Suddenly Refusing the Bottle

This happened to my friend and so i lent her the Adiri breastbottle feeders that i had. They worked to get him back to taking the bottle because the look and feel more like a breast. She was then able to transition him back to a normal bottle after a week or so.

My daughter did this--went straight to a sippy cup at about 8 months. It is worth trying that!

S

Hi T.,
Could he be teething? When a child is teething, sucking hard on a bottle or the breast can cause pain. Try going to the next size nipple or give him a little Tylenol. If he drinks out of a cup, try giving him one instead. Sometimes ear infections can cause babies to stop wanting to suck also. If everything is fine, don't worry, he will eat if he is hungry enough. If it continues, I would take him to his doctor to rule out any sickness.
L.

Hi T., i'm a mom of two girl's 10 and 3. I never breastfed the girl's, but a friend of mine suggested, perhaps you should try a sippy cup. A small enough one of course for his mouth. Some childeren just take more to sommething new, .If you still are breastfeeding him at home he may be protesting until he get's that from you. Do you have the flexability to go and try to feed him at daycare. Perhap's to he may need a more one on one enviorment. I hope i helped....

You might try stocking up on a few different bottles or sippy cups because it could be that your baby just had a bad experience with your bottles, recently, and now has an association. (My neighbor's son had this reaction after an ear infection-they simply switched bottles)

This also could be an indicator of an ear infection. I know this sounds kind of wacky, but it is cold season, and my daughter behaved very similarly when she had an ear infection. The sucking on a bottle apparently hurt. She didn't have a fever, and was otherwise playful.

I saw some great suggestions to try, here's one that helped for my kids...

My son and daughter both had a hard time taking a bottle. Their daycare provider finally succeeded by offering the bottle when they were very sleepy. She had them snuggled up close in her arms, right in position for Mom, then she'd just stroke their lips with the bottle nipple and let it insinuate itself in to their mouths. They both sucked down bottles half asleep and did just fine. They still need to be gently burped after, but they'd usually follow with a nice nap.

Good luck:)

Hi there T.! My name is E. and my son started to do the same thing at his daycare at around the same age. He is 10 1/2 months old now and he is just now coming around and starting to drink a little more than before. We were lucky to even get him to drink 4 oz. a day! I talked to his doctor about it as I worried to, like you. But don't worry too much. It is quite commen for little one's to ween themselves from the bottle at this age. ( some anyway) My older son was very much a bottle baby. But, the doctor said not to worry about dehydration as long as he still had tears and was drooling. And of course having at least some wetness to his diapers. He suggested to offer more fruit that contains juice. I offered mandarin oranges and my son loves them. You can also give Activia yogurt as a supplement (for vitamins). I went as far as offering a cup, but that didn't do much difference. So you can't really do anything to force it! Just offer supplements. Offer vegetables like green beans and carrots as well. I've found that my little one loves these. Anything that is healthy will do the trick. Like I said you can't force it, just wait until he's ready for it. But of course offer it as much as you can! I've also given my son crackers and toast just to make his mouth dry...and let me tell you this works! Just have that bottle there and offer it to him after a few! Hope my tips work! Hang in there and try not to lose any sleep over it! Good luck!

You may want to try using a sippy cup since this is the age that they start recommending it. Supposedly by a year babies should be getting off the bottle. I have given my daughters drinks from my own cup of water and she loves it. For daycare obviously you probably need something different. Also, have you been doing food your baby can pick up with his hands b/c I know my daughter is very into touching her food and it makes it more interesting for her.

Good luck!

I know that my Little Guys would have a difficult time eating if there was anything exciting going on in the surrounding environment. At 7 months they are now really aware of their surroundings and boys are very curious. I found that taking them out of the excitement to feed helped tremendously. Daycare environments are meant to be stimulating and fun atmospheres. See if the provider can calm the surroundings down during meal/bottle time or if she/he can take your boy into a separate room completely. I know the second idea may not be possible if there is only one provider.

Also, you may want to double check that they are preparing the bottle the way you do. I see you use breastmilk, make sure they are warming it up the same way you do(microwave vs bottle warmer) and not leaving it out unrefridgerated. As with solids, we would only change the "flavor" every week so our boys could get used to a taste and we could find out if there was an allergy. It takes a while for one to aquire a taste.

Good luck!

It's a little on the early side, but maybe try giving him his milk in a straw cup. When I transitioned my daughter from breastfeeding to cup/milk she really took to the straw. I know with some of the sippy cups the flow is really limited and she would get frustrated. Another option would be to get a nipple with better flow, maybe it is the same issue for your son.

Have you considered being a stay at home mom? You say that you love every minute of being a mommy, but if he is away from you 10 hrs a day, well, that isn't very many minutes of being with him, is it? I know that it is challenging, but make sure that you are working for the right reasons. He needs his mom more than a paycheck. Are you married? Let your husband step up and both learn to live on less. You will never regret the decision. Are you a single mom? Think about moving home to your parents where the expenses would be much less and you could get by with working much less. It isn't about you, it is about the child and what he needs. And 4-7 oz of breastmilk in a 10 hour period on a daily basis is not enough for him to thrive. Does he have very many wet diapers and poo diapers? It sounds like he must be unhappy at daycare. Help him out. Be his mommy.

My son did something similar at about 8 mos old. He was nursing and one day just stopped. He had never taken a bottle and wouldn't take one. So he wasn't nursing or taking a bottle...So I took him to the store and we picked out a sippy cup. Since he was only 8 mos old I didn't really think it would work but he was very happy with that cup and would drink out of it. That was actually the only cup he would drink from. He also wouldn't drink formula and he started to refuse breast milk that I pumped. So I ended up giving him 1/2 canned milk, 1/2 water and some corn syrup to sweeten (just a little) per the doctor's advice until he was old enough for regular milk.

He might be trying to say he wants the breast & that's okay/normal. He might accept juice or water in a sippy cup while away from you since he may see that as less like a breast replacement. Some breastfed babies never take a bottle. If he is waiting for his breastmilk directly from the breast then your breastmilk will probably increase due to his demand for it when you are at home. If he is only going 8-10 hours a day without it then the breastmilk he gets in the other 14 or so hours a day will probably be sufficient. He will just needs some water or juice to hold him over.

My son at 5 months started getting fusy with his bottle and would play with it more than drink it, so I tried a few different kinds of bottles and he loves the avent bottle. good luck

Try squirting it in his mouth for fun, maybe make a game out of it. Put it in front of him and then when he reaches out for it pull it away (because he will want to try and squirt it himself at some point) and then when he finally gets the bottle from you - he wins! He will probably try drinking it by himself once he gets it from you and if not, it might at least strike an interest and he might not look at it as a punishment. Also, is your son acting the same way towards the bottle at home? Because you might want to make sure his milk is not being tampered with. Not to scare you but we have to protect our kids and investigate especially when they cannot speak up for themselves. It's great that you are reading into his behavior! I would also like to say if everything is fine maybe its as simple as changing whats inside the bottle to juice or a different kind of milk and maybe even trying it in a sippy cup. If all else fails talk to your doctor.

A. R.

My nephew wouldn't talk the bottle at about 9 1/2 months but we found using the soft nipple sippy cups were a fun thing and he loved drinking out of them. Its worth a try:) Good luck

Maybe he's teething? If so, I'd recommend Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets. They work wonderfully, with no side effects.

Try changing the nipple, or introduce him to a sippy cup. Don't worry...

P.S maybe he's making room for the next sibling

T.,
If you have not already tryed this.... here is idea a sippy cup maybe one with a softer nipple or maybe just a plain old sippy cup. Hope this helps.

A.

try the sippy cup good luck K. stockton mom of four

Have you tried a sippy cup? He could be ready to make the change himself.

Our daughter did this at 6 months. We were stumped. She would take a bottle from mom, dad and others. But suddenly she decided she would not take a bottle from the daycare provider. In fact, she would pitch a fit when the provider would just bring a bottle to her. We tried a couple of different things, and nothing fixed it. So, we tried a different day care provider, and she took the bottle twice on the first day with the new provider. We think that she had some negative association to taking the bottle from the caregiver based on a bad experience.

He's probably starting to show his independance. Try offering him the milk in a cup. Or if you're able, go to him once or twice during the day to breastfeed. You're right, he won't starve himself. Good luck!

Hi T.,
Something is wrong! First see if he will accept a bottle from you. If he does then you know where the problem is.Change day care providers - something isnt right.
Maybe he got burned from hot milk, maybe it is too cold, smells, tastes bad or offered in a hostile way etc. Meanwhile,look in his mouth for burns or any other problems, and start seeing if he will sip from a cup as well.Not eating for that many hours is not right and unhealthy and I would take it seriously.
all the best,
mom of 4

Why don't you try a sippy cup. My kids easily transitioned from bottle to sippy. Almost all of them have the plastic plug inside the cap that regulates the amount of liquid that comes out. So you don't have to worry about them getting too much and choking...

Hi there,
I am a RN and a mom to a 2 year old boy. If this was happening to me, I would go to the MD to find out if there is anything physically wrong with your son. For example, he may have difficulty swallowing (sores in mouth, digestive tract) or problems with his stomach and is having difficulty digesting the food. It would be good to rule out if there is something troubling his digestive system to make him suddenly refuse nutrition in this way. If the doctor cannot find anything wrong, then I would approach this issue behaviorally; maybe give your son food or drink that he prefers so that you can get him used to eathing/drinking again. Advice that I received for my son when he was small was, "don't force him to eat; just offer it and when he is hungry or thirsty, he will let you know." I hope that my advice was helpful and that this issue will resolve soon. I would be very worried and concerned also. Update when you can.

Is he refusing just at daycare?
Is he in a center or home daycare
Can you work only p/t?
Sounds like he doesn't like daycare.
I was lucky enough to switch to p/t work & it has changed my whole families life for the better. Not easy on the checkbook at all what-so-ever but it is so worth it to spend time with my kiddos & fam.

Your son may be teething or have an ear infection. My daughter sometimes didn't want as much liquid for a day or two, but it went away. It seems like he should be eating a lot more food, but I would ask your doctor. My daughter at 7 months had 18 ounces of formula and around 2 tubs of 2nd foods by the time I picked her up from daycare (3:00)