I have a beautiful 6mon old daughter. Lately I have been worried about her not taking to the bottle anymore. When we went to church I would take a bottle with my milk in it in case she got hungry, and she would take it every time, and would be excited about it too! now, when I try to offer it to her she gets it in her mouth and makes a face like she is gagging, or hates the taste, and looks up at me like, what are you doing mom?! I've also tried to put other things in the bottle too, like formula, or my milk with cereal in it, or baby juice, thinking that might make a difference. nothing, or I will let her dad try to feed her, and I leave the room, so she doesn't hear, see or smell me, but still she won't take it. She will look at the bottle in her hands, and play with it, but not eat from it. I'm worried because she is getting older, and it is getting harder for us to go out or leave her alone with grandma & grandpa, and i'm worried that she will never use one again, the funny thing though, she loves her passafire. I don't know what to do!!
If she doesn't want a bottle try a sippy cup. The ones with the soft nozzle on them work best. If she takes the sippy cup better, then you won't have to try weaning from the bottle at a later date anyhow.
D. P.
S.,
First...your daughter WILL drink from her bottle again...then a sippy cup and regular cup.
Secondly, is she strictly getting her milk from a bottle or are you nursing as well? From your post I don't know if she has to have a bottle because you work out of the home, or she just has it once in while so you can actually get out:) Sometimes little ones go through stages that will throw us for a loop and it can make us worried or anxious. So I want you to breathe in deeply and breathe out deeply. It really will be ok.
Here are some suggestions:
*If you are concerned about her not eating, have you tried introducing solids yet? It's not that big of a deal if she isn't eating solids at 6 months. Some babies don't want to, and sometimes it's a parental choice to not introduce it until later. However, if the latter isn't your situation, perhaps she would like to start some solids. (and yes, she will still take the bottle or continue to nurse).
*If she is only needing the bottle once in a while so you can get out, how about scheduling your outings around her feeding times? It won't last forever....oten we have to rearrange our needs/wants for our children.
*Is she displaying signs of discomfort...like she is teething or an ear infection, or just doesn't feel good? Sucking from a bottle is not fun when they are teething or have an ear infection. And if she doesn't feel good, honestly, whe probably will prefer your breasts over a bottle:)
*After you center yourself and listen to your daughter with your inner wise mamma ears, eyes, and heart, you will know what to do next.
Good luck,
A.
mom of 4
Sound like she's done. Start feeding her the same thing you eat, chopped up fine, and see how she does. You might wish to use hypoallergeniv ingredients. Are you nursing slso? Have you added things to your diet likely to disturb her tummy? Anu caffeine will do it, as will things such as beans, gluten, citrus, peanit butter, and dairy, if the child happens to be lactose- intolerant. Be grnteful fo the pacifier. Are you warming the mik to the appropriate temp? Check with your pediatrician about all this, Hope it helps . . . Ssusan
It may just be the type of bottle. Have you tried using the First Years Breast Flow bottles? Their nipples are designed so that it is more like drinking from a breast. You can find them at Babies R Us.
Or you can try just moving on to sippy cups. They have many varieties so you could just try one of each. Nubby has a soft tip and my one year old loves the ones with the straw.
Ok this seems odd,but someone told me this after my daughter was past this phase.I would sometimes notice that my pumped breast milk would smell strange(and to me grosse and kind of spoiled) after it had been stored for any length of time-from3 hours in the fridge to previously frozen and thawed.It didn't happen everytime,but my daughter noticed it on occasion.All this to say a friend of mine said that she read(no i have no true source) that some women have an enzyme present in their milk that reacts with exposure to oxygen that makes for a strange smell and sometimes unpleasant taste.The book said that a quick scald to the milk on the stove before storing would solve the problem.I'm sure there could nutritional implications for boiling the milk,but I would have certainly tried this one if I had known.It may not be the situation with you,but info always helps.good luck
At 6 mos if she can sit up she can learn to drink from a cup and may like that better. We used shotglasses for my son (started at 6 mos....used brand-new shotglasses of course, never had alcohol in them). Votive candle holders also work well. They are a good size for tiny hands. There will be spills of course, but have her wear a bib, bring a burp rag or kitchen towel. (You can check out Montessori sites / books dedicated to young children for more info if interested.)
You could also try a sippy instead.....get the Nuby or Take-and-Toss kind that don't have the no-spill piece (those are hard for young children to get anything out of.) Or try straw cups.
Hello,
I am a mother of a 11 and 15 year olds. I have worked at a Pediatrics office for 7 yrs and asked a lot and know quite a bit. Although I am not a Doctor, I can give you experienced advice only.
Have you tried a soft tip sippy cup with handles? Just to make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs, I would try this. In the mean time contact your Pediatrician or Family Doctor to get his/her medical advice. She just may be an early graduator. Both my kiddos had colic so I had trouble getting them off of the binky and bottle. That was tough. So, I would never push the issue to keepp them on the binky or bottle. I believe with or without medical advice that a baby or child will let you know in thier own way what they need and don't need.
Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
S. M.
Hi S.,
I agree with Stephanie M. try a sippy cup....my youngest son went from the breast to the sippy cup....we didn't use bottles for him. He did this at 7 months old.
W.
I am a stay at home mother who cares for children in my home and I currently care for a 14 month old little baby girl whom was never on a bottle. Her mother just told me this story last Friday, but the babies doctor said to not get her started to only then turn around and take her off of it. I thought that this was genious!!!! So they gave her the soft sippy cups and it sounds like your baby might be ready for this as well but you'll never know unless you try it. I would definatly give it a shot. What do you have to lose? I hope that this works out for you and this was maybe some help to you & good luck in your responces!!
Hmmm, that's a tough one. Have you changed anything lately? The bottle or nipple type? My kids were very picky about the nipples on their bottles. It took me several tries to get the right size/shape/etc. Also, the flow of the nipple can be very important. As the baby gets older, she'll be ready for faster flowing nipples. If the milk doesn't come out fast enough for her, she'll get annoyed and quit trying. On the other hand, if it's coming out too fast, that might explain why she's gagging on it. Not all nipples have a specific "flow" to them so you might want to check and see if yours does. I've also noticed that as the bottles get used, the nipples can crack sometimes (or get bitten) and will flow much heavier as a result.
Taste might also be a factor if you're using rubber nipples as opposed to silicone. You might also make sure that they are getting rinsed off thoroughly when you wash them since any residual soap would leave a bad taste as well.
Barring all that, I would have to say that this is probably just a phase and to stick it out. Kids do this type of thing all the time for no rhyme or reason. I would try buying a few different types of bottles/nipples to see if that helps, though.
All the best to you and yours. :-)
