Getting 2 1/2 Month Old to Take a Bottle After Exclusivly Breastfeeding

my little girl was 5 months before taking a bottle; she ended up liking the playtex drop-ins and the ventaire wide; and she prefers her bottles COLD. It definitely was not easy. The first few times she took a bottle she was held in a belly down football hold. Good luck.

I have had 3 babies and I had this with 2 of mine. It is not fun!! I also had a friend who went through the same thing with her baby girl as well! The good news is both of my babies did end up taking a bottle and so did my friends baby. The bad news is what you are going through right now....initially, there was complete and total refusal. You just have to keep trying...as painful and frustrating as it is and she will eventually take a bottle. She is just not used to it yet. When I began the weaning process, I always started giving one bottle a day in the evening at a point when I knew my baby would be hungry. Everyday I would dedicate the same time to this process until eventually they began to take it. Once they take a few sips and latch themselves to the bottle, you are more than half way there. I had the best success with Born-Free wide neck bottles and I used the glass bottles because they retained heat more than plastic. I found warming the bottle was key. Keep on trying and I am sure you will find what I did with 2 of mine and my friend found with her baby...they will eventually take it.

This happened to me as well. I had my husband us and eye dropper and feed it to her daily. Our problem was the bottle, but also the formula. I was using Enfamil, but as soon as I switched to Nestle Good start, she starting drinking formula. I never got her to drink from a bottle, but started her on a sippy cup.

N.-

I sympathize!! My daughter (who was my first and is now 2.5 YO) pulled the same trick on us. I was returning to work and Daddy was taking the weekday "shifts" so there was no choice but a bottle. Our perference was bottle-fed BM, but she needed to take what was available.

My fisrt week back was hellish. I ran home early for three days straight to nurse her as she was going more than 6 hours! By the time I would get home she was a crying whiney straving graveling mess. It tore at my heart. On day 4, Daddy took her to the doctor. She was checked out and told that it was a preference issue. The doctor's orders were to go home and basically suck it up. It meant we had to "break her" and that it had become a matter of wills. It also meant I had to pump constantly at what would have been every feeding. We were told that she had to be feed by a bottle for a minimum of 3 days, preferably 5 days and that when we did reintroduce the breast that we needed to be random about when she got it (i.e. once at breakfast then the next day at lunch so she wasn't always expecting to nurse for breakfast).

The poor little thing went over 14 hours before she took a single ounce and collapsed from exhaustion. She slowly took a little more during her night feedings but I knew it wasn't the amount she was used to (not when I was pumping six to 8 ounces!!) Daddy and I took shifts as the crying shook me to my core and tore at my heart. I usually left when he was trying to feed/console her. When Daddy left, I usually wore one of his shirts so I would smell less like myself.

Ultimately, it worked. After the first 3 days, she took the bottle like a champ. We stayed at it for the full 5 days as recommended then started her on the breast again at random times when I was home. This took a lot of commitment and if you have the support, get other people involved. It was tough for just the two of us and I would have loved having the grandparents around to help.

After about 2 weeks, she was able to nurse from the breast or a bottle without a care. She would flip back and forth all the time, but I think she really liked when she got to nurse when I came in the door at night at 6 pm. She knew it was "Mommy time" and always waited for me. As she got older and could crawl then toddle, she would coming "running" as fast as she could as soon as that back door creaked! LOL.

Looking back, all I can think about is how willfull she might be as a teenager! :-) It was totally worth it though and we continued to nurse, evenings, nights and weekends, on demand until she was about 15 months. It was really our special time together and I think she is healthier for all that time spent.

If you are serious about BFing, it should not matter the delivery method of the milk. Don't give up. Be persistent. You are the Momma and you make the rules.

Good luck.
~C.

This happened with my daughter too at 6 weeks old, and I spent the next 2 months working on the problem because I was going back to work full time but wanted her to still get breastmilk. Our lactation consultant recommended the Playtex drop-in system of bottles with the Naturalatch nipples (SLOW flow) to mimic the flow of a breast (most nipple flows are TOO fast so babies feel like they are drowning/gagging). Then, go 24 hours of feeding only pumped breastmilk (no direct feeding). The first few feedings are going to go terribly, but don't worry, babies won't starve themselves if milk is being offered. Maybe she'll take 0.5 ounces at first, but after 3-4 feedings, she will decide that she'll take a bottle rather than go hungry. Stay at home so she is otherwise comfortable, and try to have your husband or mom do all the feedings. After 24 hours, she will be a pro with the bottles, and she will have not forgotten the comfort of direct feeding too. Then, give 1-2 bottles per day until you go back to work. My daughter was extremely stubborn, and we had to do this every 2-3 months. The good news is that your daughter will probably be off bottles and onto sippy cups earlier than most. We started sippy cups around 5 months old and she was completely off bottles and onto sippies around 8-9 months. There are also special cups and spoons to feed breastmilk too, but these require the caretaker to be extremely careful, so they are not ideal but can be used if you get really desperate. My daughter turned out to be allergic to formula and milk, so I breastfed her for a really long time even though I didn't plan on it. Try to get additional help from a lactation consultant before you go back to work if you are still having problems. If you are willing to pump at work, try sticking to breastmilk!

This bottle is suppose to be closest thing to a breast: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=394648...

Try feeding with a dropper if all else fails and your not home to breastfeed.

Good luck!

I had the same problem. My little girl ended up doing really well with MAM bottles. That's the only one she was able to take. It took a couple tries but it worked for us! Good luck!

I had the same problem......The Breastflow Bottle by The First Years worked for us!!!!!

Definitely don't stop breastfeeding. Our baby finally liked the Avent bottle and my partner put a little milk on the nipple of the bottle so she could smell that it was mommy's milk. She took to it right away after that. I know that when my parents were trying to teach me how to use the bottle they resorted to using an eye dropper at first and then I finally got used to the bottle, so you could try an eye dropper as well.

You are doing a good thing by trying to get her used to the bottle before you go back to work. My daycare said that made my daughter's transition to daycare much smoother.

Good luck!

Three months is so young! Isn't there any way someone could bring your baby to the office twice a day so you can continue to breastfeed her during the day? A couple 20-minute breaks couldn't be too much to spare considering the baby needs your breastmilk for a few more months yet.
And, of course, you can continue to breastfeed before you go to work and after work and at night.
Your baby is trying to tell you she still needs your breastmilk.
If that is not a viable option, could you hire a "wet nurse" for a few months? (Until she drinks from a cup?) Perhaps you have a nursing friend you could hire to come over to nurse your baby while you're at work. Many years ago, I had a friend who made so much milk, she sold her extra supply. La Leche League might be able to help you with that. In the "old days", wet nurses were ALWAYS used. You would just want to make sure that the wet nurse eats pretty much the same foods you do and doesn't drink alcohol (or take meds or other drugs, of course).

Good luck!

Hi N.,
There's no reason to stop breastfeeding, it's not going to make your baby take a bottle, it's not going to benefit her health and it'll mean she just wont' want to eat at all.
It sounds like you're confusing the baby by having so many people trying to feed her. You should not give a bottle at all, she should associate only breastfeeding with you. You shouldn't ever be present when the bottle is offered. Warming the nipple is great, also make sure that the caregiver smears a bit of the pumped milk on the nipple so she can smell and taste right away that it's what she normally eats.
It's not required that your baby take a bottle now. When she goes to daycare or whatever the arrangements are for when you're at work, she will have to take the bottle in order to eat. She will figure this out! It's normal for them to ease into that, my youngest was that age when I went back to work, my first day he took one bottle, then two bottles, then took 3. It's also normal for the breastfed baby to eat less during the day while you are at work and increase the breastfeeding when you are home, may eat more at night (reverse cycling.)
Don't wear that nipple shield, it decrases your milk supply.
Yes, go cold turkey - just leave her with the bottles when you go to work. She is not going to starve. She will take the bottles, maybe not full feedings right away, but you do not need to make yourself crazy, she does not need bottles now.

Who is watching her? If it is a friend or family member, or if your caregiver is close to work, take your pumping break and go nurse your baby, or have her caregiver bring her to you. That is not unusual (one of my maternity nurses took nursing breaks when her mother brought her baby by to eat) and New York requires employers to make reasonable accomodation to lactating employees. If she is going to be in licensed/registered care, have you discussed feeding with your caregiver? He or she might have some good suggestions, too. Some babies do prefer a cup, eyedropper, spoon, etc. to a bottle, or they just get tired of fighting and take the bottle. Have you tried starting to nurse her and then switched in the bottle? If breastfeeding is important to you, you can make it work, it just might take some caregiver creative thinking and cooperation. Good luck!

Keep trying. Do not stop breastfeeding. The daycare or caregiver might have to give the milk from an eyedropper if she still will not take a bottle. But, you will always be able to feed her when you are there. Does your child take a pacifier? If so, find a bottle that is close to the pacifier nipple. Also check the flow on the bottle, that might be part of it. .Good luck.

Please don't stop breastfeeding, ITs so good for your baby and for you! I would definately try what the other ladies suggested!