2 months and then just refused. Avent makes a soft sippy spout and a green harder one that fits in their bottles and he liked those. He also used a water bottle style cup with a straw early.

Rebecca - posted on 02/26/2011

I had a similar problem with my son and the problem ended up not being the bottle but the milk - he would not take frozen breast milk - only fresh milk. I did some research on this at the time and apparently freezing breastmilk can change it's composition and taste so it is worth considering trying him on fresh breast milk to see if this makes a difference. He also refused to take a bottle from me, but would take it from dad or grandma if I was not in the room or at home. It might be worth a try anyway.

Deverie - posted on 02/26/2011

In addition to warming the milk, also try warming the nipple under hot water. For some reason this worked for my son occasionally and for my daughter 100% of the time. Good luck! I hope he takes it....I know how frustrated you must be. Oh, also my son (who is an extremely picky eater from day one) LOVES LOVES LOVES the sippy cups with straws. Maybe you could try that type as well.

Colleen - posted on 02/26/2011

I am on a 3 hour "leash", as my DH calls it. My 9 month old won't take a bottle either. He will however drink from a straw. We used a juice box to get him started also :)

Kassandra - posted on 02/26/2011

My son wouldn't take a bottle either but I was able to get him to drink out of a soft-spout sippy cup. He wasn't crazy about it but he would drink out of it if hungry enough.

Maria - posted on 02/26/2011

My 11 month old has never been willing to take a bottle. I was succesful at teaching him to drink out of a regular cup (not a sippy) and out of a straw when he was about 4 or 5 months old. To teach them to drink out of a straw, use a juice box and squeeze for them to show them there is something there, then it doesn't take them long to figure it out.. (I am anti-giving babies juice, but it made a good teaching tool...) Even if you could get your baby to take a partial feeding from a cup or with a straw you could probably lengthen the time you stay at work by quite a bit.

Now mine is old enough that on the rare occasion I am not around when he is ready for a feeding, he will take solids to tide him over for a while... so hang in there!

Something else my baby is willing to do and has done since about 7 or 8 months is drink milk out of a Tommie Tippie cup that has a sport bottle spout. (it's rated for 18 months and up, but it worked for mine as a bottle)

Mia - posted on 02/26/2011

I am having the same issue. My daughter is 10 months corrected age (due to prematurity) and I work at a local college as a part time instructor. I am normally not gone more than 4 hours. However, winter break spoiled little one. She was at least taking bottles before, heck she was taking bottles in the NICU or they wouldn't have let her come home in August.
Now, she just eats a little to get by until I am home. I switched from Medella to Nuk bottles because that is what her binky is and she does a bit better. My deep freezer is 95% full of BM. I am wanting to cut out one more feeding but at this rate that is going to be very difficult.

Melissa - posted on 02/26/2011

My daughter had the same issue and now she is 3 1/2. You will make it through this. I would go to the Playtex straw sippy cups.
Before any of you throw away your frozen milk see if a local hospital or milk bank will take it. They use it for kids in the NICU or adopted kids.

Krystel - posted on 02/26/2011

i had the same problem until i tried the tommee tippee bottles exclusively sold at toys r us they are the best!

Ana - posted on 02/26/2011

Sometimes positioning matters too. Have someone other than you give the bottle/cup and try positioning the baby facing out towards the room instead of towards the person's chest. If the baby prefers the be cradled, try having the feeder switch sides halfway through the bottle to simulate breastfeeding. Be consistent and best of luck!

Teri - posted on 02/26/2011

My daughter was like this and wouldn't take from a bottle we went to a cup with water and any milk added to rusk and baby rice. i also found that the temp matter alot she would take it from a cup if it was very warm (closer to body temp) rather than cool. hope you sort something xx

Lori - posted on 02/26/2011

Keep trying, and be patient, my kids were the same. The best bottle I found was the Haberman Feeder. It is more like the breast in that it has a chamber that baby needs to suck in order to get something. They are rather pricey, but well worth it I thought. Look at Medelas website. Good luck.

Carolina - posted on 02/26/2011

I have the exact same problem! My son is 10 months old and refuses the bottle and I definitely have a freezer full of milk...over a hundred bags that I'm going to have to throw out if he continues this way. I keep trying the sippy cup, but he'll only take water from it and only first thing in the morning. I'm sorry I have no suggestions for you, but I feel your pain. Good luck!

Kimberly - posted on 02/22/2011

DD is refusing to take the bottle too. I found out she likes the bigger nipples on the bottle vs the small regular ones. She plays with it a lot. Everything must be at room temp for her. She is almost 3 months & due to poo issues (not going 10 days +) she has to take 1 oz of juice a day. This has helped peak her interest in the bottle.

Melanie - posted on 02/20/2011

I'm having the same issue!!, he is 5&1/2 months, took a bottle until 4months when being watched, and now refuses! He started to take to a sippy cup a bit more then the bottle...i feel like i have a babiesrus in my kitchen lol we bout so many different kinds of bottles, nipples, sippies... Just be consistent, i do same time of day with the sippy now, he does prefer to chew on it, as he is teething, but he does take swigs here and there...and i don't bf at all for that feeding, i bf the next.... Hopefully he will realize when he gets the cup this is his feeding when he really starts to drink from it...wishing myself and you good luck lol

Sarh - posted on 02/20/2011

Everyone knows to NEVER warm a bottle in the microwave correct?! Run the bottle under hot tap water or fill a cup/bowl with hot water from the tap and sit the bottle in there.....

Liz - posted on 02/20/2011

Just keep offering it and have other people offer it instead of you. Are you warming the milk up long enough? I work at a daycare and all my BF babies have loved the playtex drop in bottles with the extra soft nipples.

Sarh - posted on 02/20/2011

Have you tried a sippy cup? You just have to keep trying.

The ONLY bottles I have used and the only bottles I will ever use are the Playtex Drop-Ins, they have a regular nipple that is clear and a nipple that is brown and is similar to the breast.

Nichole - posted on 02/20/2011

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it :) I have tried all different bottles and nipples including the breastflow bottles. I also have tried a sippy cup and he just chews on the spout.

Angela - posted on 02/20/2011

have you tried different brands of bottles? my son never really liked bottles but tolerated a "breastflow" bottle. since he is 5 months have you tried a sippy cup? we went straight to a sippy at about 5 months. any transition to something other than a breast will be frustrating for him and u, but just keep trying.