Won't take a bottle

demi1 · May 2014

Hello. My daughter is 11 weeks old. I am EBF however I have to return to work in less than 3 weeks and my husband will be at home with her. I have been pumping to build my freezer supply and have been trying to get her to take a bottle one time a day. She gets really fussy when we offer the bottle and she also will not take a pacifier. I don't know if I waited too long to get her used to a bottle. I'm afraid that she won't eat when I'm at work and start losing weight! The doctor said she will take the bottle if she is hungry enough. I've purchased every type of nipple out there! Does anyone have any advice! TIA

Lhageme85 · May 2014

A few suggestions but mostly just empathy. My LO is almost 4 months old, and refused bottles from 8-12 weeks, did ok from 12-14 weeks, and is now back to refusing them. We have been able to figure out that she is very picky about temperature and likes milk quite warm. Also sushing and walking around seems to help. As a last resort my husband will feed her when she is barely waking up. Not ideal but some food is better than none :-)

Good luck and hang in there! The longest my LO went was 15 hours without eating...she made up for it when I got home.

flcl · May 2014

my little guy just started refusing bottles last week (at 11 weeks) as well. we've been giving him bottles here and there prior to 11 weeks and he's never had an issue. last week, he would get so mad, he would work himself up, it was really tough. that and DH kept dumping out so much breast milk even though I told him to only try small amounts, I was really frustrated. so we changed things up a bit. we thought we would have DH work with LO 30-40 mins after his first feeding in the morning, LO was always in a great mood then. DH put him in the swing and spoon fed him some expressed milk just to make sure that he would take the milk. LO did with little to no problems. DH spoon fed him the next day and then tried a bottle. LO wasn't so offended by the bottle that time but he wasn't sucking, just chewing. DH has been offering him a bottle every morning and slowly there has been a little improvement. LO took about half an ounce today. we're hoping that he starts to take the bottle but if he doesn't, we're going to try sippy cups next. GL... let me know if you find something that works for your daughter!

demi1 · May 2014

Thanks for all of the suggestions! When my husband tries to give her a bottle I leave the room but hearing her scream and cry breaks my heart so I don't wait too long and end up in the room and breastfeeding her to calm her down. We tried to make the milk a bit warmer today and tried to feed her when she was kind of sleepy. She did better but still not actually sucking. I have about two more weeks to practice though. We are going to try the spoon when she is calm after she eats in the morning. Thanks again for all of the suggestions.

sweet*18 · May 2014

We went through the same thing. DS started daycare at 11 weeks 3 days and he still wouldn't take a bottle. We tried every bottle and nipple, nothing worked. He didn't take a pacifier either. We worked with the pediatrician and lactation consultant and after weeks of trying they told me to pick a bottle and nipple and use it because they said he just didn't want to take one so it didn't matter. We ended up choosing the playtex nurser bottle with a latex, slow flow nipple.

The first 2 days of daycare he only drank half an ounce in 8 hrs both days and cried.

He got a little better each week but up until today (15 weeks 2 days) he was only taking 6 to 8 oz in 8.5 hrs. Daycare was very patient as well. He likes his bottle really warm and if it starts cooling, he will pierce his mouth shut until they re-warm it. He still won't take a bottle at home, even if I leave the house.

Hugs to you. I know how hard it is. Big hugs

Aliki · May 2014

demi1 said:

Thanks for all of the suggestions! When my husband tries to give her a bottle I leave the room but hearing her scream and cry breaks my heart so I don't wait too long and end up in the room and breastfeeding her to calm her down. We tried to make the milk a bit warmer today and tried to feed her when she was kind of sleepy. She did better but still not actually sucking. I have about two more weeks to practice though. We are going to try the spoon when she is calm after she eats in the morning. Thanks again for all of the suggestions.

One suggestion-- my first LO never took the bottle when I was nearby (including just leaving the room). She would cry and cry if I was near by and I would end up going in and breastfeeding her, like you did.

However, when I returned to work and she had to take the bottle, she learnt I wasnt coming and she took the bottle. But if I was ever around, she will refuse the bottle.

flcl · May 2014

@demi1: Hi, how are you and your bottle situation going? I just wanted to update you that we tried the sippy cup and it worked great! LO would open his mouth and even grunted at DH if he didn't get him the milk fast enough! We just bought a couple of cups from Target and I removed the valve so DH has to slowly tip the milk into LO's mouth. Since LO was actually sucking on the cup, we're going to try it with the valve tomorrow. Either way, we now have a way to feed him so I'm very happy. I hope your situation is getting better... if not, maybe give the sippy cup a shot! GL!

demi1 · May 2014

That's great that the sippy cup is working! What brand did you get? How much milk does he take in the sippy cup? The bottle still isn't working! You mentioned using a spoon too, right? I think we will try the spoon and sippy cup this weekend! Thanks for your help! This has been so difficult for us.

flcl · May 2014

We bought a couple of cheap ones from Target but the one we've been using is the Tommee Tippee one (valve removed)... it's got measurements on it unlike some of the other ones we saw. We started off with just half an ounce but today we gave him a full ounce. I think from now on, we can give him the full amount. We did start with just spoon feeding him last week in hopes to get back to the bottle. I'm not too upset if he's taking a sippy cup and just skipping the bottle. I hope it goes well for you this weekend... fingers crossed!

eggmankate · May 2014

DD went through bottle refusal when I returned to work at 12 weeks after taking them fine around 8-10 weeks. Daycare assured me they had plenty of experience with this--I had so many doubts. Sure enough--within the first few days she worked it out and now bottles are no problem. Glad the sippy cup is working! Keep trying--they eventually get used to it and figure it out, but it might take you physically being away from him to start accepting the bottle.

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