Breastfed baby refusing bottle?

Jennifer Love - posted on 04/26/2012

Simple, DONT give him the breast,anymore,...ever! Just keep using that nipple. Now, it also depends what type of bottle you are using. Playtex nursers with the bags are great. Are you married? You can try having hubby feed him as much as possible,or your mom, or someone you trust, because when he is near your breast, he can smell the milk and feel your heart beat and he will want that and push the bottle away.

Lisa - posted on 04/18/2012

One of my babies had a harder time with transitioning to formula so my pediatrician suggested that I use Similac formula because it is sweeter than the other brands, making it taste a little more like breastmilk. She wasn't very fond of it at first, but she eventually got used to it. It helps for someone other than you to be the one introducing the bottle like a dad, grandparent, babysitter, etc. I think it's best if you are not anywhere that your baby can see or hear you when trying to transition to the bottle. I breastfed and formula fed all three of my babies with ease after a while.

Tammy - posted on 11/22/2011

I get what your feeling...frustration about this...wanna hear something...when my 16 yr old was a baby, I wrote to Platex about their at that time New Nurser, and now they have this "new design". It's because my baby wouldn't take their bottle's nipple. I drew the diff. in the two and explained how a nursed baby has a wide open mouth and a bottle fed baby has a closed mouth.
My suggestion to you is, a cup. My boy was 4 mths old drinking from a sippy cup. HE WOULD NOT TAKE A BOTTLE, and hearing him cry for milk was heart wrenching. I had no choice. It worked and he was fed, and full. As a Mom, you have to be imaginative, as well as patient. Best of luck to you!!

Kayla - posted on 01/14/2010

Have you tried having someone else offer the bottle? Sometimes breastfed babies refuse a bottle from mom because they expect to be breastfed.

Livern - posted on 01/11/2010

I have the same experience with mine too. He rejected the bottle so much that we couldn't even get the nipple near his mouth. One thing very important, don't bottle feed your baby yourself especially now that he is 5 months old. I think they can "smell" the mother and tend to have "feeding battle" with the mom for breastmilk if they knew your presence. =) I have my husband did the feeding in our bedroom upstairs and I would not even go near them. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.



If it failed, we let him starve for a while, then try again. Our last attempt was to feed him

with a spoon instead of bottle for about 1-2 oz of milk, then offer him bottle again.



I know this is a tough battle, but you just need to be patient and persistent. Eventually your baby will stop refusing the bottle =)

Cathy - posted on 01/11/2010

My daughter did the same thing. I sent her to the babysitter's the day I had to go back to work, not knowing if she would drink anything. She drank everything I sent for her that day. Try to get someone else to give him the bottle, my daughter wouldn't take a bottle from me, but she did when I wasn't there.

Stephanie - posted on 01/07/2010

I had the same problem with my baby refusing the bottle too, but we were introducing him to the bottle so daddy could share the bonding experiance that happens during nursing. We found a great set of bottles called "Breast-flow" it is a two piece nipple that mimics the natural let-down during nursing. The shape of the bottle also mimic's the breast. Here is a link:

http://shop.learningcurve.com/breastflow...

Melanie - posted on 01/06/2010

Yeah i had to get my husband to give him my expressed milk as when I was in the room he screamed. I sat in the car for the first 3 or 4 times and he was alrite after that. Hope that helps a little bit x

Coleen - posted on 01/04/2010

yes,,,its been a while since ive breastfeed children,but i found holding off on feeding him helped me..I prolonged his feeds for about 30-40 mins and as because he was a bloody guts he appreciated the bottle when he got it. Teats were a big concern because the older he got he wanted a faster flow (without him nearly choking),or some teats weren't fast enough, it was hard finding the medium but I did it.........

Lana - posted on 01/04/2010

My son was the same way. I went through two cases of formula before I could get him to drink any. What worked for me was I kept trying to give it to him at different times throughout the day. Try times when he is less interested in breastfeeding, like lunch rather than morning or night feedings. What also worked was I put him in his high-chair and tilted it back, then stood from behind him where he couldn't see me and put the bottle in his mouth. He eventually started to drink his bottle, but it took a good month or two. The bottles that I found worked best were, Playtex Drop-Ins. They have larger nipples which apparently makes it similar to breastfeeding. It can be very frustrating, but don't give up, he will eventually get it.

It never ends though; now my struggle is getting him to eat. He is 17 months and doesn't like to eat solid food that he has to chew.

Good luck!

Ashling - posted on 01/04/2010

have you tried a cup? i ha d problems with my little girl-i just kept trying and once she got used to spoon feeding the bottle came next

Teresa - posted on 01/04/2010

my daughter did the same. I tried to wean her at 6 months but didn't happen till 11mnths. 2 days before going back to work!! I tried all types of milk/formula/breast milk/cups/bottles. Finally before her last feeding of the night i decided to give it one more try. So i let her go an extra hour than her normal feeding time. I think she was hungry enough that she took it. My suggestion is to not give up. Continue to offer the bottle throughout the day. He may surprise you. goodluck getting your baby to stop refusing the bottle :)

Kayla - posted on 01/14/2010

Have you tried having someone else offer the bottle? Sometimes breastfed babies refuse a bottle from mom because they expect to be breastfed.

Livern - posted on 01/11/2010

I have the same experience with mine too. He rejected the bottle so much that we couldn't even get the nipple near his mouth. One thing very important, don't bottle feed your baby yourself especially now that he is 5 months old. I think they can "smell" the mother and tend to have "feeding battle" with the mom for breastmilk if they knew your presence. =) I have my husband did the feeding in our bedroom upstairs and I would not even go near them. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.



If it failed, we let him starve for a while, then try again. Our last attempt was to feed him

with a spoon instead of bottle for about 1-2 oz of milk, then offer him bottle again.



I know this is a tough battle, but you just need to be patient and persistent. Eventually your baby will stop refusing the bottle =)

Stephanie - posted on 01/07/2010

I had the same problem with my baby refusing the bottle too, but we were introducing him to the bottle so daddy could share the bonding experiance that happens during nursing. We found a great set of bottles called "Breast-flow" it is a two piece nipple that mimics the natural let-down during nursing. The shape of the bottle also mimic's the breast. Here is a link:

http://shop.learningcurve.com/breastflow...

Teresa - posted on 01/04/2010

my daughter did the same. I tried to wean her at 6 months but didn't happen till 11mnths. 2 days before going back to work!! I tried all types of milk/formula/breast milk/cups/bottles. Finally before her last feeding of the night i decided to give it one more try. So i let her go an extra hour than her normal feeding time. I think she was hungry enough that she took it. My suggestion is to not give up. Continue to offer the bottle throughout the day. He may surprise you. goodluck getting your baby to stop refusing the bottle :)