She Won't Take a Bottle!

What type of formula was it that you tried with her? My son hated enfamil, but liked nestle good starts it's sweeter like breast milk... Also sometimes babies will hold out from eating and wait for you it is normal. Definatally dont quit school we need to do the things that balance us and make us happy...

What type of a bottle and nipple are you using. My daughter didn't take long but had troubles breastfeeding at first. Occasionally she wouldn't eat very well from the bottle for my husband. We just kept on keeping on. Sounds kind of hard but she'll adjust. Most of them do. My daughter just got so used to breastfeeding and being close to me. We gained a great relationship and closeness but she also began to realize that other contact and others feeding her were ok. Also, the more others try to relax while feeding her the better it will go. Babies can sense all kinds of things even though we can't explain their reaction very well. Kudos to you for sticking with the breastfeeding!

There is a store in Dillworth in Charlotte, NC called the Milky Way (they have a web site). It is a store for breast feeding mothers. I cannot remember the name of the bottle, but it is shaped just like a breast. Not just the nipple, but the whole bottle is nipple like material and the baby can latch on just like he/she latches on to you. My baby loved it! It is an expensive bottle, but you only need one, because once they get the hang of it you can get them on a regular bottle pretty soon after that. This bottle just eases the transition.

In the meantime, don't quit school. Your child will not let themselves starve to death. One last thought, does your child use a pacifier? If so, or even if not, your baby may think that the bottle does not have milk in it. What my husband does is put the nipple in the screaming babys mouth and press the nipple to the top of his mouth so that a little milk is expressed into his mouth. After two or three times doing that the baby latches right on! Good Luck

Hi P. congrats on your new addition. Don't let this get you down. Your baby is just going through some seperation issues. The only question that i have for you is does your husband still give her the bottle when you are at home? I have a daughter that is three and i tried so hard to breast feed her and i just did not produce any milk i tried and tried to pump and just got dribbles so i know how it feels to have issues. Your child has grown very attached to you and has a very high comfort level with you. That is going to be very hard to break but my mom always told me that you just have to give a little tough love when it comes to things like this. I know that your baby cries like crazy but when she gets hungry enough she will give in and let him feed her. They go through and will continue to go through phases for the rest of their lives. It is truly going to be trial and error. Just try new ideas with her maybe even sitting next to your hubby while he feeds her so that she knows that you are there and then moving further and further away until she is comfortable with the fact that you are not there. Also you may want to try to let her have some floor time when you are there with her so that she is alone and not with you at all times. I know that she is only fourteen weeks but it seems as though you have a very smart one on your hands and she knows what is up and she knows that mommy is not there. Just wait for the longest time she will be attached to your hip and right around three she will become daddys little girl and it sucks big time. Just enjoy the moment because in the blink of an eye she will soon be one and then two and then eighteen. Good luck and if you need a helping hand i'm right here in beech grove so just send me a message. Have a good one and whatever you do don't quit school becuase you will regret it for the rest of your life and she needs to grow up knowing that she can do anything that she puts her heart to just like her mommy.

Jen

I am proud of you for going to school and taking care of your little one. I have a 6 month old baby girl and I have breastfed her since minute one. When she was two weeks old, I pumped breastmilk and she would take a bottle from others...of course not me. Then when she hit two months old, she no longer took a bottle. Like your little girl, she screamed at the top of her lungs and would choke because of the prolonged screaming. I tried platex, avent, evenflow, and dr. browns bottles. I tried 10 different nipples and she would not accept any of them. I know this sounds ridiculous but I had to put her on a sippy cup. I bought the kind that have the soft top, it is the texture of a nipple. I hope this helps

Stay in school!! Don't give up she'll be fine!! I use the Playtex bottles with the drop in liners that have the bigger nipples and they are really good since I am also breastfeeding. If you use the littler nipples she may be getting confused. My son who is 3 months and I am nursing will only drink from the big nipples like the playtex nursers or the avent. Give em a try!

Have you tried different typed of nipples, or even switching up the surroundings when she feeds? You could try having your hubby put in her favorite movie or music cd while he feeds her. He could also try having a "group feeding time" with her, where he actually sits with her and drinks his own "bottle". Another possibility is that she's ready for a sippy cup. My son threw out his bottle pretty early, and took right to the cup. Maybe you could try that? There are even sippy cups with soft silicon straws that resemble bottles, and are great starter cups! Hope these suggestions help. I know how frustrating it is when your baby won't eat. Hang in there, and good luck!

Have the person that is feeding your daughter while you are gone to drape a shirt that you have worn over them while they feed her. Hopefully she will smell you and it will be more natural for her. And try to use the same nipples all the time instead of switching them up. This seemed to work for my little girl.

I agree with Wendy. I purchased SEVERAL Advent bottle and my son would not drink from them (expensive mistake!). When I did get him to take a little he had HORRIBLE gas. I switched to playtex and had not more issues with the bottle. Contgratulations and Good luck!!!

We actually talked a little about this at my Le Leche League meeting this week. A child will eat when hungry enough to do so. While she may screem for a while, if she gets hungry enough she will, in time, realize it's the bottle or nothing. Don't quit school!! She will get over this at some point.
Good Luck :)

Hi Prisicilla:

Are you just giving her formula in that bottle? Do you feed the baby all the time or does the Dad still help you out?

This might help it did when I took care of children. The shirt you wore all day give to the daddy and when he is going to feed the baby he can drape the tee shirt, or whatever it was you wore for the day it will have your scent on and maybe that will comfort the baby.

My girls did the samething with their father when the car left the drive the baby would SCREAM when the car was back in the drive way she would stop!

Also the vibration of the vacuum cleaner stopped my girls.

Hope this helps.

My daughter never took a bottle. I tried several different kinds of bottles and nothing worked...nothing at all. My hubby tried his best to no avail. After two months, I was preparing to go back to work and she still wouldn;t take a bottle. I started her on a tilt cup. My sis-in-law is a speech pathologist who specializes in infants and pediatrics. She suggested this to me. You simply take a cup that you can squeeze together to form a small lip, press it to your childs lip and tilt it until it touches her lips. It takes a little longer to feed her this way, but if you are only gone two nights a week, he should be good to go. after about three weeks of this, I started her on a sippy cup.I started her on Tommy Tipsie beginner cup with out problem. She was 15 weeks old when she first drank from a sippy cup. Hope this helps. Take care and good luck in school!!!!

(((HUGS))) Pricilla, Congrats on your baby daughter, and for wanting to continue to breastfeed, that is awesome!! I know this can be a very frustrating situation, I had 2 daughters who refused a bottle altogether!! It's so hard to say why she is suddenly refusing it, but I would try different nipples, like the platex nurser system, and make sure the milk is flowing at the right speed, my daughter got mad because the milk wasn't coming fast enough, so I got the different nipple, and she was fine! Maybe she's changing her routine, and isn't hungry at the same times she was hungry before. Some babies will just 'wait it out' until mommy gets home, and they are fine too:) I hope you find something that works for your whole family......I'm sure your husband gets a little frustrated too.....don't give up, you'll figure something out!

C. G

wht kind of bottle are yu giving her? There are playtex bottle and the nipple are just like a breast. mine son was about the same way with bottle we used the playtex and omg he loves it.

My son was the same way. It is only for a few hrs right? If she is hungry she will eat. My son NEVER took a bottle. He only breast fed. I had to work 4 hrs a day & he just never ate until I got back. I pumped, I tried the bottle. It was a no go. Ask your ped what he/she thinks.

Since he has been born & he is 5 now, he has never pooped for anyone else.

My daughter did the same thing with both my husband and the babysitter. It was a tough thing to do but we had to let her cry it out. She would eventually exhaust herself and figure out the only way she was getting fed was if she took the bottle. She did this for about 2 weeks and now she takes the bottle as well as nurses. It's not easy! Good luck!

Hi P.,

The t-shirt with your scent on it is a great idea. Also, getting the taste of the milk into her mouth is helpful. You can either press the nipple on the roof of her mouth to get it started or dip the nipple in the milk before you start feeding her (or both). It helped with my boys. Also, you may want to try a different kind of bottle or a nipple with a faster flow. I tried Avent, Playtex, store brands and my boys settled on Evenflo when I wasn't available. They hated silicone nipples, they wanted the old fashioned kind. Every child is different, be patient, she will be fine.

Congratulations on continuing your education. It's the best gift you could give your daughter!

When my daughter was born, I couldn't breast feed. She didn't like regular nipples on bottles so a friend of mine suggested the playtex nurser bottles. The nippe is shaped just like mom's. She lach onto that until she was older.

It sounds like she wants mommy. But I don't think you should have to drop out of school just because she won't take a bottle from daddy. You might want to try a differet bottle, I know they make ones that are shaped exactly like a breast, they are almost round and that might work, but when it comes down to it, if she is hungry enough she will take a bottle. She probably just needs to get used to it, and it might be good for you to have daddy feed her at least once a day so it is habit and not just a couple times a week, she doesn't understand. you might also want to contact your local leche group and see if they have any suggestions. I wish you the best.

After re-reading your request, I realize I read it wrong and I am sorry... Don't give up, its important for you to go to school. She just wanted you, the real thing...not the bottle. I bet she is doing better by now with the feedings.

Congratulations on your new baby! She probably just has a nipple preference. Don't quit school over this, she won't let herself starve. It takes time for her to get used to something new. She's more than likely screaming because she's frustrated that it's not what she's used to.