7 Month Old Refuses to Eat from Bottle

Try a strawed cup or sippy even at this age. She may just not like the feel of a bottle.

My aunt breastfed all seven of her children and she told me the what worked the best to ween her kids off was to put chocolate milk in a bottle. She never had any problems after she found this remedy!

My son absolutely refuses breast milk from a bottle or sippy cup or anything that is not me! He started this about the same time as your daughter. Babies develop a preference for fresh versus stored milk around 3-4 months. Since I never gave him bottles during that time, he only takes fresh, straight from the source, milk! He's still nursing at 18 months, and still refuses milk I express for him if I'll be away. It's time now, that you can introduce water in a cup. My son would drink that and still does. He just waits until I get home - probably what your daughter is doing. Good luck!

If you will be away from your baby here and there you should give her 1-2 bottles per week to keep her used to it. Since she's not used to it now, you may want to contact a lactation specialist for specific advice or the pediatrician. I would guess that pumping and having your husband give a bottle for a few days in a row would be a good idea. It may be one of those situations where it will be hard and take a long time, but once she gets used to it, then if you do the maintenance 1-2 bottles a week hopefully it would go more smoothly from there. Bottle introduction normally starts at 2-4 weeks old now for moms anticipating going back to work so that the baby doesn't refuse it, so maybe its too late??? I don't know.

S.,
My daughter did the same thing, several times. She was/is a very independent little girl. Instead of forcing a bottle on her I went straight for the sippy cup. It took her a few times of getting used to it but it did work. I started with watered down juice and other drinks for her, not milk. Once she took the sippy with other drinks she would soon take it with the milk. Good Luck!

I have heard people say that if you get a faster flow nipple, and it is easier for her to get stuff out of the bottle, she might do better with it. Also, there are a variety of bottles designed more like a breast. Good luck!

Just start her on a sippy cup...that worked with my daughter.

How frustrating and sad that she wouldn't eat. Sometimes a 7 month old can drink from a cup instead--either a sippy cup she can do herself, or an open cup someone can help her with. Some babies this age can drink from a straw, too! As for bottles, it's very common for a breastfed baby to refuse bottles if they aren't used to receiving one every day or two. If you want to use a bottle successfully, maybe try a different nipple (I like the Dr. Brown's narrow neck for most babies to try first), offer 1/2 oz daily to get her over the hump, and maybe stick a bottle in her toys, too.

Hi!
I had the same type of thing with my middle child. (She's 13 now!) She never did take a rubber nipple of any kind. But the sippy cup worked out great for her. And it was a good thing it did, because she weaned herself at 9 months! We did it with formula as one of the other responses suggested, and I do think that helped. Good luck to you!
P. D.

About this same age, I had gone a few weeks w/out giving either of my twins a bottle of pumped milk, and they refused it the next time I tried to give it to them, as if they had forgotten how to drink out of it completely.

What worked for me was a sippy cup- the kind w/ the rubber they chew/bite to get the milk out of.

My newest baby is now 8 mo old, and hasn't had a bottle in months, so she will probably do the same thing on me.
Right now she is refusing any food off a spoon! She will only eat things she can self-feed! I will be posting about this soon too! LOL!

try using a sippie cup sometimes they just want to feel grown up.

S.,

Congrats on sticking with breastfeeding. Like many other posters have said, at this point you have options other than a bottle. Neither of my girls (both exclusively breastfed) would take bottles unless they had screamed for an hour or more. It is totally common for nursing babies to refuse a bottle. As you know, breastfeeding is about more than just food. It is about bonding and comfort and the most special one-on-one time that she gets from you. For many children, they just aren't interested in a substitute. (Especially now that she knows she can get some tummy-filling from another source - solid food.) Your daughter is at the point where she may never take a bottle, and that's OKAY! Here are some other options:

1. Solid food - at seven months, I'm guessing that she has begun solids. If your hubby can get some solids into her, that might be enough to tide her over until you get home. Make sure he feeds her BEFORE she gets frantic with hunger, or she will likely be too upset to eat. If you have some idea of how often she nurses, maybe he could start her eating a half hour or so before her normal nursing time.

2. Sippy cup - as many have replied, at this age you can skip the bottle and go straight to a cup. My daughter started with a straw cup, which was wonderful since we didn't have to transition from the sipper later. I didn't expect her to be old enough (all the books/docs/etc say she isn't) but she did just fine. Get a cup with a thin straw, as that makes it easier for baby to form a seal. It took her a couple days to get used to the cup, so make sure you give it some time before you have to be away.

3. Schedule your outings - Try to nurse right before you leave. You might need to go somewhere quiet and dark to catch her interest enough to "top her off" before you go. As much as you can, limit your travel time to only a few hours. Remember, this very needy time of her life won't last long. My second babe just turned a year old and is still nursing, but she is fine without me for half a day now that she's really chowing on solids. My oldest is 3 1/2 and weaned, and if she could spend the whole day with Daddy, I don't think she would miss me one bit!! You will find more freedom sooner than you know it.

One other thought... your post mentioned that your hubby "is a fantastic man who whould really like to be able to feed the baby once in a while." It's interesting how much people have pushed the idea that men should feed their babies, too. I wonder if it isn't in large part a marketing ploy from formula companies. If your hubby feels left out because he doesn't get to feed baby, it might be a good idea to encourage him to get involved in other areas of her life. My hubby is the Bath Master; he gives both girls their baths, dries them off, gets them lotioned and in PJs, and puts the older one to bed while I nurse the baby. It gives me a much-needed break in the evenings, and he loves to spend time with them. Now that our baby is a year old, he also often rocks her after she nurses and before she goes to sleep. Sometimes when my daugter gets wound up or just crabby, it is Daddy's job to rock and cuddle her. He is also the star of story time. If your husband is really concerned about feeding your daughter, let him feed her solid foods. There are a lot of things that Dads can do other than bottle feeding.

Best of Luck,
S.

Around 6 months of age is a good time to start trying sippy cups. You could try a soft top sippy cup or anyothre sippy cup she might seem to like. If she ends up liking the cups you could always try to put your milk in those.
Keep trying the botte too, sometimes it takes awhile for a baby to like something new. In another way it could be a blessing to you that she doesn't like bottles, that way you don't have to break her from a bottle later on.
You could alsway ask your pediatrician for advice also.
Good luck.

It's rough. I had to leave for 3 days once my girl turned 13 months. I NEEDED to have a couple drinks and refrained for a long time. Call your Mom or someone you trust and go and it will work. Sippy cup is great too. Good luck. With #2 coming in 3 months I will switch every other feeding and never let her forget a bottle. Good luck, it will work!

My oldest, who is now 3, did this too. this is fairly common in breastfed babies from my conversations with other mom friends, we've all gone thru this with each of our kids.
Basically, you have to withhold the breast until she takes a bottle. It's sounds cruel, but that's what works. You could also try a sippy cup, but basically offer the bottle/sippy cup and if she doesn't take it, don't offer the breast. It may take a day or 2, but you have to persist. Obviously, don't do this to the point of dehyrdating your daughter, but try again in a few days. Have dad give her the bottle again, if she refuses it offer the sippy and it she still refuses give her solids.

Hey, don't sweat it too much. My baby wouldn't take the bottle at 3 months--or breast feed. I had to pin his arms down to get him to drink and man did he scream!!

One day my mother-in-law was here and she thought it was the weirdest thing. She started feeding him rice cereal....he loved it!! Ate a whole cup.

So at 3 months his diet was pretty much solids, baby food of whatever kind. I did make the cereal more runny, with milk so he would get some. But within a day or so of eating solids he would take about 9-10 ounces of milk a day.

Maybe he was just starving and the milk didn't satisfy???

have you tried giving her a sippy cup instead? I am still breastfeeding my daughter who is a little over a year old and she started taking a sippy cup with no problem around 6months and then you don't have to get her addicted to the bottle which is bad for the teeth. Hope it will help, good luck!

My little boy is 5 months old and we had the exact same problem!! It was very frustrating. It started at about 3 1/2 months old, I think the reason is because I didn't "push" a bottle enough earlier on, so he wasn't used to using one. So it was just a chew toy. What we have done and it has worked great is to totally bypass bottles altogether. He just uses sippy cups. The Nuby ones with a soft spout. He still has to suck a little bit to get the milk to come, but it works wonders and he enjoys it so much!! I just put my pumped milk in there. I even use it if we're out at the park together and he just drinks away. So we just skipped the bottle. I think it's fine because they will still get the milk and you won't have to ween her from the bottle later on. I hope this helps for her!!

I would say, definately try a sippy cup. It worked for me, but don't use one that they have to suck hard to get the milk out. I found one that has a very soft nipple like top that the baby just has to bite gently on or suck gently on. My baby took to it right away. GOOD LUCK!

You want to try giving her milk in a sippy cup or the cups with straws. My daughter could drink out of a straw easier than a sippy cup at that age. Good luck.

Hi S.,
My 4 year old was the same way with the exception he wouldn't take a bottle at all. I stopped nursing at 10 months, and he went from me to a sippy cup but the only one he would take to is made from gerber, it had a longer soft spout. I would say try a sippy cup..

Good Luck

My daughter fought off the bottle as well--she took the bottle at first, but then "changed her mind." It took me leaving her overnight--she got hungry enough and drank 19 oz from a bottle the next day (my husband was able to squirt some in her mouth, but she didn't get much until the next day when she really took to the bottle). Now she prefers the bottle and sippie cups over me when she's really hungry. You might try a sippie cup--either one of the hard ones or the "Nubby" soft type--instead of a bottle.

My 7.5 month old son is giving me similar grief...he won't take a bottle immediately after he eats solid food, but if I wait and give a bottle to him about an hour or so later (especially before nap / bedtime) he usually takes it without much hassle. He's teething, so he'll chew on just about anything (including the nipple on his bottle), but if he's hungry enough he'll drink it down.

I had exactly the same problem with my now 14-month-old son. It is very frustrating. Frankly, I just gave up. My suggestion would be to keep breastfeeding as much as possible. My child also hated the sippy cup that I gave him at about 10 months. I trained him how to use a regular plastic cup at about 12 months and although it was messy at first, and still is occassionally, he is a professional milk drinker at this point. He's drinking about 26 oz. a day out of a regular glass. Wish I had a better idea for you but I tried everything the doctor and all the books said and my baby would not drink out of a bottle or sippy cup.

Any chance she's teething and that's why she won't take the bottle? My son absolutely refuses a bottle when he's teething. Like your daughter, he will chew a bit, but that's it. Keep trying. If she's hungry enough, she'll eat from the bottle.

Hi S. - I have two boys...

1st boy took a bottle well until around 8mths - then refused. We ended up trying a different nipple and faster flow and that did the trick for him. (playtex drop in with the dark brown ROUND nipple)

2nd boy never really liked the bottle - but took it at the daycare from 4 - 5mths old. Then we had a spring break vacation and he nursed that whole time and never would take a bottle ever again. He literally would go to day care and have nothing (b/c he didn't do solids until 6mths) all day. He was fine and made up for it when I got home and during the night.

Your baby could go either way. Try a new nipple with better flow and see if that helps.

I am now on my 3rd child who has not taken a bottle. All 3 did fine with the bottle for the first 3-4 months and then refused to take it anymore. It's tough to not leave them for long but you just learn to deal with it. With my last one I have been giving him a sippy. I found one by Nuby that has handles so they can hold on to easier and it has a soft spout. All they need to do it chew or suck on it and they get the liquid. You could give water or even put pumped milk in the sippy. Good luck!

Both of my babies had the same issue. We gave them a bottle a few times early on but since I was with them most of the time we never made it a habit. I have heard that you need to be consistant with it or if you start too late they may never take a bottle - like mine. On the bright side you won't have to break her of the bottle. My daughter is almost nine months and we just tried to give her bottles of both breast milk and formula so I could do an overnight with some girl friends. She wouldn't really touch either, but ultimately she was fine. Try keeping her hydrated with a sippy a water if you'll be gone longer than usual and start the search for a sippy she likes right now. My son at a very young age liked these cups that looked like juice boxes with the straw, even though they say that the straw is for older kids. You pretty much have to try them til you fing one that works. Good Luck!

I had the exact same issue happen with my now almost 1 year old. She was about 6 or 7 months old, had been on the bottle consistently for about a month and had started eating baby food. We took her to the pediatrician after three days of her taking in about one-third of the fluid that she should. She would eat her food and cereal fine. Our pediatrician thought it might be that she was preferring the baby food. We went back to the bottle exclusively and after 3 or so strenuous days she finally started drinking normally again.

We had her on the bottle for several weeks before reintroducing solids very slowly. She sometimes will still chew on the nipple for 5-10 minutes before finally drinking it. If you haven't taken her to the doctor, you might consider it. The most important thing is to make sure she is not dehydrated. Sometimes it just takes time, persistence, and patience

My babies had the same problem. I left them once overnight and they refused to eat almost the whole time! Finally, I found a bottle that they liked. Playtex brand and the latex nipples. They are the drop in bottles and the nipple is the dark kind, not clear (pretty sure it is latex). Anyways, they finally would drink from that bottle. Hope that helps. Good luck!!

Will she drink out of a sippie cup? You could try putting your breast milk or formula in a sippie cup and see how she does.

i would just start working with a sippy cup

my daughter and son also both gave up the bottle at three monthes, since they were mostly breastfed. what worked really well , instead of the bottle, were the straw cups by Nuby. good luck

Yes, I have the same problem. In fact, a girlfriend of mine who is breastfeeding had a succesful bottle feeding baby for the first 4 months and now she is refusing it! Smart babies I say. I think you can up the food to 2x/day and perhaps try formula in the bottle. I haven't gone to formula yet, but soon I think I will becasue the baby need some liquid still. Also, at 7 months have you tried a sippy cup?

I had the same problem with my daughter. My son had no problem going back and forth from breast to bottle, but my daughter never liked the bottle. I tried every kind of bottle nipple I could find, with no luck. At around 7 months I tried getting her to drink out of a beginner's sippy cup, and ended up weaning her to the sippy cup at 8 months. Hope this helps - good luck!

Well I don't really have any advice, but I have a one year old boy who has never and still does not take a bottle. I still breastfeed him. He eats other food too, but he nurses for comfort. I don't know how I will ever wean him. But I am just enjoying it, cause it doesn't last forever. I look forward to reading your other responses.

Go with the solid foods and try a sippy cup or regular cup. She's not going to starve herself. She'll eat one way or another.