My daughter suddenly has a fit when she tries to drink her bottles. She arches her back and screams. We have to sing to her and make goofy noises to get her to stop freaking out. We have tried new bottles, nipples, liners, etc. to see if it she suddenly didn't approve of the ones she's been using for months. She will eat her solids with no issues. I have tried a sippy cup made for four months olds and she spits out the formula like she doesn't realize she has to swallow it after she gets it out of the cup. I talked to one girlfriend and she said her daughter did the same thing but it worked itself out after a week. I was just wondering if anyone else went through this and if it is just a phase. She is otherwise a very happy baby and very healthy. We have not had any other feeding issues. Thanks!
Thanks again for the responses! It's amazing how many different things it could be! My son did the same thing 11 years ago, but it was a nipple issue. I took him to the dr. to find out he was perfectly fine and just hated the clear nipples. He wanted the old fashioned ones from back in the day. I thought she might be the same way, but it doesn't seem to matter which nipple we use.
Today is Wednesday, and she only fought me on two bottles today. I'm going to get through the holiday and see if she continues to improve. If not, I'll take her in to see the dr. and make sure it isn't an ear infection or reflux.
Have a great 4th everyone!
I just recently read that around 4-5 months that eating habits can change due to the fact that they now can see farther distances. It makes looking around new and exciting and they would rather do that then eating. She will eat when she's hungry, maybe try feeding her in a room that you don't spend a lot of time in or even just changing chairs may help. Good luck, hope this helps.
Check the nipple to make sure the flow is fast enough.. Sometimes our Grandbabies would do that if they were not getting enough formula through the nipple.
Good luck
Amy
Dear H.,
It occurs to me that this may not be a bootle issue! Instead, it may be a formula issue! I am in the preventative healthcare field and one of my mentors, a Ph.D. Nutritionist and Naturopath, strongly advocates against cow's milk and advocates for breastfeeding. Short of that, however, have you ever tried soy formulas? I would advise you to eek more advice on this subject, but, again, the issue may be the formula and not the bottle!
May you get an answer soon!
Blessings!
J. F.
My oldest daughter did the same thing, but I am not sure what age exactly she was. I do, however, remember that it was a bit of a pain because she still needed a feeding during the night! And sinse she wouldn't drink from the bottle, I had to make her some baby cereal in the middle of the night. She did eventuall start taking a bottle once again after a short bit (again, I can't remember how long it last, not very...probably about a week like your friends' experience). Hang in there, it should pass soon!
K.
just to add- I did take my daughter to the doc for it, and was told everything was fine- to just give her cereal with the formula in it, and to basically just work with it.
Could there be an ear infection?
H.,
She may be teething! It's a little early, but any sort of mouth pain and or sore throat would cause my oldest daughter to do the same thing. Might want to double check...oh, and could also be ears (ear infections hurt when they suck on the bottle!) Good luck!
I went through this with my daughter and she ended up having reflux. I would call your dr and see if he/she can see you. Once she got on the medicine, she ate again!
Have you talked with a Dr about this? It sounds like she may have something bothering her to make her uncomfortable while taking the bottle. My son has acid reflux, he used to arch his back and twist when he drank. Good luck.
Megan
SAHM of almost 3 yr old and 9 month old
my daughter did the same thing at 4 months and had her first tooth come through at 5 months. it hurts to suck when a tooth is coming in and some kids have a harder time with teething. i switched my daughter to a faster flowing nipple which helped and sometimes i used a syringe. my daughter also started taking a sippy cup very young for this reason, although i don't think she started at 5 months. the nuby cups have a spout that's almost like a nipple or just make a tiny slit in one of the nipples your using. just be careful because it will take her a while to get used to the faster flow.
In trying new bottles, did you get one with faster flow? Perhaps she is frustrated with slow flow? Sorry I don't have any other ideas.
I have a four and a half month old breastfed baby girl. She has been getting bottles several tiems per week since she was born. But in the las t couple monthor ao, she is backsliding. She is still drinking, but she acts real fussy about it - squealing while it's in her mouth, chewing on it, sticking her fingers in her mouth with the nipples, etc. She is not cutting teeth yet. I have just chalked it up to her being older and smarter - she prefers the "real thing" and is annoyed about the bottle. She is also much more distractable now, even when nursing.
I guess that doesn't really help you, but I think it might be an explanation? I sort of remember my four year old going through a similar phase around now before she took a cup.
I try to get other people to give her the bottle, since my presence seems to make it worse. I also wait her out until she is a little hungrier than normal so she is really motivated to eat. If I have to give the bottle, I sit her on my lap, upright and facing away from me so it is unlike nursing. My plan is to introduce the sippy cup as soon as I can (I still think the bottle works well enough for now, but plan to start a cup with her solid feedings).
Good luck.
If the problem persists I would check with an ear nose and throat doctor. She may have something internal going on while sucking, example ear or teeting issue. You don't want her to loose thoses much needed calories. Best of luck!
J. Z.
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I would check her mouth to be sure she doesn't have thrush. It will hurt them to swallow, and if she's putting the milk in her mouth but won't swallow it, sounds fishy.
There will be white patches in her mouth and/or on her tongue that will not scrape off like milk patches will. Hope this helps.
Since you have tried many different options with the type of bottle/nipple, it probably is not that. The first thing I thought was that she has reflux. Arching the back and screaming are tell tale signs of it. My daughter did the same thing and I finally realized she was in pain. I also thought ear infection but you said that's not it. If it continues, take her to the doc and have her checked out. Good luck.
H. - I hope this has resolved itself but just in case it hasn't I needed to add my 2 cents. My almost 11 month old started the same behavior in January (at 5 months of age). He slowly weaned himself off his bottles and was down to one bottle that he would only take at bedtime once he was asleep and we could switch the pacifier for bottle without him realizing it. I kept bringing him in to the doctor and continually was told it was normal and he would just start drinking again don't worry about it (he is my third child and I didn't think the behavior really qualified as normal). We tried everything we own every single sippy/straw cup they make now - tried juice boxes - new bottles, nipples, etc. It wasn't until I brought him in for his 9 month appt that they finally agreed with me that something was going on - he stopped growing and gaining weight. They sent me to a GI doctor and the baby has severe reflux (which I assumed we were dealing with reflux but no one wanted to treat him b/c he was always happy during the day) and he now has a severe food aversion to fluids. The GI doctor informed me that it will be a very long and painful process to get him to the point that he trusts that the fluids are not going to cause him pain - she is estimating that he will be closer to 2 yo before he will willingly take fluids from us. We go in tomorrow again to follow up and most likely will need to have an upper GI and a scope done on him b/c on just the medication there has been no notable improvement for him. Ok that was alot of rambling but I just wanted to let you know where we ended up from the same initial behavior - I hope it is a little faze she is going through but just in case it isn't bring her in and emphasize the back arching and uncontrollable screaming as they are both classic reflux signs.
