3 Mo. Old Who Has Been Breastfeeding and Bottle Fed Started to Reject the Bottle

Hi,
I went through this same thing with my daughter. She took the bottle fine with my husband at night, then all of a sudden she wanted nothing to do with it. We even tried warming up the milk, and that didn't help...but we were persistent, trying everyday to have her take a bottle. Eventually what worked was this: My husband placed my daughter in an infant seat- slightly propped up. He played a little bit of airplane with the bottle....then gave her the bottle that way. She was not in his arms at all, but sitting in her own seat. He did that for a while which seemed to help, and then eventually was able to hold her again while giving her a bottle. After about 4.5 months of age, she was using bottles fine. She would even take them from me around 9months and on. Now she's 13 months, weaned from the breast, and only takes bottles.
I think the key with whatever you do, is to not give up. Try everyday, and eventually it'll work out.
Good luck!

I feel for you. I went through the same thing , 2 weeks before day care. Ugh. Make sure there is no smell on the nipples. Seriously, I couldn't figure out why my baby was all of a sudden rejecting bottles that she used to take no problem. I was trying to figure out "What changed?!?". Then I realized I switched dishwashing detergent. I went to smell the nipples and yep, totally lemony fresh due to Cascade gel packs. The cascade detergent had leached into the silicone nipples! I was using Electrosol before. I tried to handwash them, boil them- nothing got the smell out. So I threw them away, bought new nipples, and then she started taking them again. Now I ONLY handwash all supplies. This might not be your problem, but just a reminder to definitely look at anything that might have changed. I was practically forcing her to take the bottle and thinking if she got hungry enough she would eventually eat. Now I feel awful because she was refusing because of the nipple. . . glad I figured it out though.
Other things that kind of helped us while we were figuring it out
-set baby in boppy pillow or bouncer
- sit behind baby and only put arm in front of baby with bottle so he can't see you
- distract baby with tv (i know. . .but it did work sometimes)
-warm the nipple of the bottle by putting finger over bottle and holding upside down in the warm water for a few seconds
-put the nipples in your bra for a few minutes (before attaching to bottle) to make them smell like you
-check to make sure your milk tastes ok, perhaps you have higher levels of lipase and its effecting some batches of milk (soapy or metallic taste)- my milk only tastes good for the first 2 days. My baby was much more likely to drink if the milk was fresh
-take baby outside to eat
-let baby play with bottle by himself, they are starting to use their hands at this point and sometimes just want to play with it before helping to put it in their mouth

Good luck!!! And remember the folks at the daycare often have NO problem giving your baby a bottle even if you and everyone else you know does. They sometimes have the magic touch and down to business attitude that the babies respond to.

My daughter did the same thing, about 3 weeks before I was set to go back to work. I was really concerned that I was going to be leaving a baby that wouldn't take a bottle.My husband I were very persistent about giving, or atleast trying, her the bottle. We bought different bottles, etc. but in the end we eventually used the original bottles we had. After our persistence and me leaving the house every day for half an hour for my husband to work with her, we had a victory. I will say that she never took a bottle from me, it had to be someone else. Also she was early at holding her own bottle, somewhere around 4 months. So my only advice is be strong and he will eventually come around. They are very persistent :-)
Good luck!
A.

Have you tried changing the nipple size? I found that around 3 months my baby started to reject the bottle too, and it was because the milk wasn't coming out fast enough for him. I changed to the next larger size and it was fine.

Y.

Maybe try switching nipples, the one you are using may not work for him anymore.

Good luck!

It took me a month to get my son to even take a bottle (started trying at 5 mths) because he was going to daycare. I was VERY worried. You might also try changing the temp of the formula/breastmilk. My son would ONLY drink it in the begining if it was room temp., my friend went thru the same thing and because she was so warm blooded, her son would only take the formula if it was heated warmer than she would normally heat it. She figured it was probably because her breastmilk was so warm.

Good Luck

Hi E.,

I'm sorry to hear your little guy's going through this. It's a really stressful time for mom.

My son did the same thing; on and off would reject the bottle (of expressed breastmilk). We tried everything! Different bottles, different nipples, different milk temps, different holds...you name it. In the end what won was good old fashioned persistence. He'll eventually come around and go back to the bottle.

Good luck and try not to get too frustrated!

T.

p.s.
my son would only take a bottle from me if I were home...I don't know if you have tried to be the one to give it to him?

Try squirting a little milk from the bottle into his mouth. He will recognize the taste and if he is hungry enough, will take it. This worked for our son.

Have your husband wear or drape your pajama shirt on their shoulder when he is offered the bottle- also it is the daycare's job to get your baby to take a bottle

Hi E. - this did happen with my daughter at about 3 months. I can't say there was one thing we did but it was a phase and didn't last long. I'd suggest you just keep trying each day like normal and in my experience he'll take the bottle again. Try not to feel anxious about it - he'll sense it. When you go back to work it will be fine. You'll be away for a longer period of time and he'll learn he has to eat from the bottle. He won't let himself go hungry.
Enjoy the next month at home and good luck!

That happened to me too at around the same age. All of a sudden he would not take the bottle. I have been working with him for two months and so far the only thing he'll take is a nubby sippy cup BUT he is more playing with it than drinking and most of it runs down his face (he is so amused by this. he talks and gurgles and giggles and squeals). I can't wait to read all the responses and find out everyone's ideas.

This happened to me and I was forced to bottle feed multiple times a day to get my son more proficient with the bottle so that he would take either breast or bottle with equal ease. With the one bottle feeding, the baby knows that if he just holds out, he will get what he wants, so why bother with the bottle. Good luck!

Probably you have to give him the bottle rather than his dad (instead of the breast) until he is taking the bottle again, then you can go back to breast feeding with others giving bottles as needed. Don't give in after him refusing and give him
the breast or you will be training him to fuss and refuse for longer and longer periods of time.