21/2 month old daughter will NOT take bottle from Daddy !

Leigh - posted on 07/27/2009

Good for you as you will find with many parenting moments to come, persistance is the key...see what they say about paitence, you develop it, cause you have not choice!!

Jennifer - posted on 07/25/2009

So glad it worked out for you! Not ALL babies will take the bottle if they are hungry enough. My daughter was breastfed, and started refusing to take pumped milk in a bottle (from anyone) when she was about 5 months old. She never did take to the bottle again. Some babies will just wait until mom gets home. Some breastfeeding babies even start "reverse cycle" feeding where they won't eat all day if mom is away, and will instead wake up all night to eat! SOOO happy it worked out for you! It's tough to be the only one who can feed your baby!

Isobel - posted on 07/25/2009

YAY!!! Congratulations!

Jennifer - posted on 07/25/2009

WE HAVE DONE IT !!!! Charlotte is at the moment eating with DADDY !!!! I am sooo relieved ! I have her in her bouncy chair and before daddy introduced the bottle they played for a minute....then she took the bottle !!!!!!!!!
Thanks to all that gave me some suggestions !!!

Isobel - posted on 07/24/2009

I remember how hard it was to listen to her cry...never mind her- I thought I was going to throw up. Your husband is probably at his whit's end...but this may be a chance for them to bond. I hate to say it but I had to leave for the day...she got hungry...she ate. Is your mom nearby? Or his? so that he has some support and is not by himself?
-Good Luck

Jennifer - posted on 07/24/2009

Ok.....I am still having a hard time. She spent 45 minutes screaming her head off to the point of throwing up !!!! I made sure she didn't see me or hear from me. She was soo worked up that she wouldn't eat. So after an hour I ended up taking her from her dad and calming her down.
I will try again tomorrow....

Leigh - posted on 07/24/2009

She's so bright, more than likely she can see/smell you. They do feed when they are given no other alternatives.She's lovely!! Keep going.

Erin - posted on 07/23/2009

I'm with Janet, she WILL eventually feed if she's hungry enough even if she cries her way through it. It took my husband 10 days of doing this for a feeding each evening before she would take the bottle from him without crying and screaming like she was being murdered (it was heart wrenching and brings a tear to my eye even remembering her cries now and she's 19 months). Try the shirt thing and most importantly do not be there while he's trying to feed her, even better if you can be out of the house, if she can smell you or hear you it will be distracting for her (esp if you bf as I did). We had the double whammy of trying to introduce a bottle to her (pumped milk) at around this same age as well just so I could get the occasional break and enjoy a couple glasses of wine or go out with friends. Good Luck!

Kristy - posted on 07/23/2009

I had the same problem with my son. Since my son was preemie we couldn't let him cry a lot or he would lose too much weight, so we worked him into the idea slowly. I would hold him on a pillow that had a dip in the middle while daddy held the bottle... as he started to drink we would slowly start to move the pillow over to daddy's lap. After just a couple of days daddy could hold him and feed him with me right there!

Ronda - posted on 07/23/2009

The t shirt trick always worked for me, wear one to bed and let your hubby use it through the day to feed the baby.

Gena - posted on 07/23/2009

Make sure that daddy is not nervous about the job. Babies can sense that if someone holding them is unsure about what they are doing, they will want mommy. (Specially, if they are 1st time parents) Also it helps sometimes to have a shirt w/your smell on it. Let him hold it up on his chest and then hold her while trying to feed her. Also, let him hold her more before you start work so she will be ready for that change when you do go back to work part time. I hope this will help.

Gena - posted on 07/23/2009

Make sure that daddy is not nervous about the job. Babies can sense that if someone holding them is unsure about what they are doing, they will want mommy. (Specially, if they are 1st time parents) Also it helps sometimes to have a shirt w/your smell on it. Let him hold it up on his chest and then hold her while trying to feed her. Also, let him hold her more before you start work so she will be ready for that change when you do go back to work part time. I hope this will help.

Janet - posted on 07/23/2009

I am a mother of 4. Trust me on this. Keep trying, the baby will let him feed her, she will get hungry enough that it won't matter who is holding the bottle. But you'll have to let her cry her way through it. I know it's hard to listen to them cry, but it is the best for them sometimes.

Robyn - posted on 07/23/2009

I found my youngest wouldn't take a bottle from anyone if I was in the room but if I was out and she was hungry then it wasn't a problem. If you have already tried not being there try getting hubby to put one of your t shirts (dirty one) over his shoulder while feeding the baby.