Breastfed Baby Won't Take a Bottle - HELP!

I had a doctor tell a friend something that really worked for her. Put a little white grape juice and water in a bottle. The baby will like the sweet taste and slowly introduce the milk. Hope this helps you.

Hi, I breastfed my son till he was 22 months old. He never once touched a bottle.....and we did try every nipple out there, we bought so many different bottles and that didn't work. I didn't have to go back to work so it wasn't a major issue for us to get him on the bottle. At about 4 months though he learned to drink from a straw.....and at about 6 months he was drinking from a cup!!! He didn't even like sippy cups, hated them as well. My son is very stubborn and still till this day you can't make him eat things he doesn't want. So, try the straw...you never know....but I would start w/a regular straw like what you and I would use.....eventually I bought him a sponge bob cup w/the rubber straw and those are a little harder for a baby to sip out of...

I had to go back to work when my son was 16 weeks old. It was his first time to take a bottle. The first day he wouldn't take a bottle and I went and fed him in the middle of the day. After that he just had to learn to take it. It took about 2 days and then he was fine. I was still able to nurse at night with no problems.
Good luck- it can be so frustrating!!!

Try to cup feed. He won't starve himself. If you stay home during the day you can still continue breastfeeding him. If he is going to a sitter then either cup feed or continue trying a bottle. He'll take it when he's hungry enough. He can make up for it when you get home from work.

I breastfeed my boys as well. I had to find the bottle nipple that was closest to my own nipple. Also pumped a lot of milk so that he is getting the same milk from the breast but from the bottle. It will take some time. But you have to try to stay on a schedule. Bottle during the day and breast at night. It's going to be hard because he will still want the breast. but you will have to stick with it to break the habit. Then little by little take him off of the breast completely. What type of buisness do you own?
Y.

Hi M.,

I'm T. a single mom of two myself. My youngest is a year old now and also is still being breast fed. I went through the same situation, we resorted to using a sippy cup with her. I don't know if it will help in your situation, but it did with mine.

T.

When my daughter started drinking from something other than the mommytap, we used a sippy-type bottle nipple. They are built like a sippy cup spout, but are softer in the mouth. You put them onto a normal bottle. I got mine at Target a long time ago, so you may have to search for them. They will not cause nipple confusion.

5 months is old enough to learn to use a sippy tip. You may even want to serve the breast milk with a sippy tip cool instead of body temperature so that he does not associate the wanm mom milk with mom and become confused because your milk is there but you are not.

You may also want to feed him with a bottle (of any type) when you are home so he does not associate eating with only the breast and you combined, but also sometimes without the breast with you still there.

Good luck!

I was in a panic when I had to go back to work because we were in the same situation. She would have NOTHING to do with bottles, even freshly pumped ones so there was absolutely no change in the milk. Then: I went back to work, and in one day she was accepting the bottles. It was like she just knew she had to.

If this doesn't happen in a couple of days for your little one, at five months, maybe you could just go with a cup (?). Then you could just skip bottles altogether. My daughter too was exclusively breastfed or bottled/pumped breastmilk until she was 6 months, so all she had was my milk & I was a little panicked that she'd starve. But she really just did start taking the bottles when she had to and your son may as well. Try not to panic & see what happens....

Congrats to you on breastfeeding him exclusively! Of all of the struggles he can be having, what a great gift that he's sorting out how much he loves your breastmilk..
G.

Not really in response to your problem, sorry, but I have a question for you. What business are you in? I am expecting in January and would love to be able to stay home...

I had the exact same experience and with my daughter, the bottle was not the problem (I tried every kind and every nipple). The problem was that she hated the taste of formula, and every formula! What worked for me was mixing in a little formula with bottles of my expressed milk (once or so a day, usually in the middle of the day when not too tired), gradually increasing the amount of formula until she accepted straight formula. I would definitely plan on continuing to pump, as this could take a while. Good luck, I know it's a difficult situation, and nurses and lactation consultants were very unsympathetic with me. It's not your fault, these things just happen sometimes. Oh- and maybe try different formulas (ask your dr. for samples to keep down cost).

My friend's daughter wouldn't take a bottle when she returned to work. She just waited for mom! She nursed her in the morning, on her lunch hour, and a lot in the evening. Is nursing her on your lunch hour an option? Good luck, I went through it too...but I didn't have to return to work, so I just toughed out the first year until she was drinking out of a sippy exclusively.

Believe me he won't starve. He will eventually eat. Make sure it is not you still holding on, be firm and he WILL use another nipple.

M.,

I too have had this problem. In fact, my son would take a bottle very early and then one day, he totally REFUSED it... I am a BF mom and I work out of the house, so fortunately I have been able to still feed him. But when we are away... I have the same concerns as you have. We tried a sippy cup... and it worked. He began to take that at about six months... now seven months.
Good Luck!!! I feel your frustration and concern!!

Hi M., sorry to hear about your frustration. My friend Katie had the same problem with her daughter. She would not take a bottle at all.... ever..... she didn't cry and fuss during the day while her mom was at work, she cried only when people tried to feed her a bottle. Katie had her baby sleep with her at night and nursed her in bed, before she left for work and as soon as she got home as often as she wanted it. Her baby is almost 2 and they did fine. It was a sacrafice that Katie chose to make. I know from experience that it is hard to get your children out of your bed once you start co sleeping. You might be suprised, it might take her a day or 2. if she doesn't take a bottle don't worry about it, take care of her when u get home. and nurse her as often as she needs it.
good luck! if you would like to talk to katie send me a personal e-mail and i will get u her information.

My advice is basically the same. 5 months old is a little early to introduce a sippy cup seeing as how he probably is just now sitting on his own. My 3rd son never used a bottle either, he went from breast, to straw, to sippy cup. However he was around 7 months old and crawling when he started with a straw (it's alomst like using a syringe). But if you have to go back to work I am sure whomever it is that stays wih him during the day will be able to get him to take a bottle. It may be a struggle at first but hey, it's not like YOU have to listen to it! :) Don't fret, your baby will be fine. It may seem rough now but just remember, this too shall pass.

None of my three children ever took a bottle (and I actually love that fact). I was blessed to be home with them most of the time so I exclusively breast fed, but we did introduce juice at about 4 months each time, but in a sippy cup. Maybe if you try something other than breast milk and let him get used to something different. It just might help!!

This may or may nor be of comfort to you but he will take the bottle when he gets hungry enough...you mentioned that you are home during the day but will be returning back to work...will he be with someone else while you are away??? I have an in-home daycare and have been caring foe infants for over 14 years so I have seen it all and experienced it with my own children. He will get used to a different routine of not having you for cetain times of the day. I suggest you try to get him on the same nursing schedule he will be on after you return to work and bottles at the same time.....He will adjust and wont starve...i promise!

I know that this probably isn't going to be what you want to hear . . . But, neither of my sons would take a bottle. The first one we were like you, waited to make sure then tried everything under the sun and nothing worked. This is the same child that wouldn't eat baby food either, just to give you something else to look forward to. Our second son, would take a pacifier, but wouldn't touch a bottle. This wasn't a big problem for us, since I work from home. But the inconvience of not being able to give them a bottle and finding places to breastfeed if we went somewhere was frustrating. Try giving him breastmilk from a syringe (the kind that you would give medication to an infant from). I got one that held a little over 6 ml (about 1 1/2 teaspoons) from the pharmacy dept at Wal-Mart. I didn't learn this trick until my second son, but he would eat just about anything I put into that syringe. It worked great for traveling (not as many peas/sweet potatoes on the clothes either). It is kind of a pain for milk, but it may be the only way to get him to drink it. You may also want to try one of the cups with a straw. It may be early, but mine both drank from the kiddie straw cups by 7 or 8 mos. Neither one would use the sippie cups. Hope this helps . . .

Hi M.,

I have an 18-month-old daughter and was faced with the same situation. She wouldn't take the pacifier, and I did try introducing the bottle to her early on, but she cried a lot and vomited when taking breastmilk from the bottle. To this day, her doctors and nurses can't explain why. The only possible explanation they could give me was that she may be overeating, so they suggested I give her less. When it didn't work, I had to go back to nursing exclusively without a bottle. Therefore, I had to quit work and stay home. As she got older, I tried introducing the bottle again at 6 months, 9 months, and again at 12 months to no avail. She would never take a bottle. I also tried all the suggestions you already mentioned and none of them work. I'm not sure what your situation is, and I am sorry to say that I don't really have any sound advice for you. I just wanted to let you know that you are not in the boat alone. I am still nursing my daughter now and am a stay-at-home mom. I have also tried weaning her with no success. If you find something that works, please let me know. Thanks!

I nursed both of my kids and the only bottle i ever used if i needed to give them bottle while i was gone was a playtex bottle i know it is a hassle because you have to use the bags with it but they are always recommended to me when i was nursing or you could see if he will drink out of a sippy cup that would be your only other option besides not returning to work

Hi. I have a 19 month old son that I had the same problem with. Eventually he will take it because he will get really hungry and give in. I just had a baby again and he is 6 weeks old. I introduced the bottle and pacifier the day he was born and I have no problem with him going from breast to bottle. I feed him atleast a bottle a day so when I go back to work he will be okay. I hope it gets easier for you.

T.

M.-
My son went through the same thing. I breastfed for the first 2.5 months and then needed to return to work. We tried everything too, but here is what worked for me: I used Parents Choice bottles/nipples (only at Walmart) and had my mother-in-law feed him. It helped for me to be out of the room when she was feeding him too. It took us all day, but it finally worked. You know he won't be starving. After a few days, he would drink from any bottle. And my son did not take a pacifier either. Since I did have this problem, I did not continue to breastfeed. I did pump and put it in the bottle. Good luck and don't get too frustrated.