Help make my baby take a bottle!

Starbear06

I used to give LO a bottle when he was a few weeks old. But haven't in a few weeks. Now he has a problem taking the bottle. He cries and cries and when he finally stops crying he plays with the bottle nipple. I've tried changing different bottles so far medela, avent, and tommee tippee. Any techniques you ladies can share if you've been through a similar situation. Thanks!
Oh and he is 9 weeks old now as somewhat distracted when feeding.

hillek5

Just provide consistency and keep offering the bottle.  I would use a bottle designed for transition from breast to bottle (I believe all you've tried are), but stick with the same bottle and see if that consistency helps.  I also would offer it at a time when your LO is not overly hungry/tired/fussy.  If you wait for him to be upset, you may be setting yourself up for failure because he's used to being comforted at the breast.  Good luck!

leah2b

This happened to me.  Baby was taking bottle with expressed milk just fine since birth.  I took a couple weeks off (husband had a trial and it just seemed easier for me to just bf all the time) and then baby stopped taking the bottle.  It was almost like she forgot how!  She would scream, cry and pretnent she was gagging on the bottle (mind you, my baby rarely ever cries, so this was very unusual for her).  She HATED the bottle.  THis started happening around 2 months old.  She is now 4 months old and we have been battling with her to take a bottle ever since.  I've tried every trick in the book and that I could find on the internet, etc.  Daddy feed, grandma feed, me feed, sleepy feed, etc.  I went out and bought pretty much every bottle on the market.

Just last week, baby started taking the bottle again  - though it is sometimes still a struggle.  Here is how we did it.  I bought the MAM nipples - slow flow (1) and medium flow (2).  I am actually using the MAM nipple with the platex drop in 4 oz nurser bottle and liners. For some reason, this nipple and bottle combo seemed to bother her less.  We worked with her every day on the bottle.   I am now giving her 2  3 oz bottles expressed bm a day and will probably start 3 so that I can get her prepared for daycare.  I used the medium flow which she seems to take better.

I wasted a ton of BM during those 2 months I was trying to get her to take the bottle.  Put 2 oz max in the bottles because you may end of wasting quite a bit in the process. It is what it is.

If the baby starts screaming, its time to call it a day and try again later or tomorrow.  What I did is start putting her in her bouncer with the TV on (some distraction seemed to help) and offer her the bottle kind of like it was a toy.  She would play around and gum it though she wasn't really drinking. THis was progress though because at least she wasn't screaming and gagging. Finally my husband would lay her down on her back on the couch and pretend he was drinking from the bottle, then offer it to her.  She finally started taking it again, though some of those first sessions would take forever.

I also found that it worked best right after she woke from a nap. 

Once baby starts sucking again on the bottle you have to be vigilant and give a bottle every day.  Good luck - I know what a nightmare it can be.

PotomacSt

Is baby getting any milk out? My daughter didn't understand what the bottle did until we squeezed a few drops out into her mouth.

Also, are you giving the bottle? Some babies will never take a bottle from their mom, because if mom's there, they just want to nurse. Trying having someone else give the bottle.

 My LC recommends playing a white noise machine to help a distracted baby focus on nursing. Maybe try that? If you don't have a white noise machine, a radio tuned to static works just as well.

katiewhompus

Is there anyone else who can feed her? Dd refused bottles from me until she was 9 months old, but would drink fine for others.

 

Starbear06

H gives the bottle at first and he still does the same thing. Then H gets frustrated so I kind of take over. I do notice that if we kind of "hide" and give the bottle he will start drinking. It takes about 45 minutes for him to take down 2-3 oz. I guess I need to be consistent about it because I do need him to start taking the bottle for daycare. I remember the days in the beginning when he used to chug down 3-4 oz in 15 minutes!

leah2b

I know.  when my baby was 3 weeks old she would chug 3 oz in 5 minutes flat.  Now it takes 30 minutes or more!  What? Its a pain in the neck but you have to do it every day with a reluctant baby.  Beleive me, I know as I am in the same boat.  My husband was also getting so frustrated with the process and didn't want to do it at first. 

It sounds like your baby is taking some milk though, which is good.   Just keep working on it every day.  Try to give the bottle at the times when he will be in daycare, so he kind of gets used to getting a bottle at that time - I have been doing one after the morning feed (presumably when I would be leaving for work).  Also, remember to keep it positive.  As frustrating as it can be, smile at baby while doing it.  Baby can sense the stress of the parent and that stresses the baby out more.  This was happening to my husband (and to myself).  Once we turned it more into a game, she started taking it better.  The MAM nipple made a big difference for us - but our baby was completely refusing to take anything from a bottle for close to 2 months.

Though I don't like my baby watching tv, in the beginning the noise from the tv seemed to help distract baby and almost trick her into taking the bottle.