Wont take a bottle!

Re: Wont take a bottle!

• PiperS member

  November 2012

  My baby did the same thing around that time. I tried 10 different bottles and she refused them all. I was able to stay home for this first year so it was manageable but not ideal, because I can never leave for more than a few hours. Try letting someone else feed LO. Sometimes my baby would take one for DH. GL. I hope it's easier for you.

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• krissi813

  November 2012

  Same thing here and I go back to work in a week. My baby has taken them on and off but has never taken one consistently. DS, who almost never cries, screams every time you put one to his lips. I have no clue what to do. I hate seeing him so upset and I can't bear the thought of him doing that when I'm gone. I wish that the experts talked about this more.  Knowing it would be so hard on my LO for me to go back to work might have changed my decision to breastfeed. 

   Our babies will be okay. It's just gonna be rough. 

  

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• pumpkinwife07 member

  November 2012

  A friend of mine's daughter would never take a bottle either. She does drink out of a sippy cup though. She's five months old. She can't hold it herself, so whoever is feeding her treats it like a bottle.

  Keep working at it. Never taking a bottle is not an option. It doesn't matter to me if you work or SAH, not being able to do much or go anywhere for an extended period of time is just plain crazy.

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• JKB1986 member

  November 2012

  I feel for you. I went back to work when DS was 6 weeks and he did not take the bottle well at all. He would wait all day and then finally give in and take one or two oz after I had been gone for 6 hours. We ended up co-sleeping (working on breaking that now) because he would pretty much nurse all night to make up for it. He has gotten better though and he takes the bottle better for the sitter than he does DH. I think it is because he isn't at home and he can't smell me at all and doesn't associate me with the sitters house. For the longest time he would drink 5-7 oz at the sitter and 2-3 when home with DH. We have figured out that he will take it much easier if the milk is hot. DH actually thought it was going to be too hot one time and DS drank it like it was nothing. You can try heating the bottle nipple as well, try feeding in the dark and definitely have someone else feed the bottle when you are not home. If LO will take a paci you can try slipping the paci out when he/she is almost asleep and slip the bottle in. Good luck! You will get through it!
  

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• lopersmom

  November 2012

  My baby has the same issue (seems like it's pretty common). We tried giving her a bottle at about 4 weeks, she took it alright, and again a couple weeks later, so we figured we were good to go. Then, about a week before I went back to work (my first day back was Tuesday of this week), we started trying to give her an occasional bottle again to get her ready and she would SCREAM!

  But I had to go back to work, so there wasn't anything we could really do about it. Apparently she has progressively improved a teeny bit each day - today she took about 3 1/2 ounces total during the time she was at the sitter's (from about 8 to about 3:30) She is otherwise fine, though, surprisingly - happy to hang out, "play," watc the other kids, etc. She even naps fine and seems happy enough - but HUNGRY - when she gets to me in the afternoon!

  So far no sleep regression (that happened with my son when he started daycare, though he would take a bottle fairly consistently... just preferred not to). She just cluster feeds in the early morning and in the afternoon/ evening. I can live with that until she gets better about the bottle, which I'm sure she will. It's not the end of the world and they won't be traumatized (though I was in tears Tuesday afternoon, convinced my LO would be, so I feel your pain).

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• Starbear06 member

  November 2012

  My baby went through the same thing. Took a bottle a day since 8 weeks and then around 3 months he refused the bottle. I was also returning to work in a few weeks and was concerned that he wouldn't take the bottle. I tried different bottles but still didn't work so I didn't want to continue to spend on bottles but I was very persistent in offering a bottle at every feeding and started pumping exclusively. I noticed he would take enough to not be hungry about 2 oz and then make up for it at night feedings. During night feedings I offered the bottle as well and he would take it. Now 1.5 months later he takes a bottle no problem and I nurse for night feedings. Slowly I'm going to start nursing on the weekends too. I'm just scared that he would regress if I started nursing during weekends. Some things that helped during that time of bottle refusal was to be calm and happy when offering bottle. I usually placed the tip of the nipple on the side of his mouth and had him go for it rather than shoving it in his mouth. I didn't have the option of having someone else feed him since my H worked but I'm sure you can try that as well.

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