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Baby won't take bottle, but has to

AllieBelle1AllieBelle1
in Breastfeeding

So that we can go out for a short time without DD and in preparation for me returning to work, we have been trying to introduce a bottle. However, DD won't take one. We've tried Breastflow, Dr. Brown's Natural Flow, Nuby, Evenflo Purely Comfy, but she refused them all and cried after a minute or less. We tried them right after a BF session, in the middle when she was happy, and when she was hungry. DH and my mom tried feeding with me out of the room, and more recently I've been the one.

I thought maybe I had found my saving grace when I heard of the Medela Calma which is supposed to work with the baby's natural feeding behavior (https://www.medela.com/IW/en/breastfeeding/products/breastmilk-feeding/calma-feeding-device.html), but despite its claims of awesomeness, we have the same problems.  

We've made slight progress to the point that she will now play with the nipple of the Calma a little instead of crying for a while, but she has never sucked on any bottle at all. I have to go back to work in a few weeks and I don't know what to do. Any advice?

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Re: Baby won't take bottle, but has to

  • kmm2150kmm2150 member
    Have you tried leaving the house? Supposedly they can smell you from a pretty good distance, and some babies won't take a bottle if they know "the real thing" is around.  Other than that, my only advice is to just keep trying!  My dd didn't really have trouble with bottles, but we've done best with the phillips avent.
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  • Ashley&ScottAshley&Scott

    Playing with the nipple is progress! Keep trying. DS was very stubborn about this too. He now takes Born Free, we tried a few different brands before that. He played with the nipple at first, then eventually started sucking. 

    Have you tried different positions? DS prefers to be laying on his changing pad when taking a bottle. He also likes to listen to slow, soothing music. Also try talking in a calm, encouraging voice. 

    Bottle feeding requires a completely different than breast feeding so they need time to get used to it. Good luck! 

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  • LindseylouwhoLindseylouwho
    I had the same issue. Try sitting LO upright facing you or facing out. We also got her to take milk from someone else first by spoon feeding it to her. She eventually took the bottle, too. Try squirting some in your LO's mouth first and then offer the bottle. Make sure it's their happy time of day, too. They are more likely to play with it and be less upset. Keep trying, trying, trying! I know how frustrating it can be! I also was told that the type of bottle didn't necessarily matter; to keep trying with the same one so that it's not a different feel each time. It's not that they are rejecting the type of bottle, more so the new way of eating. Good luck and be patient!
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  • AllieBelle1AllieBelle1
    Thanks. I'll try some different positions and see if that helps. At least I know that some other babies started out refusing a bottle and eventually got it.
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  • iluvmylabiluvmylab member

    DS had a little trouble with bottles too, but we found that Tommee Tippee work best for him.  It's kind of odd though because he still gives DH a hard time with a bottle. He has to feed him in the rock n play for him to take it.  He's been doing fine at DC though.

    ETA:  We also have to warm the nipple.  And he's not a fan of frozen milk so I usually mix a little fresh with it on Mondays when he gets frozen.  The poster below made me remember that! 

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  • alliapistoralliapistor member

    Are you feeding fresh milk?  Sometimes stored milk can have too much lipase which makes it taste funny.

    And have you tried adjusting the temperature of the milk?  A little warmer?  A little cooler?  LO has to have his a specific temperature or he spits the bottle out.

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  • sschwegesschwege member
    We used to have to run the nipple under warm water so DD would take it.
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  • Steph_NJSteph_NJ

    My DD was the same way. We tried everything -- so, so many different types of bottles, wide nipples, faster flow nipples, heating the milk hotter, putting milk on the nipple, heating the nipple, different positions, me out of the house for hours, at my in-law's instead of our house, wrapping her in clothes that smell like me, etc.

    What finally did it was being at daycare and her realizing that I wasn't going to be there to nurse. When she got hungry she would finally take a bottle (and just the regular Playtex Drop-Ins -- we brought our whole collection of special bottles from home for them to try with her!)

    She never liked bottles. She got to where she'd eventually take one from DH at home when I was out, but that was later (around 8 months I think it was). One day at daycare when she was about 1 year, I was packing her things up and she grabbed a bottle of cold milk from the fridge and started drinking it. Another mom who knows everything I'd been through was there too, and the teachers too, and all of us were stunned. Maybe it was alright b/c she was feeding herself (had control over the situation)?

    Try to relax about it -- I'm sure that it'll all work out. I've seen a lot of posts like these and everyone's LO seems to eventually take a bottle.

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