Due to a recent hospitalization and the need for medication where I can no longer breastfeed, I have had to cut my 8 month old daughter off the breast. I have been trying to give her a bottle of formula, but she will NOT take it. We have tried my husband and my mother feeding her, but she wants nothing to do with it. We have also tried giving the formula in a sippy cup, which also is not working. So she doesn't starve, I give her 4 oz in her cereal at every meal. Should I be worried that she won't take a bottle, or do you think just giving it in her cereal is okay? I have two other children who also breastfed and transitioned to the bottle nicely. Maybe she is starting to be difficult early? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Hi M.,
You may try regular cup though it may messy and time consuming. What type of bottle are you using? Have you tried Adiri Breastbottles? it worked well for several babies.
L.
Health Babies Happy Families
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Talk to a La Leche League leader (find one at LLLI.org) to find out if your medication truly precludes breastfeeding. There are actually very few meds that can't be taken while bf'ing. Doctors generally have such poor training in and understanding of breastfeeding that they usually give misinformation in this area. If you do need to wean or supplement, you can also check out westonaprice.org for homemade formula recipes that are tastier and much healthier than the commercial stuff.
The nipple is probably the problem; it's not enough like yours and she knows it. Hold the bottle pressed against your nipple until she gets use to the rubber nipple. When she knows she won't get yours anymore, she'll start taking the alternative one. Be patient mommy. It's frustrating, I know.
I would also talk to your pediatrician, but she absolutely needs formula or breast milk until she is one year old. It should be their primary source of nutrition with food being only supplementary. So yes, I would be worried that she is not getting the formula, the amount you give her with cereal is not nearly enough. Two of my three were difficult to switch to bottle, it is normal for them to prefer what they know, which was breastfeeding. They are not being difficult. We tried various forms of bottles and nipples, and the other thing that helped was giving them the bottle when they had eaten some food already, so they weren't starving hungry and crabby. Then, we would "play" with the nipple in their mouth, making it a game of taking it in and out, no pressure. Theey thought it was funny, and would suck on it to hold it in. Didn't take too much longer for them to take it easily. Our third always had a bottle while I also nursed, so she didn't develop such strong preferences.
Good luck!
What kind of bottles are you using? I have heard good things about the Adiri nurser. They sell them online and at babies r us and I think at target. They are supposed to be very very similar to the breast and they are BPA-free (although I just read a new article that says BPA is not harmful, but I still would be careful...new research, you never know). Some other bottles that are supposed to be good for breastfed babies are the playtex drop-in system, the Nubi wide neck bottles, or born free wide neck. I never really had a problem with this, so I don't know firsthand but I do know that every child is different so you may have to try quite a few before you find one she will take. Also, if she's not getting much formula or breast milk have you started her on other solids besides cereal. I know they say not to start too early, but if she's not taking formula or breastmilk, it might be time just so she gets her nutrients. Does she take juice? What does your pediatrician think about a vitamin supplement? (I definately wouldn't start that without checking first, though). I'm sorry for your rough time with this and I hope it gets better. good luck!
Hi M.. My sister just had the same problem and she tried a couple different bottles. She found that the Nuk brand helped and more closely resembled a mother's nipple. You probably just have to keep trying until you find one that works. Good luck.
Have you checked with a lactation consultant about being able to nurse while taking the medications? I had to start taking a maintainance medication when my daughter was 2 months old...and when I talked with the lactation consultant she was able to reference a medical book specifically for breastfeeding and medications...and they have each drug rated between 1 and, I think, 5 as to safety for the baby. I think at 8 months, babies will not let themselves starve. So if food is available and they are hungry...they will eat eventually. good luck to you.
Have you tried a different bottle? That worked with my daughter. I switched to the playtex nurser with the lates (brown) nipple and that was the ONLY one she would take. Good luck.
I would encourage you to go to kellymom.com and do a search to make sure the medication you are on is not safe. So many times people are given misinformation and could continue to breastfeed if they wanted to. Hopefully some of the ideas on the board will help otherwise.
C.
hears a link to the medication page http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/index.html
If your medicine isn't listed just post in their forum.
I had the same problem with my son. He was just not interested at all in the bottle. So I went to the store and checked out what other options for feeding him there were. I decided to try sippy cups, and they worked! My son was 6 months old at the time, and he loved it. Plus lets face it, bottles are kind of a pain. It made my life a little easier, and he was very happy. Hope you guys find a great solution for you family. J. G.
My son did the same thing at 10 months- everyone told me he would eventually get hungry and drink the formula but he never did= he would scream and cry until he got hives- I ended up transitioning him to regular whole milk because of it- sorry I don't have any more helpful advice. Incidently, now at age 7 he is the one to try all the different foods- so no I don't think it has anything to do with becoming "difficult" :)
how about a sippy cup with her meals??? foods that contain a lot of water- like watermelon could help. Just make sure she urinates and acts herself.
What we did with our son was we put a little apple juice or prune juice with the formula. Formula tends to have a metallic taste (because of the iron) Eventually we backed off on the juice and he took the formula straight. Also, my son never took to the bottle and learned to like sippy cups. The ones that worked best were the take and toss by The First Years, the smaller ones that have indentations on the sides so they are easier for little hands to hold. Good luck, I know this is so frustrating.
