I have a very healthy 3 mo old daughter that is breastfed. i have been trying for over 1 1/2 mos to get her to latch onto a bottle of expressed milk. i have to return to work 1/04/10. i have had others to try also. she took a bottle from me one time just a day or so before thanksgiving but not since. i have an assortment of bottles and nipple types. any advice so hopefully we can make a successful transition that does not include her having to skip feedings? my plan is to nurse her in the evenings and leave bottles of expressed milk for the nanny during the day.
I want to first thank everyone for the great advice to help overcome this challenge in our lives. We have finally had success, thank the Lord and i can say that my little girl now takes a bottle fairly well. We sought the advice of a dysphagia therapist who works with feeding/eating issues as well we employed the help of a friend (aka "the baby whisperer.) Ultimately we did not have to let her get "hungry enough", but did have to employ some distraction techniques while using an Adiri bottle. This seemed to be the bottle she liked best from the beginning. So for other breastfeeding moms, I recommend the Adiri bottles which seem to be most like mom for the little one. i found some really great deals on these at Amazon.com...otherwise they can be quite expensive.
For other moms in the area who may experience this type of situation, my girlfriend (the baby whisperer) worked with my daughter for 1 day and had her taking the bottle. She used the vacuum cleaner as a noise to distract her and then did almost full squats with her in her arms to give her this up and down motion that she seemed to need for comfort. But it worked and now after 1 full week of taking the bottle each day, she doesn't require a lot of distractions. She will just take the bottle. She isn't taking but 2 oz at each feeding which is less than she should be at this age, but she is at least getting some nourishment while I'm working now. It's truly getting better each day.
If anyone would like the information on the dysphagia therapist to help them overcome some eating/feeding challenges in your child(ren), please send me a note back. I'll be happy to provide you with the contact information. They do take most medical insurances as well.
Again, thanks to all for the advice and you were right that she would eventually take the bottle!
We had a few issues with my now 7-month old son. He would sometimes take a bottle from me but not anyone else. Finally we were at a friend's house and had my husband give it. I was outside, not even in the house. We also had back-ups of female friends to give the bottle just in case he wanted the "comfiness" of a mommy. After that day he hasn't had a problem with the bottle.
Three of my four children did not take a bottle. Vanderbilt has a great lactation dept and they told me that latching on to a bottle and latching on to a breast is different. Some children are never able to take a bottle.
My second son could not form his mouth correctly to latch onto a bottle. He switched feedings and nursed all night long and I started him on cereal and a cup of breast milk at day care at 3 months old.
My daughter would not take a bottle either. I ended up quitting my job and staying home to nurse her for a year.
With my last son my employer did not want me to quit my job and they let me bring the baby to work with me until he stopped nursing.
Talk to Vanderbilt's lactation dept and see what they suggest. I did different things with each baby. Figure out what works for you.
S.
Many babies will not take bottles from their breastfeeding mom, wanting "the real deal" not some fake bottle. Very likely, when she gets hungry, she will take a bottle from her care-giver, or perhaps you can get her to drink directly from a cup. You can leave her at a friend's house while you go to the store, and see if your friend is able to get her to drink from a bottle. That might put your mind at ease.
I had the same issue with my daughter. She only took the bottle briefly on one or two occasion (taking 1 oz at the time) from other people. I remember telling the pediatrician that she was going to starve when I went back to work, and she reassured me that if my baby had done it once, then she knew how to take a bottle and she just didn't want to when the breast was nearby! When the baby was hungry enough, the ped assured me, she would take the bottle. Sure enough, I drove to work the first day crying about being the worst mother ever, but by 10:30 I got a call saying she had taken a bottle and that they had to make up another one! It is a good sign that she has taken the bottle even once. Good luck!
Our middle son never took an artificial nipple of any type. We ended up putting the expressed milk in a sippy cup. We purchased the no spill type and took the no spill part out so the milk would flow easily. Whoever was giving him the cup would have to sit him upright in a sitting position and hold the cup, allowing the milk to flow at a rate he could handle without choking. After a few weeks we put the plunger back in and he learned to drink it that way.
Good Luck and God Bless.
Hi C.,
I had this issue for a little while, too. You can't be the one to feed your baby from the bottle. Have your husband or older kids feed the baby instead. It helps if you're not in the room or within ear shot. Yes, the baby will cry. She will want you. Once she realizes the same milk (your milk) is being offered to her, she'll eventually take it in the bottle. You really need to stick with ONE kind of nipple. Too many sizes, shapes and textures will only create confusion as to how to latch on to each different type. Find which one works for her age and be consistent. She'll figure it out. Good luck to you! And congrats on making the right choice to stick with breast milk!! This is the best start for her to have a long and healthy life!
I had the same issue 5 years ago..we spent literally over $250 on different nipples. What I found that worked after 2 months of trying everything, was an older nipple that you can rarely find. It is one of the older Playtex nipples, not the new flow vent or NaturaLatch ones. It is yellow latex rubber, I found my daughter HATED the clear ones..they felt slimy. These nipples are for the drop-ins bottles. They have a flat tip, just like your nipple and then they also pull forward when the baby starts to feed, like your breast does. Almost all nipples nowadays are stationary and make it diffucult for babies to transition. Once I found this nipple (at Big Lots & Albertson's grocery store!) I bought everyone I could find afterwards...sorry I do not have anymore. Maybe you can find some on ebay or by contacting Playtex directly. My mother used these on my sister whom she breastfed as well and never had an issue, it's what made me think of them myself. Also, they have an orthopedic nipples that is similar that worked for my daughter as well, hard to find in stores though. Here's the link: http://www.playtexbaby.com/products/ProductDetails.aspx?i...
Good luck!!
I know you hate to do this but you need to leave her for a period of time during feedings and have someone else feed her from the bottle. It's amazing what she will do when she is hungry. I found that as long as I was around and my son could sense me and smell me he knew he could have the breast and that is what he preferred. If you do this consistently for the next few weeks she will pick up on feeding with a bottle. Since you will be nursing in the evening I would recommend you leave in the morning/afternoon feeding and then be home to nurse her in the evening. I also found that my son adjusted better with rubber nipples from playtex than he did with the clear silicone nipples. They seem to be able to latch and suck on them better. The Playtex nursers were a life saver for me and I loved the drop ins. Good luck with it and I hope she comes around soon.
