Switching Baby from Breast to Bottle

Do you have anyone that is extremely patient and would mind having a screaming baby to feed? Maybe she smells "Mom" and that's why she is refusing to take the bottle.

Is there a certain time you need her to be weaned by? If you are only going to be away from her occasionally, you could probably get by with just feeding her before you leave and as soon as you get back and try introducing a bottle later. She must know she wants her milk fresh from the tap!

My 2nd baby was also like that - he would only take his breastmilk "freshly squeezed" and never took it from a bottle or sippy cup. Since I was planning to go back to work fulltime that made life difficult, be we managed. Your 2nd child may just be very picky (mine was and STILL is at 12) and she may never take a bottle, so you might want to adjust your life to take that into account. It's really only a big issue for the next few months. What I did was to reserve the solids exclusively for when I was away and then we just nursed when we were together. It does force more attachment time than you might want, but in the end, I think it was best for both of us. He is still a very cuddly child that just loves his mommy - I wouldn't trade that for anything.

is there a reason you have to switch her that young i only ever used one when in public and not much usually just fed before i would leave home to go to store or wherever else i was going i used a blnnket at relatives and such even some friends places if you are a stay at home mom dont see why you are stopping some people do because of no milk but if you have plenty, is better for your child anyway i fed both of mine til they got teeth about 9 months when i did use a bottle i used the playtex as it gave less air on the stomach if you must get her switched now then use only breast milk make sure it is warm can switch to formula later, or just keep trying on and off and keep feeding her normal god gave us breast for a reason and not the one society keeps pushing at us god bless and good luck

some babies just don't like to make the change, if it's not absolutely necessary, why not just continue to nurse a bit longer? if it is necessary to switch, just keep trying. good luck, i know it's tough!

Try baby steps. She is used to breastmilk, so first try breaastmilk in a bottle, and only one feeding. And someone else should definitely try to feed it to her . . . she will initially refuse it from you because she expects only breast from you. And yes, if that is all they are offered, they will eat. It has worked with all three of my girls, some more willingly than others. I introduced my youngest, now 16 months, to the bottle when she was about 8 weeks old. I was going back to work, and I wanted her to get used to drinking breastmilk from a bottle. But initially she was not so happy with it. But it helped that my mother-in-law or husband fed it to her. Eventually she got used to the idea. Then I upped it to two feedings a day (still breastmilk). Once she was comfortable with that, then I introduced her to formula (once a day). That was another process . . . first we would mix in a small amount of formula with breastmilk. After a few days, when she got used to the slightly different taste, then we added more formula, less breastmilk, etc. until finally it was all formula and she was drinking it just fine.

It can be a slow process, but you can be successful. Good luck!

Not much help, but my daughter refused any and every kind of bottle out there too....and we tried them all! It wasn't worth the crying fits that she threw, so we're still just nursing, nursing, nursing 11 months later!

Good luck :)

It sounds like the issue is a simple detachment problem. I breast fed my daughter, but if I was sick and needed to give her a bottle she refused. So then I had her daddy give it to her. The thing is that she smells you, and so she wants the breast. This is confusing to her little mind, try having daddy feed her and you sit across the room. I know that this doesn't help you during the day but it should at night. Maybe during the day your other little one would like to feed her sister once or twice.

K.,

Try letting someone else give her a bottle. If it is you, she wants the breast. It is best to try it with dad or someone else until she gets used to the bottle. Then you can ease into giving it to her yourself. Is there a reason why you want to go to a bottle so soon? It is better for both of you to breastfeed as long as possible. It will help you lose the baby weight - an added bonus!

M.

I had the same problem with my daughter. Finally when I was in my second trimester with my son I had to stop she was 10 1/2 months old. I would offer her a bottle at every feeding. For the first couple of days things were rough, but she finally started drinking a bottle. If you want to strictly just bottle feed then keep trying she will eventually take it.

It says that you bought every bottle on the market. I was able to get my son to take a bottle from me if I used the Breastflow bottle and held him close to me as if he was nursing. That worked for him best. Not many stores carry the Breastflow bottles. I was able to find them at Babies R Us.

Dear K.,
Most babies scream and want to nurse directly from their mom. It is perfectly normal (is there a problem with your breasts?) since she just wants you. She is very young too.

All of my babies had no problem transitioning to a bottle. My first didn't care which nipple we used, second, would not consider any other bottle but the liner ones - same with the 3rd. Having said that, my sister's child never took the bottle, period. She tried every one on the market, and hungry or not, he wouldn't do it. You may just have one of those babies....maybe try at a later time?

Is it necessary to switch to a bottle? I would continue to nurse if she would not take a bottle. That's how my daughter was, I nursed her for 18 months and never regreted a momment of it.

We had the same problem with our daughter when she was four months old. It was so frustrating to see her struggle with the switch. We bought every bottle out there and every different kind of nipple to go along with them! Somebody recommended the Mam bottles to us. They are an absolute godsend. She took to them just like she was nursing. Only downside is that they aren't available in stores. Target has them online, or you can order them at www.mambabyusa.com. They are also BPA free, if that is a concern for you at all. You'll spend a little bit more money, and there are more parts to clean than the average bottle (it has a vent like the Playtex Vent-aire), but I think you will be very glad you tried them out!
Good luck!

Hi K. - I totally understand - my son was the same way. It was so heartbreaking and so frustrating when the doctor would say that eventually he'll take the bottle because he'll be so hungry!! A couple suggestions for you - you may have already tried these, but it's all I've got! If your daughter takes a pacifier, try and find a nipple that's shaped the same way. It would help her feel comfortable with it. Second, if you haven't already, try the slow playtex vent-aire nipple. They have two shapes - one is the standard and one is supposed to be more like a breast. My son took right to the standard one. The nipple is really slow so it doesn't overwhelm the baby...it was perfect for us.

If you have just started trying the bottle, you may want to make sure she doesn't have thrush (white yeast infection - looks like milk on her tongue, but it doesn't come off) in her mouth and the bottle is uncomfortable.

I hope you get some ideas that work - good luck and hang in there.

Try a sippy cup. The ones with two handles are great for little babies, since they can hold the cup themselves. You can use either breastmilk or formula. My son wouldn't take a bottle either, but I could pump and he would drink the breastmilk from the sippy. Then later on I supplemented with formula when I was ready to wean him from breastfeeding. This actually worked out great...I never had to wean him from a bottle. Good luck.

try having your hubby or someone else feed the bottle. Mine wouldn't take a bottle from me at all... she wanted to be nursed instead.

Hey K.,

I went through this with my baby. She is 7 months old now, but when she was about 10 week I started trying to get her to take a bottle, just so I could have a break every now and then. I know this is a pain in the bottom, but what I had to do was start breastfeeding and then "swap" the bottle for the breast. The only bottle she would take was a Gerber brand, it was kind of triangle shaped. Anyways, after a few days of pulling the swap she started taking the bottle...with breast milk. Then when I could not pump enough ( I dried up for some reason) I started her on formula. I mixed it with breastmilk and then eventually swapped over to 100% formula. Now she is doing great and will even take the Mr. Brown bottles that I had bought in the first place. Hope this helps.
Amy

Have you tried someone else giving her the bottle? My son's would not take a bottle from me but would gladly take it from someone else.

"Freshly squeezed" Ha! That's funny!

I had a picky one, too. We bought a breast pump and bottles so my husband could feed our daughter & I could get some rest. Wasted money; Meara would NOT take a bottle. I know people say "well, if they're hungry enough..." but I didn't see the need to let her get that hungry so I just nursed.

It may not be what you want to do, but your child might just be telling you that she knows best right now. :)

My son would not switch either. I eventually just went straight to a sippy cup. He was 2 weeks old. Sucked it down in no time flat and then let out the biggest burp I ever heard. Wow! Maybe this will help.

my oldest son,now 2,was the same way. i tried EVERY bottle out there and he had nothing to do with it no matter what was in it (formulas, breast milk, juice, water). i ended up nursing him for 50 weeks and he went straight to a cup of whole milk. now i am on son #2, 4 months, and having the exact same issue. luckily i already have the bottles to try.i guess all i can say is enjoy the time with her. they say use tuff love or if he is hungry enough he will take a bottle. not always true!!! i know this doesn't help you much but if you find something that works please let me know!!!!