Daughter Won't Take Bottle - Chicago,IL

I have had my DD on bottle/breast since about 3 weeks... she refused to take the avent (my first try. lol) or any of the "like breast" bottles. I tried her on one of the "old school" nipples, and she loves them! She doesn't get nipple confusion, and they are soo much cheaper!

Maybe try Tommee Tippee.

I heard Avent is most UNlike real nipples.

I BF my son for 1 year. He took a bottle maybe once a week, just so I could make sure he'd be used to it. I bought MEDELA brand, and then bought the EVENFLOW. Spend 5 times as much money for the Medela, yet the nipples look almost IDENTICAL to the Evenflow. Both are BPA FREE.

Oh and make sure to check the FLOW of the nipples. Maybe the nipples you're using NOW are too slow for what she needs. Go buy new ones with a higher flow and see if that helps.

I had the same problem with my daughter. I had read somewhere that the Playtex Drop-ins with the brown latex nipple works fo a lot of stubborn breastfed babies, and sue enough, it worked! But only the latex, she won't take the clear silicne nipples, the latex have a different, more natural texture, the silicone is just smooth and fake, no matter the shape. I do suggest going with the slow flow nipples, you want to make her work for it, just like at the breast. Even with the slow flow the milk will still drip out.

Ugh, I had this same problem!! Luckily it was the baby I stayed home with for three years so it just limited date night hours. Have you tried having someone else feed her? Maybe that will help. Is the nipple large enough? Maybe a different brand of bottle? I know when my sopn who did have to use a bottle would refuse it for a long time, my sister would just pack him up and bring him to me at work, so I could just nurse him. Does your office have a place where you could nurse him? Or do you have a sitter that can bring him to you?

I have 2 handouts i'd be happy to e-mail you (they are from an infant feeding and nutrition book). the handouts talk about positioning and provide pictures.

Good luck to you on this one! My now 10 year old went from breast to cup. He never would take a bottle. I went back to work when he was 4 months old. I had to nurse him before we left the house, when we got to the sitter, come back on my lunch break, when I picked him up from the sitter and then had to go directly home. He had just started 1st stage foods by then so that would hold him over in between. At about 8-9 months he would drink water and juice from a sippy but never milk until we were off the breast completely.

Around five months, I always introduce a sippy cup. She may struggle at first to figure it out, but she will 'get it'.

I am currently breast feeding my third child but when I need her to drink from another source, she uses a sippy cup. It works, where I too, struggled to get my baby to suck on a bottle.

I just researched which nipples are best for babies that breastfeed as we have a 4 week old that we wanted to start giving bottles occasionally. There were 3 brands suggested: Dr. Brown's, Avent & NUK. I opted for NUK because I wanted to use standard sized bottles and heard that Dr. Brown's is a pain to clean. Last night my DH gave our little one a bottle for the first time last night and she took to it like a champ. You have to keep up with bottle feeding at least once a week though so maybe after you get your daughter back on them you can make sure she gets one regularly. The other thing is to try and give the bottle when the child is somewhat hungry, but not ravenous because if they're too hungry they may find the bottle frustrating. Good luck!

With my son, I nursed and used bottles for pumped milk.
The ONLY bottle that I and he loved, was the "MAM" brand.
You can find it at Amazon.
It is not widely found in stores.
It is also, BPA free and does not accumulate air bubbles in the bottle as the baby drinks. ie: no gas from the bottles, and it is a natural nipple.
This bottle, is commonly used in Europe.
Its also real cute, comes in different colors, and sold in 3-packs and is not expensive. Very easy to use... and clean.

I found Avent... to be not as good. And the nipple is so bulbous... and not natural.

Next: it could also be that your baby gets "nipple confusion." Because, drinking/sucking from breast, is not the same as from a bottle. A bottle is by gravity only. From breast, is encompasses mouth/tongue coordination and 'sucking' to get the let-down going...

all the best,
Susan

There are some great suggestions here already. I would just like to add that you can't really blame her. Your offering her silcone when she could have the real deal. I suggest leaving the house and letting your partner or another caregiver offer her the bottle. They may have to get creative but if you're even in the house she can smell you.
C.
http://www.momsinstinct.com/