My daughter, Sophia, is 3 months and has been nursing, but I'm ready to start her on the bottle, she has taken the bottle before but isn't consistant with it, i've tried a couple bottles, she has took them but wont always take them. I just want to be able to get away for a while but she just doesn't seem to be interested in the bottle. Also she won't exactly stay latched on to the breast either she is eating cereal just fine but I need help on getting her to take the bottle. I don't understand why she has taken the bottle but won't always take it. I try to feed her the bottle around the same time every day, I'm trying to get her to take it once a day before i increase it to 2 bottles a day. What i've tried is making her cereal with formula so she will get used to the taste, i've given her breast milk in the bottle, she doesn't like that, other people have tried to feed her, some have succeeded, but not always, I'm afraid I'll have to continue to nurse her for the year. I like nursing but also need time away and she will not take a bottle of any sort, I'm gonna keep trying but is there any tricks that I could try? Please help.
My daughter now almost 3 had a hard time with latching on so I had no choice but to give her both the bottle and breast feed since birth. I have heard that mixing formula and cereal is not a great practice. I would sometimes mix a little breast milk with the formula. You might also try switching formulas. Girls are very picky!!
Good luck!!!
PS
My daughter is a great eater now, eats every veggie and fruit I give her!!
My daughter refused a bottle from me until she was 9 months old. It was very frustrating because you do need to get away. Have your husband feed her the bottle and stay out of the room. It may take a couple times but she will do it. I always left a bottle in the nursery at church and she took it from a man that was helping in there so I tried later that day and she wouldn't take it from me. One day my 19 month old got sick and ended up in the hospital. The neighbor lady took my baby and I was worried she wouldn't eat. She persisted with her and she finally did. It just took someone who didn't smell like mommy a couple times. I know its frustrating but hang in there.
C.,
Sounds like she's confused!! Don't mix the formula with her cereal use your breastmilk she's used to that. If you don't want to nurse at least pump and store your milk for her when you have to be out. She recognizes you by taste and smell. Keep her on breast milk for as long as you can, it's better for her than formula. Don't rush her. Use your nursing pads next to the bottle(which type and nipple are you using?)when someone other than you tries to feed her. Sleep with a burp cloth on your breasts and use that for supplemental feedings so she smells you even when you're not there.
Good luck!
R.
Try the Dr Brown bottle & have someone else feed her @ least for the 1st few feeds. I notice that w/ my dtr when I 1st started the bottle if she can smell me she wants breast vs bottle. See if that works good luck.
I have had the same trouble. It has helped to be gone or at least out of the room. My boys won't take thawed-frozen milk so it has to be fresh or just in the fridge a few days. Keep trying an ounce or so at a time every couple days. But, there are babies who never do take to the bottle and will go hours waiting for mom. They get cranky but it really isn't a problem, so don't stress about it :)
You can also try a sippy cup instead, there's no reason it has to be a bottle.
My daughter was the same way, she would somedays take a bottle great for my sitter and the next time she was there she would scream the whole day!! There were several times I had to go to her house to feed her, because all she did all day was scream!!
Someone on here told me about the breastflow bottle, I can't remember who makes them though! I am sure if you google breastflow you will be able to find them. The bottle is made with a double nipple system so the baby has to apply pressure along with sucking just like they do when they are nursing. My daughter took to these bottles very well, however she did have days that she would not take the bottle at all(or was very reluctant) so don't stress with time she will begin taking the bottle!!!
Good Luck it will all work out I promise.
With my older daughter, we were given a set of bottles (Playtex vent air). She wouldn't even touch them.
We went and got Dr. Brown's bottles (which both of my sisters had recommended) and she went to town. Never got colicky, hardly had any gas. You can put some cereal in them and use the y-cut nipples too. You could try the Avent bottles (as long as it's the ones with the valves) - my sister-in-law has a thing for using avent bottles, and my nephew had issues feeding until they switched to the bottles with the valve in it - helps releive the air pressure.
You might trade off on the cereals - if rice cereal isn't working, try using the "mixed" cereal. I wouldn't use the oatmeal in bottles - gets too thick. BUT I've noticed that our daughters had preferences - our older daughter liked the mixed cereal better - while our younger daughter liked the rice cereal better. But at first, go light on it.
You can get time away, even if your dd won't take a bottle. You can feed her with a syringe (that's what they did with my ds in the hospital). Or you can feed with a cup. In a couple months, your dd will probably be eating solids and she can just eat solids if you will be gone for a few hours.
Nursing is sooo much easier than bottles. For the times that you want to go out, and you want someone else to be able to feed her, there are options. Why make your life harder when you don't have to? lol.
