Cant get baby on a bottle

Treasure - posted on 02/07/2010

I had this problem with my (now) 5 yr old. She wouldn't take the pumped milk in a bottle for anyone. She would wait for Mom to come home from work and then nurse like crazy! Some babies are like this. My 21 month old would take it from a bottle, or formula while Daddy held her. She didn't care!
Now, the 5 yr old, I had to use Gerber bottles, and the 21 month old, it didn't matter. So, you will have to go through trial and error before you find what works best for you little one!

Nicole - posted on 02/05/2010

Erin,

I breastfed my second boy exclusively because he had a lot of problems with formulas. He started out the same way, pushing the bottle away and grabbing at my shirt. But boys will be boys. Anyway, at nine months old I figured out why he wouldn't take a bottle, he wanted to drink out of a cup! I mean he was really drinking out of a cup, not a sippy cup, but a cup! So for a little while about a month I helped him with open cups and then he learned how to drink from a sippy. Try it, you may be shocked. LOL

Deirdre - posted on 02/02/2010

Oh that could have been my question 5 years ago. I can see where the other posters are coming from as that would be the normal advice, however I imagine if you are posting on this site you have probably tried it all and need some further practical advice beyond this.



I have a daughter who was exclusively breast fed for 6 months and had just started solids. She would not take a bottle from my husband, mother sisters etc. I went out of the house for hours on end and I even travelled 200 miles to try to see if my friend, who is great with babies, would be able to manage it, to no avail. I was so frustrated as I needed to return to work and like you would have loved to get out alone for longer than a couple of hours at a time. How I managed it was to return to work and ask the girls in the creche to mind her for a particular period. So I would feed her the early feed, pump mid morning while at work and again before I left mid afternoon which echoed my usual feeding routine and store that to feed her the following day. During that period, I gave her minders an Avent bottle fitted with a sippy cup top (I tried hard to find one here in Ireland but eventually found them online - if I find a link I will post if for you). Her minders persisted with the same routine every day and eventually she took to it slowly but eventually after about 4 weeks loved her cup and looked for it. We even moved to formula shortly after that which meant that I didnt need to pump while awy from her.



During that period, I continued to feed her morning and evening myself and enjoyed that. In the beginning I stuck to that routine every day ; offering the cup on my days off at those times so that she knew which feeds she would get the breast and which was times for the cup. I think its easier to introduce during meal times first as they cant feed from the breast as well as eat so might just start with sips. As one of your other posters have mentioned they quickly realise that they are hungry and will take to it. Believe me it may seem easier to give in once or twice but it is worth persevering. Hope this was of some help to you, I can well remember the frustration and upset.

Marianne - posted on 01/30/2010

I would try to different sippy cups they have them hard and soft cups.

Rebecca - posted on 01/30/2010

I had the same problem with my daughter at the same age. She would not take a bottle. It was very frustrating. I worked a 12 hour shift as a nurse every Saturday. Thank goodness my sister was visiting from NZ for 3 months and she would bring my daughter to my work place to nurse. However, that is not an option for most people. It is a difficult one that has no straight answers. I think it helps to use pumped breast milk instead of formula (it tastes better). She may refuse the bottle all day and then when you are home, cluster feed all night (I have heard of that). Babies will not starve themselves. I sister in law had luck with avoiding the bottle completely and going straight to a sippy cup. You might have to take the no spill piece out and have your babysitter tip just a little in her mouth at a time. Good luck!!

Kimberly - posted on 01/30/2010

she is probably to young for a sippy cup. when i ween my kids from breast to bottle, i would hold the nipple in between my fingers and hold them like i was still breastfeeding them. it will take some time, just be patient.

Sandra - posted on 01/30/2010

I used breastmilk in the bottle at first also as I had to go back to work after 3 months my son would drink from the bottle during the day and I would breast feed when I was home.I had a hard time keeping up with pumping so we started to add formula to it and eventually switched to formula....to get him(18m) to use a sippy cup we've started with water or juice..that works and try milk once a day he is slowly getting used to it he is picky about his bottles will only drink certain things out of certian ones..one for water one for milk..etc so it may be an issue of finding a bottle that works....

Rachel - posted on 01/30/2010

Gonna go out on a limb here and ask: did you have someone ELSE give her the bottle? My daughter refused a bottle when I tried giving it to her, since *I* was lunch, not some silly bottle. But when she got hungry and I was out of the room, she'd take a bottle.
Also, are you using pumped breastmilk? Remember that formula tastes different than breastmilk - breastmilk tastes like what you've been eating, so they're getting a nice tasty diet. Formula tastes exactly the same from bottle to bottle, and she might be refusing the taste of formula. If you can't pump enough to fill a bottle, mix formula in with the breastmilk to give her a full meal.
Don't worry if you can't pump enough - some ladies just don't let down to a pump, but have no problems when a baby suckles. Pumps are terrible substitutes for a baby!

Mandi - posted on 01/30/2010

My daughter was very picky about taking a bottle but mostly cause we had trouble finding ones she liked. I found that she liked the Walmart ParentChoice ones the best if me or daddy feed her but the Nuk ones were the only way she would eat for the sitter. Weird I know. The other thing we had to do is when it was feeding time and she wouldnt take the bottle, wait 5 mins or so and try again. We didnt give in to "I dont want the bottle, I want mommy" behavior. I breast feed Keyra till she was 12 months and only had problems the first 3 or so. I was lucky and we didnt really have nipple confusion. Hope this helps.

Tabitha - posted on 01/30/2010

When I went back to work part time I had to do this same thing and he would only take it from someone else and I had to try about 3 different nipples before I found one he liked.

Karen - posted on 01/30/2010

I went through everything trying to get my daughter to take a bottle. My older daughter (when she was a baby) went back n forth from breast to pumped milk no problem. The other one was just a nightmare. I kept trying different brands and nipples and eventually she took one (playtex nurser with the latex top - I'll never forget lol). Eventually she got it down pat. I rounded the year off pumping and she had kicked the bottle at a year. (then she was sippy cup challenged but that was a whole other battle). Just keep at it if it is important. Or you can just keep nursing. Oh - I never put anything on the tip of the bottle because it seemed more the feel and way to suck bothered her because the taste should have been the same.

Susan - posted on 01/29/2010

i had no one to help me when i had to put my son on the bottle, he would not take because he could smell me, but i persisted not feeding him only giving him his solids , eventually after basically starving himself he took to it and within a few days he was fine. my lactation consultant said " a baby will not starve themselves they will eventually take to a bottle, if you really want to give up , you will. mine was a case of had to , so it worked really well

Kathy - posted on 01/29/2010

You should have someone other then yourself giving the bottle. Not holding the baby in a breastfeeding position . You should leave the house.They can smell you.&will be more apt to take a bottle then. Also you can have the persontry to give the baby abottle while they are sleepy, sometimesyou canfool them. Some times Babies will retro feed so they do not have to take a bottle. which means they will switch their schedule around to accomidate your schedule. But once you get a baby to take a bottle.You must give a bottle once a day so they do not forget. The babyis at anage where they will choose what they like best & refuse the bottle once again. Good Luck.Kathy

Kerri`Ann - posted on 01/29/2010

Hi im the same i have a 3 month old she im having the same problem a friend told me to try to tommie tippee ones closer to nature as these are more breast shaped
http://www.tommeetippee.com.au/products....
try that website hopefully that helps u out abit and she takes it. im also trying dif things as well to get my little girl to take to the bottle as well if u find anything let me know :)

Jill - posted on 01/29/2010

I had the same problem! But, as soon as I tried a sippy cup and he realized how fast he was getting the milk he took right to it! Good luck!

Breanne - posted on 01/29/2010

We had a hard time with my daughter as well. We tried different bottles/nipples (she preferred the Avent ones). It may be a little "late" to offer up a bottle now - a lot of lactation consultants recommend introducing a bottle around the 6-8 week mark; wait long enough to get breast feeding established, but not too long that they refuse a bottle. At this point in the game, I'd offer up a sippy cup (again, you can try different types). At least if she takes a sippy, you won't have to wean her off a bottle later on. Also, as some of the ladies have mentioned, try having someone other than yourself offer up a bottle/sippy. Your daughter associates you, and your breasts, with food. Good luck!

Megan - posted on 01/29/2010

It also helps, too, if you have someone other than you feed him, and get out of the house and go for a walk while someone else feeds him. Experts say that a baby can smell you, even if you are in another room up to 30 feet away! He'll want you as long as he knows you're around, but if you aren't he might be more accepting to a bottle to get him used to it and accept it's another way to get fed.

Megan - posted on 01/29/2010

My dr recommended putting some grape jelly on the nipple to help convince him to take one. Also, a bottle with a bigger nipple so it's more like you can also help (playtex vent air, avent, or born free). We just went through this with my son who was born on September 23rd, and it actually helped to try to get him to take a bottle when he was hungry, but not upset, cause then he's more patient with it. We'd try the bottle, if he got upset, calmed him down then tried again. We would try 3 times, then distract him for about 10-15 min before offering breast again, so he didn't associate crying with breastfeeding. We tried a lot of different bottles too, and he finally decided that he liked the born free bottles that you can find at babies r us. Good luck!

Margaret - posted on 01/29/2010

You don't mention whether or not you have your daughter's father in the picture. Try letting him give a bottle with the milk in it or maybe your mom. When the bottle is given by someone else, babies are much more likely to accept it. If you schedule a feeding at least once a day with someone else giving her a bottle, she will learn to accept it--she sounds too young to be trying a sippy cup just yet.

Liz - posted on 01/29/2010

Have you tried pumping your breast milk and putting it in a bottle? You can freeze your milk too. I don't remember how long it will last in the freezer as my kids are grown but you can find out everything you need to know about having and raising a baby at babycenter.com http://www.babycenter.com/breastfeeding-... Hope this helps...

Heather - posted on 01/29/2010

I had a lot of problems getting my son onto the bottle.. I just kept trying and didnt give up.. I also tried different brands.. and also sometimes I would just let him get hungry enough that he would take it.. dont get me wrong I didnt starve my son.. I mean if he went say half an hour or an hour longer than normal he would be hungry enough to take the bottle.. if he went past an hour and wouldnt take the bottle I'd give him the breast

Amanda - posted on 01/29/2010

You may try to smear a little baby food on the nipple of the bottle or the sippy cup. Sometimes they just need something to get them started on it. If that doesn't work, you may try a straw in a cup...