Breastfeeding to Bottle HELP!

Try having someone else feed her the bottle, you can't be in the room, My daughter wouldn't take a bottle from me for qutie awhile, then eventyally she got used to it.

V.!

I can completely understand what you are experiencing. My son is now 3 years old, but when I went back to work he was 4 months old. Prior to me going to work, he nursed exclusively. It was a complete nightmare!!! The startegy that worked best for my son was having other people feed him when I was not at home. Before I returned to work, I tried to start giving him the bottle. At first, it was a wreck!!! He would not take the bottle for ANYTHING! He would scream, go hours without eating, I worried endlessly about him.

I called his pediatrician, my mom, other moms...everyone told me...he will take the bottle if he is hungry enough. I thought to myself, how can they all be so insensitive!! But the second day I tried this, he started to take the bottle (of course only with my breastmilk)!!! It was amazing!

The way I made the transition, is that everytime he needed to be fed in the daytime, someone else would feed him while I went on a walk or for a quick snack. Then at night, I would still nurse him or give him a bottle of warm breastmilk (at first it was a bottle at night just to keep him consistent).

Hopefully this is helpful. I know it is tremendously hard, but it will happen!! Good luck.

K.

I'm a mother of a 15 month old and I took her off the breast about 3 months ago. The keys to a successful transition (in my case) is don't give in and remain calm (even when she's screaming her head off). Stopping breast feeding seemed easier than getting her to take a bottle. Doing the two at the same time, I'm sure is a challange. If you can't have someone else feed her you can have her sit in your lap facing away from you and give her a bottle that way. One of the things I heard is she will eventually take the bottle when she gets hungry enough. My daughter didn't eat for about 6 hours, surprisingly she wasn't that fussy from being hungry, but about every 30-45 minutes I would offer the bottle again and she eventually did take it and from that moment she was fine with a bottle.
Are you going to be pumping or are you supplementing formula? I think that's a whole other experience. Before I weened my daughter I was breast feeding her in the morning and right before bed. (She still took the bottle/sippy cup during the day) I really hope some or all of this helps and if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

V.,

At this point, I'd recommend just being patient and persistent. You've just got to keep offering. When I went back to work after I had my first child, it took him almost a month to accept a bottle. From there we were able to switch from bottle to breast and back pretty easily. He had such a hard time with it, that I bottle fed him (pumped breastmilk) even on my days off during the day so it wouldn't be so hard every Monday. But after a month or so he adjusted and it got easier. Your daughter is old enough that she might be able to get away with a sippy cup (if not now, within a few weeks). The NUBY ones from Walmart work really well for a little one because they don't have a valve. Some babies that are really resistent to a bottle will take a sippy cup.

Good luck!

T.

I feel your pain. I have a 6 month old that I'm trying to transition. Something that has worked for us is the Podee feeding system. It looks like a pacifier attached to a tube, attached to the bottle. Someone told us about it, and decided to use it on a road trip. It's great because we can put the bottle next to him, and the extender makes it so we don't have to hold the bottle. It can be used on any regular bottle. I use Avent bottles, so I just needed their adapter. Now we are using it a lot because he just won't take a regular bottle. I got mine at Babies R Us, where the car bottle warmers are.
Hope you find something that works!
http://www.podee.com/babybottle.html

I had the same issue with my son. I found that sports bottles work VERY well.
Hope that helps :)

This is what I did: Pick one feeding a day to replace with the bottle. Usually a morning feeding is good. Have someone else give her the bottle so she won't smell you. Do this consistently for 5 or 6 days. Then replace another feeding (afternoon) and do that for 5 or 6 days. She will get used to the routine within a couple of weeks. Also, try to pick a nipple that is similar to yours and has a similar flow. Good luck!

Hi,

The best I can help is Playtex Nurser brown nipple looks like and feels like your nipple.

click here to see
http://www.playtexproductsinc.com/infant/bottleFeeding_nu...

If not maybe she is teething. My son started at 4 months. So her teeth may be hurting while she is trying to suck the milk out of the bottle. So try Baby Orajel or teething tablets then try again after a few minutes after applying. You can check her teeth while she is a sleep and see if you see white on the gums or feel with your fingers if they are hard.

She will eventually take it. Don't give up to quick. If shes hungry she will eat.

When you try bottle feeding, have someone else do it with you out of sight, either 20 feet away or out of the house entirely. The thing is your little one knows you are around, she can smell you and your milk. I had the same problem and asked my Bradley teacher what is it that I can do. Once I left the house and my husband bottle fed her, she took it (with a little struggle for about 2 minutes) and finished what was in there. What you can also try is lying down (I did it during night time) with her on your bed and pretend like you are going to nurse her. Once she opens her mouth, stick the bottle in her mouth gently. Babies are smart. The room has to be dark with little light because if she sees what you are trying to do, she'll won't take it. Hope this works out.

When you go back to work she will have no choice and will learn to use the bottle. When she smells or sees you around naturally she will want you over the bottle. Don't worry every working mom goes through this if their child refuses the bottle. Eventually everything will work out. Good luck!

I hate to say it but you have to endure the screaming...Think like an infant, wouldnt you rather have a soft warm nipple in your mouth than a hard plastic thing? They will not let themselves starve and will eventually eat.. I had to transition both of my children and my son took 12 hours (almost all of it screaming) and my daughter took almost 24 before she finally gave in and ate from the bottle (again, almost all of it screaming) It sucks and you feel sorry for them but unless you decide to change your mind about going to work, there is no other alternative...You can try all the bottles, formulas, and nipples in the world and it wont work. Honestly, you just have to be willing to put up with a realllllly long day of a realllllly unhappy child and it will be over... Hope this helps a little... Dont worry sister! Ive been there.... We all have! She'll be ok...

I didn't have this problem but my friend did, the only thing her daughter would take was a playtex drop in bottle I'm not sure if you have tryed that other wise, I would try one step ahead's bottles or first years has one that "more" like a nipple harder plastic on the inside and a softer part on the outside, sounds werid but its pretty nice. Hope the info helps goodluck! J.

Dear V.,

May 16th IS 16 days away. You need to calm down, and listen to the Mommies that know more about this than I do. I know only one thing, some things cannot be forced. Try to think of not forcing and listen to the real experts who answer you. Sincerely, C. N.