9 Month Old Rejecting a Bottle All of a Sudden.

mine rejected the bottle from my mother at 4 months. never took it again. i tried a sippy cup and he was all over it! Gerber and Avent make good sippy cups. good luck!

Hello,
My 9.5 month old will not take a bottle so if I need someone else to feed her I have them put breast milk in a regular cup ( Not a sippy). Its a little messy, but she loves to drink out of a Big Girl cup!

Good Luck!

M.

This happened to me as well - right around the same time. Everyone told me not to worry (but of course I did). After a couple weeks my son began to accept a bottle again. In the meantime, keep your milk supply up! As for going out of town, ask your mother-in-law to offer bottles frequently. One way to try might be right when your baby wakes up & is still sleepy (as well as before nighttime). You can also try to offer more other liquids if you're concerned about hydration. My son is now 18 months and we just stopped breastfeeding.

I think that he will be fine..I know you feel frustrated. But he will eat if he is hungry - I learned that with my daughter. She is 13 months and we stopped bottles altogether at 10 months and I felt that she was not drinking enough fluids with the sippy cup, but my dr. re-assured me that when she was thirsty she would drink. And she was right. I don't think that one night away from him will be bad. Go out and enjoy yourselves together.

Is your baby on solids and fruit juice? If he is, one day without milk will not harm him/her. My daughter wouldn't take milk in any form except breast and when I returned to work ( she was 6 months) she only drank juice while away from me She grew strong and healthy and is a beautiful 5 year old today. ( Who still doesn't like milk.) Good luck, you need and evening out.

I wouldn't be too worried about him. At nine months and still breastfeeding I would assume he a healthy robust baby boy! Is he on any solid foods at all yet? If your mother-in-law is willing and able to put up with his fussing, I would think it is absolutely fine for you to be away for one night. If he's hungry enough, he WILL take the bottle. If not, he won't suffer and health problems from one night (not like a newborn). But, then again, you may not enjoy yourself wondering if he's upset. It's a tough call. Good luck!

I had the same problem with my son at 6 months when I returned to work. My pediatrician gave me some tough advice, but it worked. Go and enjoy yourself - he'll only take an ounce or two the first few feedings you are away, then when he realizes thats the only source of food available at that time he'll eat. Children will not let themselves starve - we have a natural instinct for self-preservation. I know this sounds mean, but this same theory will occur so many times as they grow. I also had a twin boy and girl when my son was 26 months and I breastfed them, too.

Don't stress it! Good luck!

Hi Jackie.
I think that if your mother-in-law or whoever is staying with him on Monday is willing to stick it out with him...just go and enjoy yourself. Your baby will take that bottle if he has no choice and is hungry!!! Hope you have a great time!!!

I would give him a sippy cup or a cup with a straw. Is he eating any soilds yet? Once my girls started to eat soilds they did not drink as much. My little one never took a bottle and started with sippy cups at about six months. Good luck.

Does your child also eat jar or homemade baby foods? My son is also 9 months and has really taken less bottles lately as well. He/she may just be needing or wanting more "food" rather than milk. Maybe try offering a bottle after he/she has finished a meal. The child may find a "drink" more desirable at this time. Also, has he/she had a cold or getting teeth? This sometimes contributes to not wanting the bottle. Hope this is helpful.

My pediatrican told me that when my son starts to take more than 4 bottles, start him on cereal. He started eating cereal at 3 months! It was really thinned down with the formula. Try the rice baby cereal, use the breast milk to thin down. That will fill him up and use a sippy cup or bottle w/ straw for the formula.

My son was off formula and on whole milk at 10 months. Eating fruits and vegatables with the cereal. At about 11 months we introduced a few table food, fruit, potatoes etc. He wouldnt go back to baby food after that! We had to mash pasta, potatoes and veggies for a while. Not to worry, when they are hungry, they will eat. We stopped using the bottle around this time also. Only had to use for naps and bedtime and we forgot it once and he cried himself to sleep. That was the same day we were leaving him overnight w/ my parents. I told them if they didnt need to use it, dont (we hid it in the cuppboard) but if they had to go ahead. He went all day w/o a bottle and was broken of the habit from then on, around 11 months.

Whoever you are leaving your child with is apt to have been through all these things before. They will know how to handle the situation like a pro! Relax and enjoy some time together, alone, with your husband. In my experience, its not that often to happen so take advantage of the opportunity!

Enjoy!

Mom,

try a nipple that matches his pacifier, LATEX is softer than silicone.

ALSO try bottle feeding him a bit more at home,
this was he associates it with you rather than associates it wth the ABSENCE of you.

M

My youngest son was strictly breastfed but I had to go back to work part time and did not want to stop nursing. I got the double Medela pump and was fortunate to have a private office. He refused all bottles and at that point would not do a sippy cup but he would take it from a regular small cup that my Mom would hold. As he got older he went to a sippy cup if he was out and a small cup at the table. He nursed until he was nearly 3. He never had an ear infection and has been basically very healthy. See if he will take the breastmilk from a cup that your MIL holds for him... also, does he drink water or juice and has he started solids yet? If he is not sick and is taking other liquids and solids I don't think one day with minimal breastmilk would be that bad for him. Have you checked with your pediatrician? I never went away over night without my children so I have no advice there.

Your baby is going through a transition period. This requires a lot of patience and staying calm during feedings. Keep in mind that 80 -90 percent of the foods
that your baby is eating is liquid. He will respond to the
bottle at his own time. Allow him to adjust to all the new
things in his little world. Only offer 1 ounce at a time,
he will be fine.

Some questions to consider...Is he teething? The artificial nipple may be uncomfortable for him. Is the milk frozen? Sometimes frozen milk develops an off taste or odor (which doesn't effect its nutrition, though). As for one ounce "not being enough"...I think HE thinks it IS enough...at least to hold him till you get back.

As for your plans to go away overnight, I applaud you for listening to your son when he is communicating that he is not old enough for you to go away for very long right now. He'll outgrow this phase so quickly, in the larger scheme of things.

Have you tried the Medela bottles? The nipple is like the orthodontic pacifiers and most naturally shaped. THere are also "breast shaped" bottles out there. Is it possible the temperature is off? Too hot? Too cold? Is he not being "cuddled" like you do when you nurse? My mom and husband always had problems giving my son his bottles, until I showed them how I would sit with him, in the boppy, cuddled next to me. Sometimes babies just get "off". Maybe he's getting some teeth and the bottle is pushing against them? You really should watch how she feeds him and see if it's that or the milk temperature. Keep trying different bottles. I'm sure he won't starve while you're gone. My son never did. He sometimes nursed like a champ after he'd rejected a bottle, but he never starved. Good luck!

Maybe this is a sign that he's getting ready to wean from breastmilk. I know the doc's say that you should formula or breastfeed for a year, but if he a big well developed baby, and he is eating solid foods, he might be ready to transition to milk, or other solid foods as a supplement to breastmilk or formula. One thing that he will not do is let himself go hungry.

We had the same problem with my granddaughter. She refused to take milk from a bottle. My daughter had breastfed until she returned to work when her daughter was seven months old. We too tried different bottles, nipples and finally realized she just wanted it as warm as her breast milk. She would only drink her milk warm until we were able to take her off the bottle at around 18 months old. Hope this is helpful.

When my younger daughter was teething, she gave up the bottle totally. I had stopped breastfeeding, and it was the time for change. She got plenty of nutrition for the variety of jarred and finger foods she was getting, and I used breast milk and then formula in her food preparation. I offered juices in the sippy cup. That made the cup more attractive. If you have doubts about the nutrition, consult the pediatrician.

I would have to agree that you should just push the solid foods more. Go away - if the baby REALLY wants milk he will take the bottle. I would not worry too much!

Don't worry if he is hungrey he will eat! I'm a mother of 2 one who breastfed and refused anything else for 12 months and he is now a healthy 7 year old. Go and enjoy

also try this
with one of my kids I had to leave an unwashed shirt. I know this sounds yucky however the baby was able to smell me when my mom draped it over her shoulder and he took the bottle. You need to give him the bottle yourself as well.