My son is breastfed and we introduced a bottle of expressed milk at 5 weeks old. He took it great and has been doing so for the last 7 weeks (1-2 bottles a week). Now that he's 12 weeks, he's suddenly refusing the bottle. We've tried a couple different kinds and nothing is working. My ped. just says if he's hungry enough he'll take the bottle. I wasn't even home this last time so it can't be that he smelled me...Any other advice?
unless you have to why give a bottle? My daughter and her friends who were in the same play group were breastfed for at least 1 and 2 years without any bottles, but i do understand many kids have to be on a bottles and I do support that so just be patient
How important is it that he take a bottle? Even if you have to be away from him for 6-8 hour stretches, if he can sill get 7+ nursing sessions a day and is having plenty of wet diapers, I wouldn't worry about him refusing the bottle.
This exact thing happened to us! In the beginning she took a bottle, but they weren't that often. Then she just started refusing to take it. We tried for a couple of months with a handful of different types of bottles, it was very frustrating! In the end it took 3 months and she finally decided to start taking the bottle again, this time a completely different kind than she was taking as a newborn. Our pediatrician told us the same thing, when they get hungry enough they will take the bottle.... She spent one evening at my mom's and refused the bottle, it ended up being almost 6 hours between feedings. I guess she wasn't hungry enough! Good luck, I know how frustrating it can get!
My daughter did the same thing! Our pedi suggested starting her on a cup (same age ~3/4mo old). Our life situation changed, so I never did try the cup, but it may work.
Your ped. is right - if your kid is hungry, he'll take the bottle. Kids go through "feast or famine" phases, where they'll eat ravenously for a while and then their appetite will diminish. Our 5-month-old is currently in a "famine" phase where he's eating perhaps half what he used to, but he's still hydrated and happy and energetic, so I guess he's just developing in other areas and doesn't need as much food right now. We tried all different bottles with this one as well, figuring maybe they would ease his colic, but it didn't make a difference and we're back to the first bottles we used, same as with our first child, and the baby will take it, but only if he's hungry.
This happened to me on my first child. It took a long time, but my sister finally found the key with my daughter. She didn't like someone coming at her with a big bottle. We got a little two ounce bottle that she could palm and put her in a car seat or bouncy and she fed herself. I then found 5 ounce bottles that were shaped in a way that she could hold them. If someone was holding her, she expected to be nursed. This may not be the key for your son, but is worth a try. At three months, he may be too young to hold the bottle, but maybe someone (besides you) could assist him from the side while he is sitting in a bouncy or car seat.
The same thing happened with me. You have to try every nipple out there. I finally found the one she liked, however, she would only eat it if was really warm! Try heating the bottle in a bowl of hot water.
My son did the same thing... what worked for us, was to have the person that was giving him the bottle to hold him real close. Almost as if they were breast feeding him. I think the closeness and comfort was the issue for him. Hope this helps.
I have a 6 month old that I have been able to go back and forth without any problems since 4 wks (actually my son liked the bottle more, I think my flow is slow). One thing I did was have my husband feed him one bottle every evening (then became more often later). It gave him a chance to bond and kept my son used to it. We have been using 5 oz bottles and am now having to go to 8 but I think small bottles and trying more often will help. I know when we recently introduced solids, it is the same way, you have to keep trying so they can become more familiar. Good luck!
Have you tried the Breastflow bottles by the First Years? My first child (boy) totally refused all bottles ever, so for our second I found these new bottles and tried them just yesterday for the first time. She loved them. Lactation consultants recomend them highly. I found them on amazon.com and babiesrus.com. Good luck.
