Getting EBF baby to take a bottle...advice?

KMAXON · May 2011

Hi, I've been lurking since around the 2nd tri, but I'd like to start posting. My DD is exactly one month today. We waited to introduce a bottle because the breast feeding class warned about nipple confusion. She's been nursing like a champ since birth, no problems at all. Now that she's established with that, I have been trying to introduce a bottle of pumped milk so that we can go places and to prepare her for when I go back to work in September. We've tried to give her a bottle about 5 times and she really won't take it. She eats about an oz and then spits the bottle out if her mouth. I don't want her to starve at daycare or be unable to leave my side ever. Any advice to get her to take it? How did you start yours with a bottle?

ncbelle · May 2011

Try having someone else give it to her - BF babies often reject bottles from mama, especially at first, since they associate mama with the breast.

nettie27 · May 2011

I had the same problem with my LO. I then bought the Tommee Tippee, its suppose to be "More like Mom" It actually did make a difference. My husband and i also noticed that if we push the bottle against LO face she takes the bottle faster and latches onto it better. I know it sounds horrible to push it against her face but we realized its just like nursing.

bugandbibs · May 2011

I don't really have any advice, we are going through the same thing. I have noticed that the first oz is the hardest to get G to take, and after that she does much better. We do have to burp her like every minute to start- it's a pain, but she gets upset and gulps in air. Have you tried different kinds of bottles or nipples? I find it works best if I am not around while trying to bottle feed her.

We just bought The First Years Breastflow bottle at Target. We are going to try it out today. I am hoping it will feel more like mom to her. Good luck!

LittleDelany · May 2011

You can definitely try different nipples to see what your lo likes. DH gives baby the bottle and makes sure he presses the wider part to his lips so it's more like the nipple and areola being in his mouth. DS definitely prefers the breast but will take the bottle when he gets hungry enough. It might also help to have whoever is holding the bottle also hold LO like you would hold them if you were nursing.

GHBEA · May 2011

I didn't wait a month, Olivia was given a bottle from DH when she was a week old she never has had a problem.

I never give her the bottle though, she only gets bottles from DH or one of her siblings.

bugandbibs · May 2011

bugandbibs:
I don't really have any advice, we are going through the same thing. I have noticed that the first oz is the hardest to get G to take, and after that she does much better. We do have to burp her like every minute to start- it's a pain, but she gets upset and gulps in air. Have you tried different kinds of bottles or nipples? I find it works best if I am not around while trying to bottle feed her.
We just bought The First Years Breastflow bottle at Target. We are going to try it out today. I am hoping it will feel more like mom to her. Good luck!

F/U to post: She took 3 oz like a champ from the Breastflow bottle today. It was much better than any other time we tried to bottle feed. She had to make a very wide latch and work to get the milk, just like from my breast.

BLM10 · May 2011

One of the most helpful things I do is make sure to use a wide-base nipple such as on Breastflow and MAM bottles and hold the bottle in the U between my thumb and pointer finger while keeping my fingers on his cheek... these two things make them feel like they are on the breast with pressure against the mouth and skin touching the face.

katlizabeth · May 2011

I haven't tried with dd, and I'm afraid because we've waited so long (7 weeks-ds took at bottle at 2 weeks because of weight gain issues). Anyway, after give ds a bottle for a few weeks, we didn't give him one for awhile, and he refused. My aunt, who watches ds, said that she finally got him to take it while in the swing, right after he woke up (like he was still in and out of sleep). We also tried facing different ways (he liked to sit on the boppy facing away from my aunt), having a "dirty" shirt of mine on her (so he could smell me), and just an oz at a time. Good luck!

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