Help-bottle Feeding Question

Wow I can't believe her mom never prepared her to take a bottle! That sounds so irresponsible for her mother.
If you aren't able to feed her by bottle, take a syringe and slowly squirt it in her mouth so that she gets something. When her mom picks her up tell her that she needs to be able to take a bottle and soon. Have her mom work on bottle feeding too. Perhaps letting the dad feed with the bottle so the baby is used to someone else feeding her.

Oh gosh...the parents should have introduced her to the bottle before leaving her with you. I would suggest giving her a few spoons with the milk first and then try the bottle again.

Seriously???? I can not believe the parents made no attempt to adapt her to bottle feeding prior to going back to work. Honestly that is a failure on their part not yours. Kudos to you for seeking immediate help :) I would call the mother to find out which feeding positions work best for baby and also to let her know baby isn't feeding. Try to get baby into position she/he normally feed in. When transitioning my girls I still did football position and and put a bit of formula on the nipple itself so they would know what it coming. I also would stroke their tiny little cheeks just like I did when I nursed. Good luck and God Bless.

I love the idea of squeezing a bit of milk onto the nipple to let her know it's there! Make sure it's the right temp. Remember, she's used to about 98 degrees.

Try to catch her before she gets too hungry. Maybe an hour after she's dropped off? I would try really snuggling with her or rocking with her. Make sure she's comfy, cozy and happy in your arms.

Remember, she won't starve herself. If she's not interested, give her a few minutes and try again. Try to stay relaxed and just keep offering. Eventually her stomach will give in.

Make sure a little milk is on the outside of the nipple. Softly rub her cheek while you play with her lips with the nipple. Get her in as close as a nursing position as you can. Make sure the milk is warm and not too hot. It will probably take some practice but she will eventually go for it. Be calm and patient and creative.

Uh yep call that Mom and ask her what works!!!! 11 hours is sure a heck of a long time to be miserable for you both. Wow!

I would second Theresa B's comment! This is really something her parents should have done before starting with you! She's a breastfed baby, which means she has been nuzzled with mommy for her entire life and probably "loved and cooed" for an hour while eating.

This has nothing to do with you... without any gradual transition, she's dropped off for the bulk of her day with a complete stranger and a bottle. Odds are pretty good that she's sad, confused and angry. Little ones can only control a few things...eating is one of them. Try not to get too upset, but continue offering her the bottle. Eventually, she will eat.

Hold her, talk to her and give her tons of love so that she feels "at home" with you (she's probably with you for the entire time she's awake). When she feels comfortable with you she will relax and eat. It's only the first day- this is going to take a while.

I would also strongly suggest that you speak with her mother about working on this at home too. It's her parents' job to make sure she's "ready" for you each day. That's going to mean some trial-and-error on their part too!

I do home daycare and have had many just breastfed babies. Some transitioned to bottles from parents (in preparation) really well...others, the parents tried and tried and it just didn't work. Sometimes no matter what parents try, it just won't fly!

Some you have to try so many bottle and nipple combos, you would think there are no more left. Most times, the Playtex nursers (with the bags) are what works initially. My most problem babies prefer the latex (tan-ish) nipples, as they are softer than a silicone one. I like theses bottles as I can "squirt" some milk into their mouths by a little squeeze of the bag from the bottom. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes swaddle holds help...singing to them. In a quiet room with no TV, other kids, etc. Sometimes I have had to get a shirt/baby blanket, etc, that mom wore or slept with, to put between me and the baby.

Give it more time. My most difficult one I currently have in care. Hes been here 5 mos and just when I think he is consistent in feeding and everything else, he goes goofy again. UGH

Good luck!

My baby is the exact same way. She was a breastfed baby at first. Try this (this worked for me): Cradle her in your arm with her body turned in towards yours (tummy to tummy), and the baby's mouth near your breast. Then give her the paci until she calms down. Once she is calm, pull the paci out quickly and pop the bottle in in one swift motion. Sometimes I even have to rock my baby throughout this whole process.
The mother really should have introduced the bottle before now in anticipation of her staying with you. I would mention this to her and ask her to work on it at home with baby.

I have 2 kids who were both resistant to bottles, my daughter finally started taking one bottle a day at about 4 months, after us trying 6 different brands/nipple styles. My son took till he was 6 months before he would take one AT ALL!!! Finally I had to "force feed" him, basically, held his arms down to his sides, put it in his mouth and rocked and sang constantly while holding it in his mouth....he finally took it and after that it was easier.

Like others said, it had to be really warm, like body tems, and they had to be held as if they were nursing, really close/tight to my body, and kind of on their side a little. Also, you could try to trick her and feed her in her sleep - that also worked better with mine.

The bottles that finally worked with both of them were MAM/Sassy brand, here is all about them - they have a different, flatter nipple, that is textured, not smooth shiny, just like a breast nipple flattens in their mouth, also BPA Free, anti-colic/gas design, and the newest ones are self-sterilizing:

http://www.mambaby.com/mam/the_products-drinking-bottles,...

The kids would NOT take any others, and even once they were bigger and would try to drink out fo a regular one, they would drool and leak milk all over themselves, never dripped one drop with these!

Good Luck, I too think this was mom's job to tget them to eat from a bottle before taking them to a caregiver....but too late now. I think you should talk to her, have her buy the bottles and work on it at home, too. Remind the mom, if the baby won't eat all day with me, she will be waking mommy up all night ot nurse to make up for it!!! Also, I know she is young, but you could try a sippy cup ( without a valve - you would have to tip it to giver he one sip at a time), ot a tiny open, dixie cup, it would be faster flow and she wouldn't have to suck hard...but would get something out of it, so she isn't starving.

Having something that the mom wears might help. I've heard tell that making more holes in the nipple can help or using a bigger hole size of nipple.

I would call the mother and tell her. This is riduculous. She should have been pumping milk and training her to take a bottle.

I had that problem with one of my daughters. I tried tons of different nipples and the NUK nipple she finally took. Its a smaller nipple so maybe more life like?

You've already gotten a lot of good, sensible advice. I'll just add that I had a baby who wouldn't drink from a bottle for 8 months! We tried all kinds of nipples and positions to no avail. Finally one day (at 8 months!!), he reached his mouth towards the bottle I was preparing and drank - he ate fine after that. Go figure! Good luck getting through this time.

My son also refused for my mother, who was his caregiver during my long 10-hour work day, and was exclusively breastfed to 12 weeks although he took a bottle once at 8 weeks. Quick temper, strong will and would bat the bottle away even at 3-4 months of age. Tricks she tried were getting him fascinated by the ceiling fan and then despite himself he would suck. Another possibilty is to take the mother's nightgown and wrap baby in it for her scent and that sometimes helps. In the end he never took to the bottle and I came to my son over the lunch hour (although it was a 20 minute drive each way) and nursed him and then he would wait for me until 6:30 and he did reverse cycle nursing every 3 hours (1, 3, 5 am) through the night-- really hard. Nursed him to 15 months this way...

her mom should've thought of this and prepared her. its not like just because she won't take a bottle for the mom that she'll magically take one for you!

Perhaps try holding her in the football position like you are going to bf, but use the bottle instead. keep it close to your chest. Another thing to try is the premade formula. the texture is a bit different from the mix so that might make an effort. also since its at room temp it might work better for her.

As a last ditch effort, you could dip your finger in the milk and have her suck your finger. the feeling of flesh might make her suck.

Good luck.
M.

have you talked to the mom?

its likely that she might go "on strike" because of the separation. she will not starve herself, she will likely just be needing more from mom when she is home. this is normal, and she should adjust soon.

Wtheck!!! This is not your job! The mother should have introduced the bottle some time ago and found what works for her child. Not expected you to go through the sometimes frustrating and worrisome task! I would definitely be on the phone with mom!!! If the baby is upset and not taking a bottle, he/she can become dehydrated making things even worse. I wish you the best of luck, but also hope you will put your foot down to this irresponsible mother!

For all those who called this mother "irresponsible" - I worked, worked, worked with my daughter to try to get her to take a bottle before bringing her to daycare and she still refused. Tried every kind of nipple and bottle. She refused through 4 whole weeks of daycare, also. Luckily she was only there for 6 hours/day. And she was perfectly happy while there, until they tried to feed her!

Make the bottle really warm, body temp (98 degrees). If nothing else, squirt the milk/formula into her mouth so she'll have to swallow some. She won't starve. Let her calm herself down before trying again. Have the mom leave a sweater or something that smells like her with you to lay the baby on while feeding. When she is hungry enough, she will drink.