Baby Will Not Take a Bottle.

Have you tried an Adiri breast bottle yet? I have hears that many babies who refuse all others take to this one beautifully. They look like a breast and supposedly feel closer to one (at least to the baby) I have friends who have used these and swear by them.

hi i had the same problem with mine.. one what type of bottle's are you trying to give her??? i found the easiest to transition to are the playtex drop in natural latch.. also it will take a day.. so take a spa day or trip and rember to bring a breast pump i made the mistake..not to when she get's hungry enough she will eat i have also had to do the same with some little one's i have watched i have run a daycare for 6 years and trust me they won't starve themselves just like us they know what they prefer once you do the the day thing my sujestion to you would be to give one bottle dailey just so she is used to it and it give's you a little break to

do you mean feed the baby with formulah or breast milk in bottle....it might not be warm enough, and it could be the nipple on the bottle...try different ones...i like the dr.browns natural flow best...i've breastfed two children and and totaly against formulah until at least six months.....but yea i dont even try to feed the baby breast milk from a bottle until its about 4 or 5 months, the baby just didnt like it until then.....hope this helps..

I breastfed my first for 22 months and my second for 2 years. Isaac took a bottle for the first 4 months if he had to, and I never tried with Adrien. My only advice to you is to have someone else do the feeding - leave the house! Also, start with breastmilk in the bottle, and once you get your baby used to the idea, keep up with it. My husband stopped trying with Isaac because I would come home just in time to feed him and he refused after a month of not having one. I didn't care because I didn't really want to use bottles anyways, but it did make things tricky if I needed to go somewhere.

It will get easier after your baby is 6 months old and can go a little longer without nursing and can have solid foods. Until then, hang in there. Breastfeeding is wonderful!

the only advice i can give is to try try again i breastfed my first for only 2 months i had excrucating pain in my breast when my milk came in, almost like a contraction just concentrated in my breast and i had to get her on the bottle for my sake of sanity i only got to feed my second girl for about month and a half for the same reason and i just had to keep trying sooner or later they will take the bottle out of hunger it may sound cruel but in my case it was a must it cost me a lot of tears to hear them cry because they were hungery and didnt want the bottle but they both eventually took it when they were hungry enough breast feeding even for a couple months is a great thing i wish you luck and hope this helps you
M.

Hi C.
I have breast fed 3 kiddos and each one was different. My oldest hated the bottle so we had to do the never-ending shuffle. I of course got tons of advice but the thing that worked best was when my husband would sit in the room with us and make it a tiny bit less personal. Breast feeding is typically a time for mom and child and when he was there our son was actually a bit distracted. Pretty soon he would offer a bottle which would last about 2 sucks and a no way I am not drinking from that. After a few days it actually worked. Good Luck

Hi
I tried to introduce a bottle to my first-born and she was reluctant as well. It was very stressful for me to ever leave her, so I understand your plight. Here are some ideas to try: Make sure you are offering breastmilk in that bottle as most formula tastes yucky (Carnation good start is the best tasting). Have your husband offer skin to skin contact with his bare chest when he offers the bottle--babies like to snuggle their faces against bare skin. Good Luck

I know you mentioned that you tried different nipples, but have you also tried the one that's shaped like a flat oval. I breastfed my son till he turned 7 months and when it came down to bottle-feeding, I tried almost every nipple but that was the one he liked most. I don't think it is so much the type of bottle you use, but more of the nipple. Also, I wouldn't suggest you use larger holes at her age, it pours out quicker, she might choke. Then try holding her close to your breast when you start introducing it, so she will try to latch on to the nipple. Hope that helps. :)

I totally understand. I went back to work when my youngest was 2 months old. My husband stayed with her and actually brought her to me after 6 hours of her refusing the bottle. She was in hysterics and miserable. She is now 7 months and still has refused the bottle. She also refuses baby food and rice cereal and everything her doctor has suggested we give her. Talking to other moms I have heard not to push it unless it is necessary. I still get to go places without her even though she is solely breastfed.

Hello,
I am having the same problem you are. My baby is 7 weeks old and she has difficulty with taking the bottle also. She took it once but now she refuses. Some things that I have tried that may work for you are warming up the nipple in the dishwasher on heated drying cycle. I tried this because I thought that the baby prefers the warmth of my breast, but make sure you feel the nipple first to make sure it is not too hot, but don't let it get too cool either. Also try stroking the side of her mouth and letting her go after the nipple. Another thing to try is wiping the nipple with warm milk. The one time my daughter did take the bottle was when I went Christmas shopping and left her with my husband. He said that she was really hungry and took it right away, but after that she has refused. It was a second nature nipple and is supposed to work like your nipple. Also ask her Dr. of different ways to feed the baby besides breast and bottle. I heard of some but can't think of them right now, but if I come across them I will post them.
Another thing that is important is your health. Try not to get stressed out because that will decrease your milk supply and your baby will pick up on your stress. I don't know if you feel the same way, but I want alone time out, but it is hard knowing she will not take the bottle. My husband refuses to go to stores, and I do not want to take my daughter out yet so I would get ready then right before leaving I would feed her then jet out the door leaving my husband to burp her. So far she has been fine for at least 1-2 hours.

Hi! I just responded to your other one, but I can relate to this one as well! My daughter still to this day will not take a bottle or pacifier and she is almost 7 months.

People have told me that your baby will not take a bottle from you until she is used to it being given by someone else. But my daughter never would take one from anyone else either.

My advice is that breastfeeding is a HUGE commitment and everything else has to be put on the back burner. I know that sounds unrealistic, but when you choose to BF you are doing an amazing thing for your daughter that just so happens to take up a good part of your life. Enjoy the closeness and the bond while you can because in 4 months you're going to have to pin her down just to get her to eat. Up until 5 months when I started with baby food I was BFing Lorelai EVERY 2 hours, day and night for 15 minutes on each side. So I had an hour and a half that was free to run to the store, clean, cook and I am working from home as well. It was rough and most days I didn't get to wash my hair or put on makeup. But I look back and don't so much think about that stuff as I think about how much I loved having that time with her and I just wish she would sit still now!! :)

Good luck! You're doing a great thing for your daughter!

Keep on trying! I had my "last" one at 41. So it's alot different this time around for me and she is now almost 6.
I found this site coz my 24 year old daughter invited me.
But I read your post and just thought I would put my 2 cents worth in.

Good Luck with that baby!

Hi C.,
I have a 13 month old daughter. She was strictly breastfed until about one week ago. She went straight from the boob to a sippy cup and has never taken a bottle or pacifier. I wish i could give you some encouraging words but breastfeeding is a job in itself. And no you do not get a break for anything. so unless you plan on switching to formula i wouldn't plan on having any time to yourself. And no, there will not be anybody to help you out when it comes to feedings unfortunatley. but stay strong and keep on going. It the most rewarding thing that you can do for both you and your new baby girl. when i was at 6 months i thought "is this ever going to be over" and now that we have stopped nursing I am sad to not have that time with her. it was definatley harder on me than it was on my daughter. I hope this helps and i wish you the best. And don't forget to stay strong!!!!
A.

Hello C., are you wanting to continue with the breasfeeding or are you wanting to quit? i didnt see really in your request on that. if you are continuing to breast feed start pumping so you have extra in the freeser so when you do want to go out then your husband can warm it and give it to her.babies want it how they were getting it. and if the breast milk is warm and in a bottle she will smell it and she will take it. if nothing else if you are trying to wean to formula start off with half breast milk and the other half with formula. thats what i had to do and she still took it because she could smell the breast milk and now taste the formula so when i switched to formula it was not a big change for her.if nothing else talk to your babys doctor.also practice with showing you husband on how to warm and shake the bottle to make sure there is no hot spot and teach him how to test for tempature. good luck

I agree you should make sure that is breastmilk in the bottle but also have dad hold her close while he is feeding her and I have also read that if he takes of his shirt so that there is skin to skin and then hums for her this will relax her (the baby book by Dr. Sears) alot of people when giving bottles to babies do not provide the closeness they just hold the bottle while their baby is laying down this may distess baby and make her upset so try to make sure she is still getting the closeness

First of all, good for you for nursing! I also exclusively nursed my daughter (now age 4) at first. I had to return to work after 2 -1/2 months so I had to figure out a way to get her to take a bottle and she was not having it! I used pumped breast milk in bottles and tried and tried...she wouldn't do it and she never took a binky either. Finally like one of the responses below we realized that she had to take it from someone else. I had my husband try while I was there and that didn't work either. I think because i was still there. I had to physically leave and let him figure it out and eventually she got it. Even after she got used to the bottle somewhat, she still wouldnt take it from me for a while. Baby steps...so one thing at a time. After someone else work on the bottle with your baby while you are NOT around. Make sure they know what they are doing like the bottle nipple goes almost all the way in the mouth, not just the tip, etc. and it should happen. Then after your little one gets it, I would wait awhile until YOU try to bottle feed...you don't want baby to relapse and not want it just after she gets it. Hope this helps! I wish you the best!

What's in the bottle? I don't know if you're putting formula or breastmilk in the bottle so it's hard to give advice, but I can tell you that she is more likely to accept the breastmilk that she is familiar with from a bottle than she is to accept formula. If you are already putting breastmilk in the bottle then you just have to keep trying - try to give her a bottle of breastmilk before she gets too hungry because when she's real hungry she probably won't accept something new. That's how my son was. Also make sure it's warm, she's used to warm milk from you and probably prefers it that way. Good luck and I hope that this helps some.

Hey C.,

I have read that the first time you give your baby a bottle someone other then the mother should do it because the baby knows the difference. In fact it says the mother should not even be in the room. If that does not work I would try starting out the feeding on the breast and then switch to the bottle in the middle of it. Also make sure to try giving here the bottle befotre she is crying, while she is calm. That worked with my daughter. I had to pinch the nipple to get a few drops in her mouth so she didn't think it was the pacifier and then she took it just fine.

Good luck!