My Daughter Will Not Take a bottle....help

My son had the SAME problem. I tried every brand of bottles, all different nipple flows, tried leaving the house so he wouldn't smell me and get my husband to feed him.....nothing worked. BUT, what did work (and I know this sounds crazy), but I would take the nipples and keep them between my boobs all day long. So, when we needed a bottle, I whipped out a nipple and gave it to my husband for the feeding. Honest to Gawd, he took the bottle then. It was like magic. It must have been something about the nipples smelling like me?

Give it a try. Maybe it will work for you too?

Good luck!

For my son, I used the "MAM" brand baby bottles, which you can get from www.amazon.com

He had no problem accepting these bottles. And it is also "BPA" free. And there is no air bubbles which accumulates in the bottle as the baby drinks. I LOVE these bottles. And they are cute too!

As for her gag reflex... it can happen when the milk is coming out too fast. Thus, they choke. ALSO, bottles work by gravity... so the milk just comes out when tipped to their mouth. It can't be 'controlled' so much, as like when they are at the breast. It's 2 different "sucking" techniques involved... so MANY times, a baby has to 'learn' or adjust to these 2 different "sucking" techniques, and in order to control the 'flow.' Some take to it, some don't.

Just do not lay her down on her back to feed her the bottle... as this can also cause ear infections in some babies. ALWAYS keep her inclined/upright when giving her a bottle.

Some just deny breastfeeding until a baby gets starving hungry and then give them a bottle. Thinking the baby will then be 'desperate' enough at this point to then take a bottle. I would NOT do this... a baby can get dehydrated if not fed.

Good luck,
Susan

B., the same thing happened to me. I breastfed and my duaghter wouldn't take the bottle when I went back to work. I tried everything. Then she started to take a teeny bit of pumped breastmilk at grandma's. I'm talking 2-4 ounces a day -- at 4 months! Not much. What I read from Dr. Sears' book is that babies will compensate and power nurse once mom gets off work, and into the night. Sure enough, this is what happened to us. So we rearranged sleeping and baby then shared a family bed so that she could nurse at night. Sure, I was tired during the day, but your body learns to cope. Good luck!!

Both of mine refused as well, though the second fought a lot harder. For the first, we found the playtex orthodontic nipple did the trick. For the second, it was just persistence and the fact that I HAD to go back to work. I had to leave her with the nanny when she was still refusing the bottle. God bless our wonderful nanny who suffered through a lot of crying in the process. She fed her with a medicine dropper and continued to persist at offering the bottle and one day she finally just took it. No problem after that.

I'm sure you've gotten lots of advice and will try much of it. Don't worry, eventually something will work and your little one will feed in some form or another while you are away. Good luck and try not to worry too much (HAH!).

Adiri Breast Bottle... looks and (l swear!) feels like a boob when its full of warm milk or formula... the bottle is made of something soft and pliable and most babies who have a hard time transitioning off breastfeeding, have an easier time with this bottle.

http://www.adiri.com/

http://www.epinions.com/reviews/Adiri_s_Breastbottle_Nurser

Hi, B.,

I'm sorry that I can't give you advice on how to get your daughter to take a bottle.

I am a graduate student in psychology and the mother of two infants. How do you all that you do? My dream is to finish a PhD in clinical psychology before retirement age! I am now 43.

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Lynne E

I don't know if you have tried this....but my son was the same way and at 4 months I just transitioned him to the Born Free sippy cup. The spout is soft like a nipple, but not like a nipple at the same time, so maybe he thought it was just a whole new thing and that it did not compete with mama's nipples. He also likes to hold on to the handles. At the same time, I only give him a bottle about once or twice a day at the moment. Just trying to take it slow as to not overwhelm him. Every baby is different and I don't know that there is a "trick" that works for all babies.

Also, you didn't mention if you have let others try giving her a bottle. I also heard that babies can smell their moms so it's best to leave the house when someone else tries to give a bottle. And to try to offer the bottle when she's not yet starving. Anyway, good luck!

I recently went back to work and was dealing with a similar situation with my 4 1/2 month daughter. We tried bottle feeding her 3 weeks before I went back to work and she refused and would CRY! We tried the First Year BreastFlow bottles and it worked! My daughter has decided that she also does not want to be held when being bottle fed so she eats in her bouncy seat. I still breast feed her when I am with her but while I am at work, she is bottle fed breast milk (I pump at work). My mom was the one who got her to eat from the bottle. Make sure someone else is doing it and you may have to leave the house like I did. My mom first gave her a pacifier and the quickly switched to the bottle and it worked.
Good luck!

have you tried a sippie cup?

She should be old enough to try a cup. Try getting her a sippy cup, provided she can hold things like that. It may work a lot better than a bottle!

My son had issues with a lot of bottles and nipples, too (I swear I have at least one of every brand). We ended up using the narrower-than-others, Evenflo glass bottles with Gerber nipples and now I'm having trouble (at almost 16 months) to get him off the things. I think they are easier to hold than the wider ones. We had to gradually worked our way through the nipple stages starting with the slowest flow. Anyway, I might try to pick a particular feeding for a few days when someone else is available and leave the house. If I was even remotely close, my son would refuse anyone else. If you come home and she's refused to eat, then go ahead and feed her (you don't want her to go hungry, of course) but try again the next day. Bonus - you get out for a bit! Best of luck!

Hi B.-

My daughter (now 16 mos) never took the bottle even though we tried starting when she was 2 months (tried all the different brands, different methods, etc.) BTW there are some good ideas on www.kellymom.com, but my baby never understood how to suck from a bottle even when she wasn't exactly "rejecting" it.

I went back to work part time when she was 6 months- I was away about 6 hours a time. Around 6 months they can start some solids, so you can try that. Also, if you are willing and aren't gone for too long during the day, many babies will "reverse" their schedule- they will wait for you during the day, and nurse all night. That's pretty much what mine did- she would nurse about every 3 to 4 hours all night to make up for the day when she wasn't eating. At a year I returned to work for longer hours, she still wasn't a great eater but my sitter just keeps offering her food/drink all day long (not just official meal times.) Now she drinks from sippy cups, regular cups, straws, everything but a bottle!

Good luck with your career- I have my doctorate in psych too- it's a great degree.

Hi B., try a sippy cup. I could be wrong but my unertanding is that breast fed babies relate a certain smell to eating, I guess every mom has their own smell ( not a bad smell) and so the longer they are breast feed the longer they have to get a cusstoned to this mommy sent while they are being feed, so when you introduce the bottle, the sent is not there, it has nothing to do with the nipples or bottles, it's the mommy sent that is missing. I run a Home Daycare an most of my parents are Military, and that's why they tell me they only breast feed for the first six weeks, that's all the maternity leave they get in the Milatary, and then their babies have to go to daycare. I have a 7 month old in my daycare who was breast feed for 6 weeks, they came to me with botles and formula, by 3 months this baby wa holding her own botles, rolling, by six motns she was already standing on her own, not at 7 months she is walking around holding on to furniture, and he been breast feed prolonged, she would have had no reason to use her hands that young, but now she is far more advanced than any baby I have even seen. I have been reading mamasources for a long time, have issues that are linked to prolonged breastfeeding. Now befor you breast feeders want to write in and blast me I'm not against breast feeding. J. L.

When I had to return to work after I had my daughter, she also would not take a bottle. We tried 8 different types. I went away for a weekend with my mom, and she finally got her to take a bottle. I was panicked because I had to return to work the following week. I still breastfed her in the morning and at night for a year.

For us only the Adiri bottle worked. If the flow seems too fast for him then get the first stage bottle. I used to rub the soft silicone tip against my breast to get my scent on them after I washed it.

At first we struggled and tried all kinds of bottles but nothing worked. Then with this Adiri bottle my husband discovered that you can actually squeeze the end of the bottle near the tip. So when she was screaming (mad that there was no booby) my husband dribbled milk on her tongue. He did that a few times and then she caught on.

At six months you can also try having her take sips from a cup. Just use the sippy cups without the top on. You might be surprised. Just try small amounts of water at first. You can also have her try a straw. Mine really loves them.

The most important thing is to not stress about it. The baby will always pick up on the tension and get upset himself. So have fun, play with cups. You can also have a bottle lying around where he plays, or just the top to chew on.

Definately go for the sippy cup...she will get the hang of it soon and then you don't have to worry about weaning from the bottle. My daughter started boycotting the bottle from anyone other than daycare around 5 months, we used the nubby sippy cup....it was perfect. Best of luck!

hmmm is the flow of the nipple too fast for her? try a slow flow nipple. shes so used to sucking hard and working for your breastmilk that shes not used to the faster flow of a nipple. try breast flow bottles (i think thats what they are called). they are sold at babies r us and have multiple holes in the nipple that flex out like your nipple when the baby sucks. she may not take a bottle at all. maybe try like others and start to introduce a starter cup. try nuby brand (they have a soft silacone spout). good luck!

My son would never take a bottle or a pacifier either, and I tried them ALL! I started giving my son pumped breast milk in a very small little cup when he was about 5 and a half months old. Like a little 4 or 5 oz. cup i think, and he was fine, then you can regulate the flow more easily. And the you never have to wean off of a bottle or worry about teeth problems and sanitation problems with bottles and nipples. This worked great for me!
Good Luck!

I tried every bottles in the store, Finally When i was about to give up, I bought a bottle called MAM bottles, and she took it like a pro...try that...the nipple shape is different...now she has no problems from going to breast to bottle...:) These are good bottles..give it a try :)

I skipped the bottle and went straight to sippy cups at six months. She did fine with the take-n-toss cups, and nuby's. I didn't have to worry about weaning her from the bottle. We still nurse at bedtime, but my daughter has had no problem with me leaving her for extended periods at the babysitter.
Good luck
R.

First of all, good for you for nursing. But, on the other hand, I feel your pain. I was stuck with my little girl too because she wouldn't take a bottle, and it was like a trap. When she was desparate, she would drink some. I ended up not being able to leave her for long or often. And, as soon as I could get her on real milk (at a year), I did, and she learned how to suck through a straw. She never took to a bottle, but did more so to a sippy cup and straw, so I did it that way. Good luck. I wish I had helpful tips.

Let the bottle go, she does not want it...try a sippy cup. Have someone else give her the breastmilk in the cup. Make sure you are not in the same room. If she knows your close by she will want to breastfeed with you.

A little about me: I am a mother of a 7 month old daughter, exclusively breastfeeding. I have never given her a bottle. I started her with a cup at 6 months.