Bottle Feeding - Kansas City,KS

Try getting the Nuby bottles, or you can find the ones that are more like moms breast. Have you tried having someone else feed him preferably by the person who will be watching him and you leave the room. Some breastfed babies wont take a bottle by mommy or with mommy in the room.

2 moms found this helpful

My youngest son was the same way. What worked for me...
Taking a "mom's day" and going shopping for a few hours when I knew my son would be hungry. Dad fed him a bottle. He didn't like any except the Soothies (available at Target, very cheap and good, has pacifiers, too). When I came home, he was eating and falling asleep on the bottle. He still prefers to breastfeed, but he has learned that sometimes he needs to take the bottle.
If you have friends with babies who have different bottles than you do, you may want to see if you can borrow one before committing to buying them.
It's not easy. Good luck!

Hi N.,
I'd agree with what the rest of the ladies are saying. It took me awhile to get my second to take a bottle, but as I was going back to work, it had to happen. We tried numerous bottles, and what eventually worked was that someone besides me had to give him the bottle (and I needed to be in the other room), and we used the fatter nipples with the playtex drop ins.

He was a little funny in the fact that if I wasn't nursing him and he had to have the bottle, he didn't want to be held like I held him when nursing. So it wasn't much fun for grandparents to feed him since he'd rather be propped in the couch than held. Guess that's the makings of a mama's boy. :)

Good luck!
R.

Are you the one trying to feed him the bottle? If it is you trying to give him the bottle, he may not be taking it because he instinctively knows that something is not right if he can feel, see, hear, and smell Mommy, why is he getting something that isn't her. Also, when babies first latch on, they get the really sweet milk that causes them to want to latch on. As they continue to nurse, they get to the good nutritious, not as sweet milk. When he gets the bottle, he is not getting that initial sweet milk that causes him to want to latch on. When I had my daughter, she did not know how to latch on properly and we had to have the lactation consultant work with her, and I am thinking that this may help you as well. The LC took a few drops of plain sugar water and dropped them into her mouth to get the sucking motion and to "teach" her how to latch on. I think that the sugar water may help with your son, he would get that sweet taste to cause him to want to latch on and he may take the bottle, and it may take a few tries before he gives in. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Try using a nipple guard on you till gets the idea that it is not as "soft and pliable" as it usually is. Then slip the bottle in while holding him after a few days with thenipple guard-it is worth a try and may work because it is similiar to the guard.

Ladies - please help N. if you have advice. I have a 3 year old son and an 11th month old daughter. I had a similar situation with my daughter (she refused pacifiers too). I gave her a few bottles when she was 3 or 4 weeks old, but then didn't do it again until around 8-10 weeks and by that time she was set in her ways. We thought she was fine since she took it early, but since we didn't practice it regularly, she decided to REFUSE any bottle. I tried every shape nipple/bottle known, even the one shaped like a breast. Lila would not take water, breast milk or formula from anything until she was 9 months old and started to use a straw cup. N. - the only advice that I received from other moms that went through this was --- establish at least one bottle a day or night NOW, have someone other than you try (best for you to not even be in the house when it happens because he can smell that you are there and it will be emotional for you hearing him cry), who ever is helping you must be extremely patient (maybe have two people take turns like dad & grandma to give each other some emotional relief). Everyone kept telling me - that when Lila would get hungry enough, she would eat. Since I was a stay at home mom - I decided it wasn't worth the battle to force it on her, but I definitely paid the price. I didn't have a date with my husband, a girls night out or a movie until after she turned 9 months old, which doesn't sound like a long time, but really is when you're a full-time mom of 2 without a break (fyi-my daughter has had sleep issues too -- still was getting up twice a night until 3 nights ago). I really feel for you! If him taking a bottle is even remotely important to you - don't give up and start working on it now or you may loose your window of opportunity. FYI - I've heard of babies waiting more than 8 hours to eat when going through this, so brace yourself for the worst and hopefully he'll decide to take a bottle within an hour or two.

If none of these ideas work, which they never did for either of my girls that were breast fed, put it in a sippy cup. Might sound ridiculous but mine caught on to it really fast. My sister breast feeds her 1.5 yo and did the same thing. Some babies in my experience just never learn to go back and forth from breast to bottle but can learn to drink out of a cup.

My son wouldn't take a bottle until he was about 4 months old. It has to be someone other than you giving him the bottle because he knows you have what he really wants. Let dad try while you're gone for a short time with big sister. It will probably take several tries. My son would wait 3-4 hours for me without a bottle until he figured it out. By the way, we used the Avent bottles. He seemed to do best with those. Good luck and keep trying. He'll eventually catch on.

My mother tells a story about her brother. When he was little, it has to do with a situation that is nothing like yours, but similar in one way. Her brother had to learn to latch onto a nipple, and leave the breast. He just could not or would not do it, and when the doctor came by he had teh solution. Maybe it will work for you. He told them that they baby did not see the nipple as a source of feeding so sucking on it had to be induced through a pleasurable experience. He put karo syrup on the nipple. And allowed the baby to just suck on the syrup for a minute. The he put the nipple back on the bottle and put a little more karo syrup on it. The baby went for the syrup, and the added benefit was learning that milk was pretty good too. I dont know if this will help or not but if it does, it is an easy fix. Good luck!

Try the Avent bottles. That was how my oldest learned to latch on for breast feeding. My oldest was a 28 week preemie & first learned to feed with the nuk type of nipple in the hospital before he could come home. Breast feeding did not go well until we changed him to the Avent bottles with the wide nipples. Once he was acustom to latching on for his bottle he was able to latch on for breast feeding! You may also need someone else to feed him until he gets he hang of bottles. My youngest was completely breast fed & would only take the bottle if I wasn't arround & he was very hungry.
Also make sure that you have the slowest flow nipple you can find so he has to work at it like he does with breast feeding!
I hope this helps!

God bless!

Well, you obviously have recieved lots of advice on this. One who felt strained by 9 months without a date or night out - typically a baby can go without eating for long enough to get that in - if you chose to. I always take mine with me unless for some reason, I absolutely can't. Anyway, my middle daughter (5 children) wouldn't take a bottle from anyone even after a 10/12 hour day without feeding. We too were trying to go out of town for a weekend (she was 6 months). We put off our outing :) The woman that recommended not leaving your little one for that long - I'd certainly second that - but everyone's different. I find that my children are peaceful (not to suggest that they can't be rowdy), secure and healthy. Breastfeeding and continual bonding through that practice are helpful elements to creating that security in a child that I desire. Best wishes of finding your way......God bless.

Babies often won't take the bottle from mom. Visit llli.org for some tips or info on a local meeting to ask advice. But I would also strongly encourage you not to leave such a young baby for a whole weekend. That is obviously what is putting the pressure on for this bottle to work, and in my opinion, he is just too young to be away from you for that long! Even in May!

Keep trying. It will happen. I echo what most people have already said. Let someone else try. Make sure it is in a calm, quiet environment. I went back to work at 8 weeks, so we had to have her using a bottle before that. It was hard, but I just didn't breast feed her during the day for an entire day, (heartbreaking) and she finally broke down and used the bottle, and has been using it just fine ever since! When she got a little older, she liked to sit up to eat from the bottle so she could look around. She would get too distracted to eat if she was held facing the person feeding her (like in breast feeding). Hope that helps! Good luck and it will happen!

Hi! My youngest daughter, Kylie, was like that, too. I had to go back to work and she went to daycare, so I pumped and gave her daycare provider breast milk in bottles. It is easier for someone else to bottle feed--he's probably thinking "why would I drink from that when Mommy's right here". You may not even be able to be there or he will want to nurse from you. He will adjust, but it takes a little time. Good luck!

Try different bottle nipples. Eventually you will find one he likes. Good luck!

We had to use "slow flow" nipples when I nursed.

You might also try having someone besides you get him used to the bottle.

I went through this a year ago...here is what I did.
First I bought one of every kind of bottle thinking maybe he would find one he liked. Nope that didn't work. Then we found out that if we took the bottle and squirted from the nipple into his mouth he would at least tolerate it. By we I mean anyone BUT me. He then decided that was not going to happen.

After this we started daycare...as you can probably guess the boy would go hours without eating. I would send ounces and ounces to daycare and he would drink maybe five. I then decided well sippy cups it is. They worked.

As hard and difficult as it was I would say you have to try everything you can. You know what's best for your baby...don't give up...go on your trip baby will be fine...keep trying and you'll get it.

You have to let someone else introduce the bottle. He won't take it from momma because he can smell you and he knows you have the "good" stuff. Babies that young go by smell more than sight... He's rather had the closeness of momma than the rubber nipple...If someone else is offering the bottle then it's his only option if he's hungry. You may have to be out of the room and not talk for the first few times too...Baby will know you're there... Good luck. This worked for me by the way...He may not be exactly happy with it, but once he figures it out he'll do fine.

I dont really have any advice to add to what you have already received. My first thought was to have someone other than yourself offer him the bottle. But it needs to be someone who is relaxed and willing to take their time...lots of cuddling and communicating while you are trying to introduce him to that bottle.

Keep trying EVERYDAY. We had problems at first with the oldest two. We were eventually able to get them both to switch between breast and bottle with no problem. It took work though. We had my husband give them breast milk out of the bottle at the same time every evening. It took a while, but well worth the effort! Once they were taking both, we kept the bottle routine, even if I was home. It was easier on everyone to have that one feeding be a bottle. Then, if I needed to be gone, there were no issues.

Have some else give him the bottle and you stay out of sight during this time. If you give him the bottle and he smells the breast he will refuse the bottle. Nuk nipple and Playtex bottles are good. I went back to work and my girls were both bottle fed breast milk using both. You may have to get thicker nipples because breast fed babies suck harder than bottle fed and may collapse the nipple. I got the older baby Nuk nipple to fit the Playtex bottles.

It's not the bottle it is you. Because she knows you are available he doesn't want the bottle. Try to get your husband to give her a bottle. She will most likely take it more willingly from anyone else than you. You shouldn't have any problems while you are gone with her taking the bottle. My oldest was two months old when we went away for a weekend and my parents took care of her. She had no problems taking the bottle from my parents. Don't stress to much. As soon as you are gone she will be fine. Good luck and God Bless.

I don't have any suggestions because my son was the exact same way. He didn't take a bottle until he was 9-10 months old! By then I had already given up on the idea. I guess if he's hungry enough he'll take one. He won't starve himself when you're gone. Good luck!

HI N., I have two small girls that I have breast fed for the first year of their life, while working a full time job, so stay calm it can be done. I have found success with the Gerber nurser bottles that have the bag insert. Hang in there...you will find something that works.