I am about to go back to work and my 3 month old decided this week that she does not want to take the bottle anymore. HELP! About a week ago, she was fine with an occasional bottle in public. Now she just flat out refuses. Any suggestions would be helpful!
I found that it was the position in which I held my child....she could not be held close to me or anyone else...she was expecting something other than the bottle. So, we gave it to her with her head on my knee and my ankle on the other knee....or in her bouncy or car seat facing me. The key was to have her face me instead of holding her up close......
May that will work. Sometimes it is just one little thing.
Well, I once thought that "if the baby is hungry enough, she'll take anything eventually."
However, I babysat for a friend and her little darling simply didn't eat all day, or ate very little, then he would nurse like crazy when she got home from work. After the initial shock and worry, it became his pattern, and her milk supply adjusted accordingly. She still pumped at least once during the day to maintain her supply and have milk to leave with me. Eventually the baby would take a couple ounces in the morning, then a couple more in the afternoon. He took two very long naps during the day too, so maybe that's why he could hold out for so long -- his body literally went into "energy conservation mode" :-). He was nearly a year old before a took a bottle well.
Also, I thought this little guy's experience was out of the ordinary, but I have three other friends since then whose babies did the same thing!
So, if you can, as you prepare to go back to work, offer a bottle at the same time every day just for the routine of it. And yes, it will help if someone else offers it. Also, you may not even be able to be in the same room, or even in the house. If she knows there's an alternative, she'll wait for it. Maybe your husband could have bottle duty while you take a walk around the block.
However, if it's a source of stress and freaking out, forget it. Just prepare the childcare provider in advance that feeding time could be a challenge. Babies adjust pretty quickly to new routines and environments. Hopefully they'll get the kinks worked out in her first week while you're back at work.
Leah said "Have you tried having someone else give her the bottle while you are somewhere else. I have heard that babies can smell their mothers and will sometimes refuse to take the bottle when they know that there is an alternative near by."
I think this is so true b/c my daughter would refuse to take the bottle with me but with everyone else she would take it w/o any problems. Good Luck!
just hang in there, she will eventually get hungry enough and take the bottle.. i have been there and it works.. it will take some time for her to get used to another person feeding her but i promise you she will come around... good luck
A.,
that is so awful for you, and the number one complaint I get from moms of babies that have nursed for 3 months and now mom wants to give a bottle and they just won't. As a consultant I have really been tried by all of the babies that are every bit as adamant as we are about this issue. I have only found 1 bottle that really works (the Adiri breastbottle) and have given it from premies to 8month olds who wouldn't take anything else and they all took it and didn't cause a problem with subsequent latches. So this is the good news. The bad news; they are currently retooling the size of the nipple opening and there won't be any on the market for another 2-3 weeks.They are promising it will be Available around the 1st of Dec.
In the meantime try the first years breastlike nipple. It is the closest that I have seen to the Adiri and he may take it.
K. @ The Nestingplace
Have you tried having someone else give her the bottle while you are somewhere else. I have heard that babies can smell their mothers and will sometimes refuse to take the bottle when they know that there is an alternative near by.
Good luck!
I wasn't able to breastfeed, but my nephew was, and he NEVER took to the bottle, so he was always given his mom's stored breastmilk from the sippy cup...He was about 4 months old when she had to return to the classroom to teach. My in-laws were the ones who fed him and took care of him his first year. There are Nuby brand soft nipple cups that you can try...I think they still cost around 94 cents, and we found them at Wal-Mart (we used them to transition our son from his bottle to the cups).
Hope this helps!
~J.~
