Tips for getting DD to take a bottle??

mrslaquinta

I am at the end of my rope with Atalie's bottle refusal.  I don't know what to do.  It hasn't been a huge problem so far because I have still been home with her, working mostly around her schedule.  But when DH starts school next month, I will have to go back to work full time and she will be with SIL during the day on M, W, F, and at MDO on T, Th, and she will have to take a bottle.  We have about 10 different kinds of bottles in our pantry in the hopes that she would find one she liked, but no luck.  I had to go to Houston last week to train for a new role I am taking on at work and I ended up having to drive there and back in the same day because she would. not. eat. while I was gone.  (We did get her to take a bottle the night before I left, which is why I thought she would be okay while I was away, but she hasn't taken one since.)  Any ideas?

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I'm sorry, I went through this with Ryan too, ((Hugs)).  We tried about 10 different bottles as well and none worked.  The only thing that worked was time and spoon / medicine dropper feeding.  Our nanny would feed him either with a spoon or with a medicine dropper to get some milk in him.  He would still only eat about 4-7oz while I was gone for 9hrs, but at least it was something.  Have you tried solids yet?  Ryan had no trouble with rice cereal or purees and that always helped get him some more food / breastmilk (in with the rice cereal).  I went back to work at 12 weeks and Ryan finally decided to take a bottle a little after 6 months.  I  have NO idea why he finally started to, it was like he just gave in.  He still doesn't drink a lot (maybe 12-16oz) and he won't take it from new people (like when my parents come to visit and babysit for him).

Good luck, I  hope she comes around soon!  And ps I talked to my pedi about it when Ryan was drinking only 4oz and he wasn't worried about it at all, said I was lucky he was drinking at all!

ndluvsrk

I don't know that I can help much because DS #2 never took a bottle after he was 2 weeks old and it was very frustrating, especially with his weight issues.

Have you already tried warming it up to make it a nice, warm temperature instead of just room temperature?

 Y'all are going to be so busy! Let me know if there is any way I can help! We never got together for sushi. Maybe we should try to do that some time this month, eh?

nanann

Oh, definite *hugs*.  I feel you totally.

With Elena we realized she needed the milk WARM.  We usually needed to reheat during a feeding.  And we warmed up the nipples.  The bottle that finally worked for her were some Munchkin ones we bought at Target. 

With Julia, nothing worked.  Not what you need to hear, I know, because it was miserable for me.  But I also didn't absolutely *need* her to take a bottle.

 One tip I heard was to nurse for a bit so they're not starving, and then give the bottle so they can get used to it.

 Best wishes.

lilrunner

DD did that to me when she was about 4 weeks old.  I had a wedding and was gone for 13 hours that day.  DH kept texting me saying she refused to eat.  Then he called my mom ... who called me and told me to leave the wedding.  I didn't, of course.  Needless to say ... I had very strong words for both of them when I got home. 

For us...it was a matter of "she has no choice."  She finally got hungry enough that she ate.  A couple of things that I *think* helped:  (a) warming her bottle and (b) not stopping to burp her.  If she stopped to burp, she would refuse to go back to eating.  It was really strange.  Little by little she got over it. 

I'm so sorry!

MrsShackleford

We went through this.  I went back to work when DD was 4 mos and she stopped taking bottles at ~2mos.  We tried every bottle,nipple, technique etc. 

We were really worried when she started daycare, but after a couple of days she was taking her bottles like a champ.