Help! 7 Week Old Won't Take a Bottle

Hi

My daughter had a hard time transitioning to the bottle also. There is a brand called Smoothies...it has a green, wide nipple. For some reason breast fed babies seem to like these. It was also the only brand of pacifier she'd take.

Now my 4 month old son wasn;t taking the bottle and his Gastroentrologist (he has some reflux issues)... told me that if the hole in the nipple is too small they get frustrated and won't take the bottle because the flow is too slow. Maybe try a larger hole (or you can prick a hole in it with a pin the Dr. said)

Hope that helps

They say to have someone other than you feed him the bottle. He associates you with the breast. Keep trying he will eventually take it and then be sure to offer a bottle at least once every few days to keep him taking it. Both my boys were breastfed but always took a bottle too. My 7 month old uses the Nuk bottles they are supposed to be shaped like mother's breast and the nipple is the same as the Nuk pacifiers if he takes them (my kids never did). This made leaving them much easier. Good luck!

I went through the same thing, but my munchkin was abut older (three months) and a lot more stubborn. It took my mother and I eleven hours before Ben finally decided to take a bottle again. Prior to that I tried just about every bottle and nipple out there and that day, decided to work with the Adiri breastbottle. It was the longest, most difficult day I have every experienced. About 6 hours in, Ben had not eaten a drop all day and we called his doctor for advice. The advice was to stay strong and not give in, even if it took 24 hours. After 6 hours of hysterical screaming and Ben falling asleep crying, Mom and I were ready to give in. However, the idea of waking up the next morning and starting all over again made us hold out til he finally gave in. Funny enough, he finally gave himself the bottle - he didn't want me or my mother to feed him. Always on his terms that kid! Bottom line is, it can be horribly difficult (my doctor was amazed that he had gone 6 hours and was flabbergasted to hear he went 11) but they willnot starve themselves. Get a partner for the day and hold out and comfort the child as much as you can. Take turns and leave the room when it gets too tough to take. You are strong, you are a mom, you can do it.

I used and loved Dr. Browns. I am almost positive that the three bottles that you tried have the wider "breastlike" nipple. Maybe try a "regular" nipple. I used the Playtex bottles with my two older children with no problems, but my youngest could not get a latch on the playtex bottles. I tried the Dr. Browns and they worked great. Good Luck!!!

I have a now 5 month old and went through the same thing. She didn't take a bottle until she was almost 4 months old....and the winning bottle was The Breastflow bottle made by The First Years!!!! Just like someone mentioned, it works more like a breast. I never give her a bottle myself and she only gets one about 2 times a week when i am working and took to it right away. It is very hard to find, for whatever reason, but you can order it on the BabiesRus website!!! Good luck!!

Leave him with your husband and a bottle and leave the
house. It he even senses you are in the house, he will
not take it . Good luck.

I am assuming he is breastfeeding? Very common in babies. They just fall in love with your breasts and don't want anything else! It's very hard to break the habit -- but don't worry, your 7 week old will not hold out and not eat for as long as a 2 year old can if they don't want something. Most babies will refuse 1-2 feeding sessions in a bottle and then finally take it out of hunger. They have amazing reserve, so they really won't be "starving" or suffering. The longest I heard a breastfeeding baby go without a bottle feed is 9 hours. So my advice is to wait it out; one day, declare that you will not give baby breast for, say, 6 hours, only your milk in a bottle. It helps for you to be away for the day as well, so your baby does not not even see the breast and be constantly reminded of what he can't have for now. Often, the type of bottle/nipple you use does not matter; it's any bottle they don't like. After they get accustomed to the bottle they often won't refuse like that again.

In the future, I recommend that if a mom has to go back to work and is planning on bottle feeding, she should begin to introduce 1-2 breast milk bottles a day to get baby used to the idea, preferably at the times when you know your baby will be given the bottle (like during your work hours). This works for you too, since you can "train" your breasts to make milk efficiently via pump and it wil be easier to make a seamless transition to work while avoiding formula as much as possible.

If you are breastfeeding, you want to make sure that you are not around whentrying to give him a bottle. Babies can sense (smell) mommy and will not take a bottle if they sense that the boob is nearby. Try to leave the house and have someone else offer the bottle.

I too had this problem, but because I think I waited too long before introducing a bottle when breastffeeding. I wasted lots of money on several different types of bottles and found The First Years Breastflow advertised on whattoexpect.com. I went out and bought it right away and he immediately took to it. It is a double nipple and the outside one collapses like the breast and the sucking motion is the same as breastfeeding. OH and one other thing....he NEVER took the bottle from me, always his father or grandma. Only after I stopped breastfeeding did he take the bottle from me!

This of course is assuming you are breastfeeding. If not, you may want to seek your pediatrician's help immediately.

If you are breastfeeding, that can be normal. If you are not, I would call the doctor and make sure nothing is wrong. He may have sucking problems or a problem with his mouth (tongue tied). My son at 10 weeks didn't want a bottle. Turned out he had a heart problem and the sucking was too tiring for him. We didn't find out until he was in heart failure. So if you aren't breastfeeding, follow up quickly with your doctor.