4 Month Breast Fed Baby Refused Bottle

She is so young. I would try using a very small cup or spoon-feeding. These are supposed to help prevent nipple confusion, I've heard...

Hi S.-

I had a similar experince with my BF daughter. I needed to return to work in September '07 as an Environmental Engineer and Daddy (an RN) was going to become Mr. Mom. I was a nervous wreck and the fact that she only occassionally had taken a bottle of BM before that time made me worry.

My first week back to work was hell. But, I will tell you not to give up!!

After three days of me racing home to BF a daughter who refused to eat from the time I last nursed at about 6AM till my return at about 3PM, Daddy took her to the doctor. They confirmed that nothing was wrong with her physically and that she was still well hydrated and indicated that it was a preference thing. We had to "ride it out". Well, this consisted of a screaming crying infant for over 14 hours before she took milk (of any kind, but it was BM) from a bottle. At nearly 10PM, she took a lousy 2 ounces! That fist night was the hardest as she got up nearly every hour to two and I had to pump while Dad tried the bottle. After I pumped, I would rescue Dad from the screaming child and try my hand at it. She would take an ounce or two and due to the exhaustion from all the fighting, fall asleep. The doctor mandated that I not BF her for at least 3, but preferably 5 days. After that we had to keep her guessing so that she would not refuse the bottle and fall into a Mommy-only-at-this-time routine.

Honestly, beyond that first 24 to 48 hours of struggle, I don't recall much but it must have gotten better as now she switches between breast and bottle without a care and is a happy vibrant 1 year old! :-)

I know this might sound like a harsh method and I am sure I was tramatized more then she was but we had tried it all - the different bottles, the different nipples, me leaving the house so she could not "smell" me, sought advise from everyone I could find including LLL - but this was the only solution that worked. I guess it was/is preparation for her teen years as she was as stubborn as a donkey and we needed to be stronger. It was a great benefit that my husband and I were able to tag team this too. I would not go it alone. It was very emotional for me, not being able to nurse after being home with her for nearly 4 solid months!

Best of luck!
~C.

I had the same problem. People suggested I buy the adiri bottle...it was useless, expensive and was a pain in the butt to fill. Plus it leaked. The company sent me 2 new bottles and those also leaked. So don't waste your money.
I ended up buying breast flow bottles (sold in Target or babies r us). At first my son was also resistant to the bottles.I tried putting applesauce on the nipple so he would suck it off, breast milk and formula. Nothing seemed to work. But I just tried to do one feeding a day with the bottle and after a month, he took it! Keep trying, eventually it will happen. Good luck!

Try feeding her in another position. My 4 mos old daughter has been exclusively breastfed, but I needed her to take the bottle when I went back to teaching the last 3 weeks of school. The only thing that worked was having someone other than me give her the bottle while she sat in the bouncy chair. She still fought it, but eventually she would give in and take the bottle.

My other suggestion is that she doesn't like the formula. Pumping can be a pain, but its not that bad--I speak from experience! You don't have to pump alot, just pump for every missed feeding.

Check out kellymom.com which has great articles on how to bottle feed a breastfed baby.

Hi. My daughter did the same thing. She is now 7 months and would only take the bottle a few times. I have actually put the bottles away. My husband had to watch my daughter while I was away for a night. The only way he was able to feed was with an eye dropper. She loved drinking from it! My poor husband gave her 5 ounces with an eye dropper .5 ml at a time! That is dedication. She actually did really well with it. I now have her drinking water and breast milk from a sippy cup (the disposable kind) which has no valve. She does great with it. Hope this helps! best of luck.

I had one who loved the bottle and one who never took the bottle so I understand your frustration. The baby will not starve and if you are not there it will be easier for the peerson who's taking care of her. they can also try giving it to her on a spoon and thicken it a little with some ceral, that's what my husband and inlaws had to do if I could not be around to pop out the ole boob, good luck and go enjoy the wedding, also leave her with the person who's watching her before hand for an hour or two so she is used to having this person befoer you go to the wedding. good luck

I hope you don't take this the wrong way but instead of forcing her to drink formula which probably tastes nasty next to breast milk, why don't you pump regardless of your feelings about it? I'm not trying to be smart but she knows breast milk. You are trying to get her to take a bottle which she isn't comfortable with AND drink something she isn't used to. It's either that or perhaps you will have to take her to the wedding with you.

As for the bottle, try Avent if you haven't already or Breast Flow. I think One Step Ahead also has bottles that are basically breast shaped.

L.

Welcome to my life a couple of months ago! Some babies just dont like the bottle. I tried several times, with several different bottles, several different nipples, several positions, several people trying to give the bottle to her...with no avail. I went to a wedding where she refused to eat for 7 hours. We ended up finally getting her to take a sippy cup by Nuby (it is a soft silicone spout). That is the only way we could get her to drink other than my breast. As my pediatrician told me, she will not starve and will probably feed like crazy when i got home from the wedding and she did. So do not worry...try the best you can and she will take it if she really needs it. Good luck!

I was just starting to work on getting my exclusively breast fed little guy to take the occasional bottle when I was separated from him for 4 days while in the hospital!

1. Without me there, there was much less resistance to the bottle (or so I heard) :(

2. It takes a lot of patience from the bottle giver. With the boob, he can suck and stop when he wants, the bottle just keeps going. I understand holding him more upright helped with this problem, too.

3. My family (who was watching him) mixed the formula and then added a bit of breast milk (I think they did 2 oz formula 1 oz breastmilk that I was able to pump and send home from the hospital). He seemed to take those bottles a bit more easily then the plain formula ones. If the wedding was only a few hours you might just need one pumping session to get some b-milk to "top off" the formula.

Good luck and enjoy the wedding!

My baby never took the bottle. I gave up after a month or so of trying.

neither one of my girls would take a bottle but i've been trying something new with my 5 month old. i pump a couple ounces of breast milk every once in awhile and put it into a Breastflow bottle, then let her play with it. She gnaws on it and gets the milk that way, but it's with no pressure to eat. usually she only gnaws out about a half ounce but it's fine because it's not in a "need to eat" situation, it's just for practice and exposure to the bottle. yesterday she was playing with it (I had her propped in the Boppy and I was supporting the end of the bottle while she held it in her hands), and next thing i knew, she was sucking. she took two full ounces!

a breastfed baby only needs one ounce of breast milk for every hour you are away, by the way.

you may not be a pumping fan but im sure if you could just pump a little here and there, you wont mind as much. the taste alone may be the problem. your breastmilk is the best choice to feed her, and its much sweeter tasting than the formula. try to see if she will take your milk in a bottle. also for just 2 feedings that you will be gone, you could even use a cup as many babies will take to that vs the bottle. and maybe have the caregiver try to give her the bottle while you and daddy are completely out of the room. make sure not to wait until she is super hungry. even better sometimes, give it to her just when she wakes and is still groggy.
is it a far wedding? will family be watching her? your best bet is to pump, use whatever feeding (bottle or cup/spoon) equipment is least upsetting and just go. if its an emergency, leave the wedding. otherwise, just have the caregiver know you really want to go and understand she might get upset. she will not starve herself, and will eventually eat, even if it only be because she is exhausting. just be prepared and prepare the babysitter she may cry the entire time. if you are worried about that, do a practice. she may surprise you and take the bottle as she will know you are not there. remember, even if she takes a bottle, the comfort of breastfeeding is what she will miss esp as she gets tired.
and she may do better with your milk than the formula. good luck!!!

Absolutely go to the wedding your daughter will be FINE!!

My daughter was about 4 months when I went back to work and while she had had the occasional bottle from birth to about 2 1/2 mon, she hadn't had one in over a month and there was no way I or anyone in the house if I was there could get her to take a bottle. I was so stressed out, but delaying my return to work was not a possibility. We tried over several days with no luck. Finally, I just went to work, hoping if she was hungry she would eat. I dropped her at the sitters, and she had NO problem getting her to eat (at least none that she told me about). Go to the wedding, have a GREAT time (we get soo few grown-up outings). Who knows, it may be so successful that you'll be able to have a couple more nights out before she turns 16 =)

Hi S.- My daughter did the same thing when I was ready to return to work. I realized that the temperature of the milk was a big contributor. She was used to body temperature milk. We also had to train her by giving her a bottle a day and increasing the frequency. She still doesn't prefer the bottle but has adapted.

Hopefully if the wedding is not too far away, you may be able to attend and feed before you leave and after you return so that you can avoid pumping altogether.

Best of luck- I.

I always breast fed everywhere I went. Can you just take breaks to feed her at the wedding? I also had my mother watch my son while he was still breast feeding. I pumped some milk and left it for her. he didn't want a bottle so she just mixed the breast milk in with a little cereal and fed it to him that way. He could actually take little bites of pureed soup and cereal when he was four months. He didn't want a bottle EVER. It was about nine months when I started really trying to give him sippy cups and bottles. He hated it. it was tough for a little bit but I just kept at it. I tried different nipples. The silicone were the best.
I also started using an organic baby formula called "Baby's Only". He really liked that. It tastes better than the regular stuff. But it took a long time. He was stubborn. They love the breast and I don't blame them. It's tough to give up. Good luck!
S. S

Hey there! My 5 month old daughter will not take a bottle of formula either, same thing as yours, she'll make awful faces and gag, and scream. If I put breastmilk in (which is hard because I am barely producing enough for her, let alone pumping)she still doesn't like the bottle but she will take it. So my only suggestion is, get pumping and saving enough breast milk for while your gone at the wedding.
Good Luck!

first years makes a bottle called the soothie, was given to my premie son after breastfeeding. Nurses in the NICUreccommended it to me when he gaged on regular bottles.

I too breastfeed my child (and my twins before that).

although you are not a pumping fan... she may not be a formula fan

maybe you could try giving her some breastmilk in the bottle and see if she'll take it.

you could try doing one feeding from a bottle daily... the kicker is that YOU shouldn't be the one giving her the bottle. She's not going to take if from you when she knows you have "the good stuff" (she's gonna want to nurse if you try)... it has to be someone else (your husband, or another willing participant)...

but if she's resistant to the bottle... it might be the formula not the bottle. try the breastmilk from the bottle... if you don't want to do breastmilk from the bottle...you might also try a different brand of formula...

GOOD LUCK!

It's possible that the formula is the problem--I'd gag too if you tried to make me drink that stuff! :D Seriously. If this is a one time outing consider pumping for it.

Not taking a bottle is not the end of the world :P In all honesty we never tried with my DD--started right off with a sake cup at 2 weeks. (I had a lot of trouble with oversupply and allergy induced marathon nursing causing chapped nipples :-/)

Is it not possible for you to attend with your daughter? If you are taking her, put her in a sling and you can nurse her discretely "under wraps."

If not here's some ideas: How long is the wedding for? If it's only a couple of hours, she may not be happy, but she won't starve.

Look into "cup-feeding" and work with your sitter on how to properly use a cup with an infant--it's not as easy as popping a bottle in baby's mouth, but it is just as efficient once you get it figured out. I suggest getting someone other than yourself to try offering the baby the cup while you are out of the room/house. Many breastfed babies will not settle for anything but the real thing from momma.

Is there any way you can have a sitter come to a location near the wedding where you could nip out for a bit and nurse your daughter? Maybe nurse her before you leave for the wedding, after the wedding and before the reception.

Hope you have a wonderful time at the wedding and figure everything out meanwhile.