Help! My Breastfeeding Baby Refuses the Bottle

My daughter did the same thing, wouldn't take a bottle. We actually found that if we didn't hold her, just had her lying say on the couch, she would take it that way. She wouldn't take it if she was being held, but when she wasn't being held, she took it. Then once she got used to it, she was able to be held and took it fine. Good luck!!

I dont think I'll be offering much hope here, but I can relate. My son, now 21 yrs old, also refused the bottle. He never did take to it. He only wanted the breast. He'd be on each breast tops 5 minutes and be done with it, but would arch and scream and toss his head at the bottle. I never got anything to work, sorry to say. To this day he is a very determined, knows what he wants person !

Hi M.. I've had two friends experience the same dilemma with both of their babies. Both of them found success in using a Playtex nipple. The best thing is that Playtex sells a variety pack that includes (I think...) 3 to 5 different types of nipples, so you could try all of them and figure out if your baby would take any of them (this is certainly a less expensive option than purchasing many different bottle systems). Both of them had success on the second nipple they tried. Good luck!!!

I am so sorry! I had this same problem with my son who is 2 now. I eventually gave up and postponed going back to work, but there were a few other things I tried first. There is a breastbottle available from One Step Ahead. Also, my son was a little older, but I eventually weaned him to a sippy cup. I removed the valve and just held the cup for him and tilted it to his mouth. This worked well. You can also try using a small (3oz) plastic cup and tilting it to baby's mouth. The cups worked for my son at around 5 months, but I've heard of other people who've tried it earlier. The lactation consultant actually said babies can be fed from a cup from birth. We also started giving cereal at 3 mos. so that when I had to be out for a little while, my caretaker could fill him up with cereal mixed with breastmilk. This was the doctor's idea. He also said to take it as a compliment.

Hi M.,

There are lactating nipples that you can use in order to get her accustomed to bottle feeding. You can buy them at Target, Walmart or any babysotore. I believe they are Medela. I had issues with my nipples being too soft due to the IV given to me during labor and the lactation specialist advised me to use them during breast-feeding. It may take a little while, but used them every time you breast feed and she will start to grasp onto it. This help my son to transition to bottle feeding.

Have you tried to put formula in the bottle? I know it sounds crazy, what could be better than mommy milk? My oldest loved nursing, but would only take a bottle if it didn't taste like mommy. If she tasted mommy she wanted mommy. Maybe if is something totally different she won't look for you.

Why do you need to give her a bottle? Honestly, breast feeding is just more comfortable for a baby - it's always the right temperature, and comforting. If you really want her to take a bottle then I'd wait a week or so and try again.

M.,

I had similar issues with both of my last babies! This first one, we just never got her to take a bottle period and I nursed her for 22 months. It worked out that i didn't HAVE to leave her, so it wasn't a total disaster. With our next daughter,however,it was important that i be able to leave her, at least for 3 hours at a time...just enough for her to get screaming mad when i wasn't there for a feeding! Finally the solution for us was to allow her to "suck" breastmilk from a (new, clean) cloth diaper. My husband would dip a corner into the milk, allow her to suck it out, re-dip. Repeat. After tricking her a few times this way, he covered the nipple of the bottle with the cloth and allowed her to do it that way. I know it sounds crazy...but we were driving ourselves nuts with trying to convince her that a bottle was best for her...and becoming increasingly stressed out, which wasn't adding any credence to our argument that the bottle was what was best for her! I read all of the La Leche League advice, Dr Sears, Dr Spock etc....and zero of the experts had advice that worked for us. It was THE single most frustrating thing about choosing to BF and i hear how worried and frustrated you must be! Knowing that you are under a deadline to return to work while not knowing if your baby will be the happiest she can be is a HUGE stress.

Eventually (at about 5 months) she started to take a bottle without complaint. But it wasn't smooth sailing by any means and it did put a strain on our nursing relationship b/c i sort of felt that she was being "difficult". I am expecting our next baby any minute now and plan on introducing a bottle via dad or older siblings within the first week or two, just in case! Third time's a charm??

Enjoy the time you are able to nurse her, and consider how much she must love you and her nursing relationship with you...just b/c you want her to take a bottle doesn't mean that she thinks it is a good idea! You are not alone in this!

J., Doula & Educator
www.JulianArts.com

Hello M.! Congrats on Breastfeeding! It is such a wonderful way to connect with your child and the absolute best sort of nutrition you can give her. I lasted 8 months and pumped for a while - a not so fun thing to do, but also very loving thing. I thought about her (my baby) the whole time I pumped! Anyway, the problem may simply be the "flow" of the nipple - I am thinking the nipples may be letting out too much at a time for her - perhaps she prefers the slower let down of the breast? Just something to look into. My problem was that my little Sophia (now 18 months) didn't want the breasts anymore - it was either because they were so large and she started getting bigger so it became awkward or they were too slow next to the bottles that her grandma's were giving her while I was at work... I am not sure - but I think it had to do with the "flow" and my boobs just weren't fast enough...Your baby may also enjoy the "skin to skin" effect - so maybe when you give her the bottle, you can try doing it as close to your skin (or whoever is feeding her) as possbile...Good luck & God Bless!

My daughter did the exact same thing at about the same age, and I was going back to work full time when she turned 4 months. I was in a panic and felt awful. I definitely recommend having someone else feed her, and do leave the house, it will help both of you. Even if it doesn't work at home, don't worry. When it came time for me to go back to work, my sitter had no problems giving her the bottle - up to that point she wasn't drinking a bottle for us at all. If she's hungry she'll eat - I would pass on to the caregiver some of the other recommendations (different nipples, cloth diaper, etc.), but chances are they will be completely unnecessary.

hi M..having same problem. my baby is 10 weeks old but she had been taking pumped milk from the bottle pretty well. she was ill so i nursed her straight from the breast as i was at home now she's acting like the nipple is poison. i'm trying to get her used to the nipple again with teh pacifier then trade over. hope it works cause i'm due out to work soon as well. let me know what u come up with. will let u know how it goes for me.

M., babies are incredibly intuitive. Perhaps she is responding to the messages you don't know you're sending her way. Are you feeling a tearing in your heart about leaving her and heading back to work? I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't letting you know that she "needs you too", by wanting only to feed from you.

My answer would be for you to first find peace with going back. Mind and soul, no back and forths or regrets at heart.

Once you have achieved that, then calmy "sell" it to the baby. "Daddy's going to feed you now. You don't need Momma to do it all the time". She'll come around to accepting it when you do.

Remember, babies respond on a sensory level at this point. How you're feeling: relaxed, nervous, uninvolved, all of it is read by the baby and answered through behavior.

I think that one friend tried nursing her baby first, to take the edge of his hunger, and THEN offered the bottle.

#2 nipples!!!!! She most likely wants it faster and it's frustrating her. She's having to work too hard for it and her hunger is more intense. #2!!!!!

I had this exact problem with my little girl - now 5 months old. She would refuse - absolutely refuse the bottle - even if I didn't give in and nurse her - she would go half the day without eating.... then would take only a few ounces from the bottle - just enough to take the edge off her hunger. Finally I had no more options - At 3 months old -I sent her to daycare with her bottles. She took 3 ounces the first day (from 7:00 am - 4:00pm) the second day she took 6, the third day 10 ounces. and she has been pretty good since then. If she is out of daycare for a few days - she would take a bit less the first day back but in general she does a great job and as time has gone on she is less effected by the weekends!!! I sent her to daycare with multiple bottles with only 2 ounces in each - once they heat it up they are not allowed to heat it a second time so it has to be dumped. I also just picked a bottle and stuck with it (on the advice of my doctor- after trying avent, playtex, dropins, breastflow and about 4 others!) I actually use evenflo glass bottles and the "brown" nipples. I had the biggest supply of them so that is what I went with. Now that my little girl is 5 months old - I can give her a bottle if needed - but often on weekends we just nurse and she is much better at making the transition back to the bottle! Don't give up - and your little girl is smart enough to know that if mommy's not there - eventually she will give in and eat. I think it is harder on mom than anyone else. Good luck and feel free to send me a message if you have any other questions...

Try having your husband or sitter give her a sippi cup. My son did the same thing at 4 months, but he did take it in a cup. No reason not to try - it is actually good for their oral motor development.

I had a similar problem just before I was to head back to work. I remember doing a trial run at the sitters, while I grocery shopped, just to make sure he would be comfortable and she called me while I was in line-saying he would not take the bottle and wasn't settling down. So I went right to the bottle aisle and bought every kind of shaped nipple I could find. He ended up liking the Nuk shaped one. But we tried them all and eventually he let me know which he preferred. Just see which one your baby likes best-they are all different-so it must be a comfort thing. And your baby will eventually eat-it is her instinct-don't worry it will happen!

Try different nipples on the bottle. I went through just about every nipple on the market until I found a very strange & obscure looking one in a local supermarket; it almost looked like a half moon and was kind of flat on one side and plump on the other. Although he would still try to crawl over to my breast (instinct), nobody else had a problem getting him to take this bottle. Until he moved on to the cup, this was the only nipple he would ever take; note: it didn't matter what bottle it was attached to. Good Luck!

I had the same problem with both my boys. They had taken bottles for a couple months, then just refused. It lasted for about 3 weeks to a month and they eventually gave in. I was planning on nursing them anyway, and was actually trying to give my husband time to bond with our children. Keep trying the bottle, I'm sure your daughter will take it soon enough.
Good Luck!

Have you tired a sippy cup? I had this problem when my daughter was about six months old. I switched her over to the platex sippy cup with handles. It worked. Apparently the problem was she wanted to hold the bottle her self but her hands where so small she was not able to. So when I switched her over she was able to hold on to the handles.
Hope this helps!

Hi M.! I had the same issue with my litle one...tried three or four different brands of bottle/nipple and finally found the PLAYTEX nurser, the one with the bag...the nipples are the softest and most like the natural breast. My son did not like Advent or any of the others...these were a godsend. You could also try the next higher degree of flow, but it could just be the way the bottle nipple feels. Try the Playtex nurser! they are great (and cheap)! Good luck!