Breastfed Baby Won't Take the Bottle!

All bits I have seen on this issue say to try with mom not in home. If the baby can still smell mom they know the breast is close and refuse bottles.

We had the same issues with my DD. We tried everything. Then we found the "right" bottle nipple for her...the Gerber orthodontic nipple in Medium Flow with the narrow mouth bottle. We tried all the other bottles, all the other nipples, and this one (the most inexpensive one) worked like a charm! I guess that nipple mimicked what my nipple felt like in her mouth.

So my advice would be to try a few different nipples and a few different flow variations. Also try them in Silicone and Latex...some babies prefer the taste of one to the other.

Good Luck!

Hi Alicia,

I'm a mother of two boys who were brestfed until they were 18mos. so I know where you are coming from. I tried using different bottle with both of my boys. Moy older one liked the AVENT and my younger the Playtex with the clear nipple. I just think that it all depends on the baby, what their preference is with the nipple type. I know that the nipple for the playtex is very soft so it was easier for my younger son to hold on to it. Hope this is helpful.
A.

Alicia,
As a lactation educator, I get asked about bottle nipples A LOT. I don't recommend the Avent bottles to my nursing mom's because the nipple is very long and the "areola" is rather narrow. The baby tends to take only the nipple on these bottles. And, no matter what kind of nipple you use, and I don't recommend that you ever use the rubber, latex nipples - ever - they tend to dry out and can cause a choking problem for the baby - the fact is, that there is no nipple on the market (with the exception, I agree, with the Adiri), that "forms" to the pallete of the baby's mouth. So, when the little guy is taking in the nipple, it feels uncomfortable to him. I also agree that you shouldn't be in the house with him - you should give him a bottle between 3-4 times a week (minimum) and you should understand that EACH BABY is DIFFERENT. Just because his older sibling took the Avent, doesn't mean that this one will; just because my son loves steak doesn't mean that his younger sister will try it at all.....and a last thing - babies tongue thrust. That means that there instinct is to push our with their tongues - so when he takes the pacifier or the silicone nipple, he will naturally try to push it out. Babies do the same thing with solids given to them on spoons (remember how one small spoonful of cereal can take 7 attempts to get into the mouth since the baby keeps pushing it out!)
I also like the Adiri bottles- they are quite expensive. You can also try the Munchkin nipples. They fit on the Avent bottles, but their nipples are much shorter and the areola is much wider and the flows are all contained in one nipple.
Good luck.
J.

You are probably already doing this, but make sure the milk in the bottle is as close to your milks temerature as possible. Temperature was the main key to get my older son to take a bottle. Also, make sure that you are no where to be seen, heard, or smelled. Maybe leave the house or go in another room and shut the door.

Try the "MAM" brand baby bottle. You can get it at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-###-###-####-###...

This brand does NOT contain the harmful BPA's in the plastic which is poisonous to babies. It is a great bottle...my son had no problems switching to this bottle. It also does not accumulate air bubbles in the bottle when they are drinking.

Avent bottles has BPA's in the plastic. FYI.

Bottle feeding and breastfeeding requires 2 different "techniques" for feeding. Bottles are gravity....nursing requires muscle/tongue coordination.... some babies take to it, some get nipple confusion.

Just keep trying. Some babies will, some won't. Each is different.

Good luck,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

I had the exact problem with my baby, and it was a horrible experience. He would scream and cry when anyone would try a bottle. I finially had to leave him with a friend for a few hours and she got him to take one, then I had my husband give 2 bottles a day after that. He is now 9 months and is refusing again, so the only milk he now gets is from the breast directly, or mixed in cereal. I must have spent at least $50 in trying different bottles and the only one he would take were the Playtex drop-ins. I had to start back to work when he was 3 months so it was a challenge. All I can say is try other bottles and stick with it, it took about a good month for him to get used to it. Good luck!

Try the Adiri bottle, it's shape is very similar to the breast.

Try switching to a bottle (like Playtex) that uses latex nipples. Neither one of my daughters would take silicone nipples; they aren't soft like mommy is. Good Luck!

are you in the room when dad or other person is attempting to give him the bottle? i read that if the mom is in the room, the baby tends not to take it because they sense that their main source of food is right there so "why are you giving me THIS?!" .... maybe wait til he's REALLY hungry & have dad give him a bottle while you go out for a bit (mani/pedi? walk? silent grocery shopping?) hope this helps

Hi Alicia,

I, too, found my breastfed daughter wouldn't take a bottle. she also wouldn't use a pacifier either - kept spitting them out. Think about your baby's position - he gets food from something soft and warm and all of a sudden he's supposed to get it from hard plastic. Personally, I wouldn't like it either. Try to get the mindset that nursing is something you don't want a rest from. Enjoy all the moments because they will disappear soon enough. Also, wouldn't you hate it if, after using the bottle, he preferred that to the breast since he can get more, with less effort? Just go with his desires and enjoy.

V.

Sometimes you have to experiment with a different bottle system and different nipple. Avent is a good one but it may not be the right fit for him.

Good luck,
L.

I had a similar problem with my son when I needed to start supplimenting with formula. I'm not sure if this will work for you or not, but I haven't seen any one else that posted this technique. For one day I pumped and gave him all his meals in the bottle. It wasn't fun for me (the breastpump really hurts after several sessions) and he struggled at first. By the end of the day, however, he would happily drink from the bottle or from the breast. Good luck!

Stick with it! I went back to work when my son was 3 months old and had a horrible time getting him to take a bottle. Once BF babies are past 3/4 weeks they start to become preferential to the breast and pretty stubborn. The things that worked for us:

I had to be out of the house
Gerber Nuk nipples
Holding him in a sitting up position, facing away from you
Being persisitant and pushing through the cries

It is not fun, but bottle feeding can give you so much freedom once it's routine.

Good luck!

Check out adiri.com to see the breastbottle nurser. It's a bit odd looking and takes some practice to use because the baby's tongue has to be positioned very similarly to nursing. We had many challenges in establishing nursing and this served as a "practice breast" which actually helped my daughter to latch. It may be a good transition tool. The one we have is small (it looks like a little breast) but I believe the newer ones have more of a bottle shape instead of just a large nipple. Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Breastflow-Starter-Kit/...

Of course you don't have to get the whole kit if you don't want (pretty cheap though for all of that)

I used this with DD. The way it works is she has to "latch" on to the outer nipple and work it just like your breast, the outer nipple squeezes the inner one which "lets down" the milk ..... just like mommy!!!

It sounds like kind of a pain, but once I used it, we could never use anything else. She has never once had a problem with transition from bottle to breast and back. SHe is now almost 15 months and we're still a nursing team :)

Worth a try?!?!

try different bottles. I used advent bottles too, but both my kids didn't like them until they were a few months old. They both started out with the basic cheap Gerber ones.

That said...with my third...she's fought the bottle. She'll be one in a couple of weeks, still won't take a bottle, but has figured out a sippy cup. (FINALLY!). My son also figured out a sippy at 6/7 mos. Best of Luck!

Try several different nipples since it's all about what THEY want...leave the house or be no where around when someone else is trying to feed the baby...and just keep at it. When you first start, it's completely foreign to the baby, so the more you try, MAYBE the more familiar the baby will become. I say mabye because my first child would not EVER take a pacifier after us trying a ton of times. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Hi Alicia,

My son is 10 months, I never thought I would still be breast feeding (my plan was 6 months) but he has never taken a bottle. We have tried everything. Now I find out his Iron is low and he has to have formula so I am feeding it to him through a straw. I dip the straw in the bottle.

I know this is crazy..... he will not even put a pacifier in his mouth. Mommy or nothing. I am at a loss as well.

I am e-mailing to let you know he does drink from a sippy cup and about 1-2 oz of formula from a straw on his own. So there is some hope.

I don't have any advise as I tried even the natural shape breast/bottle thing that looks like a real breast and that didn't work.

Also, my son would never scream of hunger when left with Dad/Grandparent, etc. he would just sit and wait for me rather than take a bottle.

All I can say is eat well, take care of your body and know that you are not alone.... and honestly take the 2 hour break. Leave your son with your hubby. Your son will be waiting when you get home!

H.

My little girl wouldn't take the Avent bottles either. She would suck for about 5-10 seconds and then let go and start crying. She did much better, however, with the slow nipples on the Playtex disposable liner bottles. It still took one week or two of giving her at least one bottle a day to be completely comfortable with the bottle, but she now successfully drinks from the bottle while I'm at work and breastfeeds when I am at home! Good luck.

Try other bottles. My son likes the avent nipples because it most closely resembles my nipple. I found another one that I think makes sense... try the soothie bottle. Has a very different nipple.

Oh, Alicia, I feel your pain. DS1 wouldn't take a bottle either, and DH was the one who had to deal with the screaming! (I had to go back to work when DS was 3.5 months, and DH is a stay-at-home dad.)

He tried everything -- sippy cup, La Leche League 1 ounce lap cups, syringe and about 5 different bottle types. It was finally just persistence that worked.

Here's the thing, though: it can't be you doing the trying. You've got the "real thing" and your son knows the difference. He won't take a bottle from you. So you have to deputize someone, and they're just going to have to deal with the unhappy baby.

DS2 was easier for DH to get to take the bottle because DH started earlier -- he wasn't about to go through that again -- but he wasn't easier for me. DS2 wanted the Breastaurant constantly and nothing else would do. Babies just have different temperaments and sometimes you just need to go through it. Sigh.

I so wish I had better news for you. GOOD LUCK!

Maybe try the sassy mam bottle. My daughter did not like the avent bottle either.
J.

Hi Alicia, so many parents of this generation are so against formula feeding, to you and all the other young moms, breast feeding is the hardest thing to wing bbies off of because it is always there, and they are breastfeeding long after the child should be using a cup, you said you breast feed your other child at 13 months, I'm an old school mom, and never understood this long term breast feeding. at a time when kids should be on 3 meals a day plus snacks and using a cup. Good luck. J.

I tried that with my son (now 7) he would have nothing to do with breast milk in the bottle, or anything else for that matter. When he got older I introduced different foods and he would have nothing to do with them he only wanted breast milk. I just rolled with it till he was 16 months old then we quit cold turkey, it wasn't as traumatic for either one of us as I thought it would be but it was so worth it to breastfeed for that long. He was healthy and happy and continues to be! Good luck!!

My daughter was exactly the same way. I was also using the Avent bottles. I switched to the playtex nurser (the one with the stupid plastic inserts I was trying to avoid because I didn't want one more thing I had to buy) with a latex (the brown) nipple. It was totally by accident- I think I got it as a gift or a sample or something. She was fine once I switched, though. I decided (but who knows, right?) that she prefered the wider nipple and the latex because it feels more like booby. And the playtex nurser is the only one I found that combined both the wider nipple and the latex- they have silicone, too, so be careful. And I used number 1 nipples the entire time so she had a slower flow- every time she drank a bottle she would put her mouth way up on the wide part of the nipple just like they do when they breastfeed. Try switching, it might help! If not that bottle, maybe another- every baby is different. Mine would NOT tolerate silicone anything, not even binkies.

Hi Alicia - My lactation nurse had me use Breastflow bottles because they are most similar to a breast (http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Breastflow-Starter-Kit/.... I introduced them at a week and I never had a problem with back and forth bottle to breast. Your little one should definately be able to transition at 4 weeks because that is still so early. I would recommend buying just one and trying it. My friend had the same problem and her son didn't take to the breastflow, but took right away to basic playtex drop-ins (and he was screaming everytime she tried to give him a bottle up to 6 months!). The drop-ins worked like a charm for her. It could have something to do with the flow. Also be sure you are using a bottle warmer to get it to breastmilk temperature. Don't give up because it's well worth the break you'll get!! You just may need to try several different bottles. Once he gets the hang of a bottle and has been on it a couple months, I would recommend switching to a BPA free bottle like Born Free so that you eliminate exposure to toxins. Good luck!
N.

You need to be out of the house when your husband or mom tries the bottle. My son would take it when I was gone, but usually would pretty much play with it, like you say and ounce or 2. Then when I got home he'd really nurse! Keep trying it often and offering it even when you don't really need to. My son is 13m and won't take a bottle well at all because we didn't do it often enough.

Hi!I had a similiar problem with my 3 mo old(Now 13!). It took a whole month of everyday of my mother in law doing it. I could not be in the room because she knew "her bottles" were there. We tried every bottle and formula. We found she did better with formula(the liquid not powder}, as she only wanted breast milk from me and the playtex disposables worked best. My M-I-L wasn't detered by the crying she stayed with it, which was such a blessing as we were moving and there were times breastfeeding just wasn't an option.My second daughter got a bottle a week from the word go and she never had a problem. So just stay with it, they will eventually figure it out.

I work full time and had the same situation with my little guy...we introduced the bottle (w/pumped breast milk) at 1 month old and he loved it. Dad would feed him when he got home from work (I would leave the room or house even) and I would breastfeed in addition. Once my little guy turned 2 months, he decided forget it...he didn't like it anymore. I tried EVERY nipple, bottle, there was on the market...and he hated them all equally. So, I went back to work when he was 4 months old...I pumped and his care providers would mix the breast milk with his rice cereal...and then I went and breastfed him at lunch. His teachers still tried every day to get him to use the bottle with pumped breast milk which we eventually gave up when he was 9 months old (I don't give up very easy - hehehe).

He started drinking water out of a sippy cup really early at about 6 months...and had NO problem transitioning to a sippy cup of water and then breastmilk from mom. He is 20 months old now, and breastfeeds twice a day (if you do research, you will note that the AAP recommends breastfeeding 1 year MINIMUM, whereas the World Health Organization recommends longer due to the benefits of breastmilk that cannot be matched in formula). He drinks cow's milk and water from a sippy cup (it took some time to get him to like it...but, he eventually did) and has no problem using a cup in addition to his 3 meals a day plus 2 - 3 snacks a day.

So, my point is...HANG IN THERE!!! Your little one may just be as stubborn as my little guy is (I am raising myself I tell ya - haha). It is very hard at times, but breastfeeding is one of the best things you can do for your child - which is supported by scientific facts. I know it is not for everyone, and it is a major commitment, but you can do it!!! I cherish those moments with my little guy where we get to cuddle and bond...they grow up too fast!!

Hope my 2 cents helped :) You're doing great!

Don't give up! The 2-3 month range is still a good place to get him to take the bottle. Once you're past that, though, there may be no going back! We finally got ours to take a bottle at 2 months but then weren't consistent and now he won't take it. We've had the most success by putting him in the car seat when we give him a bottle. Another friend said her baby finally took it when they were on a long car ride and she used the car seat. Good luck!

Alicia,

You've gotten some great advice already, but I'll add my two cents. My son, now 21 months, never took a bottle. I went back to work part time when he was three months old. I bought every bottle/nipple combination I could find, tried various different milk temperatures, and had everyone else try to feed him. After much trial and error, I found that the soft plastic Medela bottles that came with the breast pump, along with the Medela orthodontic nipples were the only kind he would somewhat drink from. Because the bottles are a soft plastic, my babysitter could squeeze the milk into his screaming mouth and make him swallow and start to suck. He never managed more than a few ounces during my 6 hour absence which led to lots of evening and nighttime feedings. I wish you the very best of luck!

My best advice, comes from experience...for one, I was not able to be in the room when the bottle was introduced. My husband had to give the bottle to our daughter. The baby can still smell you, and they will know that mom has what I want. We made a mistake and waited a month before introducing the bottle again, then she refused it, we changed the nipple, and she then took to the bottle. Trust me there was much crying involved, but eventually she took the bottle, I think because she got hungry enough to where she eventually took to the bottle. My daughter is eight months old, and when I am with her, there are times she refuses the bottle and just wants to nurse, because like I said the baby knows what mom has.

My friend had the same problem with her baby. Try a sippy cup. That seemed to work for her. Good luck.

I completly agree with Vicki. Both of my daughters were the exact same way. Just try to remember that in a few short months he will be starting solids. And then you can get your short breaks. Cherish this time that he needs you and only you. It doesn't last long!!!

My Daughter never took a bottle. We tried everything, but finally just went with- she wants it au natrual and thats fine. I only worked 1 night a week and after the first few times (Crying with grandma and refusing the bottle)she realized well Mom's not hear so I will just wait. I know it is great to have a break- but it is great to be needed too. My daughter weened right from the breast to whole milk in a sippy cup at 15 months, with no problems. My son who is now 9 weened at 2. Breastfeeding is the best thing for your child. In a couple months when you introduce food you will get your break, maybe even with Grandmas help a date night. Enjoy your little ones!

All I can offer is empathy, as my 11 mo old is the same way. We finally started with a sippy cup at about 8mo and although she does not drink breast milk out of it, she will take other liquids. My pediatrician said that she would take the bottle if she was hungry enough, but never did. My other four children all took either, so it was a huge surprise that my fifth child would not take a bottle. All I can say is keep trying and if all else fails try a sippy cup in a few months.

Dear Alicia, this is a very common problem. my lactation consultant told me to have someone other than my husband or me introduce the bottle and when they do have us take a walk or go to the store. Babies can sense their mom's and if they had their choice would always prefer the breast. And since dad's hug and sleep with mom they smell the same. Try this it should work. Good luck