MY 4 Month Old Won't Eat Out of a BOTTLE!!!

I nursed both of my children too (my son until 15 months and my daughter until 13 months). Neither one of them would EVER take a bottle for anything (breast milk, juice, water, etc). However, they both would take a sippy cup!! I started them both on sippy cups out of desperation at 4 months. They loved it. They do make sippers for babies (not toddlers) and you can find them at Babies R Us.

Good Luck!

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If you absolutely must give her a bottle, then the best way for her to take is without you around - not even in the house! Hand her over to someone else (hubby) and you leave the house (go for a drive/walk/shopping/etc.) and then he can offer her the bottle.

The reasoning is why would baby want a bottle, when the best thing around is so handy! :)

That said, you should be able to go for a massage without worrying too much about nursing - she should be able to go 2 hours between nursings. And for that matter, a lot can be done in two hours! I find that when I'm home, my baby will eat pretty often (hey, 24/7 buffet, just turn your head!) but if I'm out and about, she does just fine.

The important things to realize are 1) if you are skipping a feeding and not pumping during that feeding time, then your supply will decrease; 2) your baby loves you and wants to be with you - you are her world, her sole source of food/comfort and it is a built in response to be concerned if you aren't around. 3) I'm sure you've heard it before...but truly - this time is so so short, and you *will* have plenty of (the very important!) me-time. My third child is now 9 months, she's never had a bottle (babies 1 and 2 did) and yet I can be still be gone for hours if I need to (and believe me, there are times I *need* to!).

This strange piece of plastic just isn't momma. It will take some getting used to, but she probably won't take the bottle from you, it'll have to be someone else. Or you can always try the sippy cup - I've heard tons of success stories even with very young babies!

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P. - I feel for you. None of my 3 girls would take a bottle. With the first one, for Mother's Day, we went out to eat. I nursed her in the car. Then my husband had the waitress keep my food warm until I came back. Then I finally nursed her at the table with a blanket. By the time the 3rd one was born, I was very adept at nursing in public with no one the wiser. I even nursed at the table at Steak and Ale while I ate dinner. You do what you have to do to take care of your child. That said, I know that if I could have been stronger, my children would have, eventually, taken a bottle. They will eat when they get hungry enough. It is very hard to listen to them cry. And usually you're so tired, you give in to get a little peace. All of my kids nursed until at least 12 months, with no solid food. I am a SAHM. That made things a little easier, to say the least. But all 3 girls are extremely healthy and very bright. I don't know if breast milk had anything to do with these factors, but if I had another one, I would do the same thing.

You can even go to movies. Just plug her in when she starts to cry, with a blanket, of course. There are ways to get around her not taking a bottle. It just seems a little overwhelming right now. As you learn to relax when feeding her in public, so will she. I do advocate using a blanket. It keeps prying eyes away; and keeps out visual stimulations for the baby, much like a cover for a bird cage does.

Good luck with your precious one.

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I did not have time to read through all of the responses, but I do want to give my 2 cents. My baby is 8.5 months old and I have never had a moment to myself longer than 4 hours (other than bedtime) She will not take a bottle or a sippy cup. I do not mean to be negative, but I just want you to know there are other babvies out there that only want their mommy. I gave up on the bottles a long time ago, I now own every sippy on the market, we are still working on it. Good Luck to you.

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You may have already tried this one, but my lactation consultant swears by the Playtex NatraLatch nipple. It looks and feels like a real nipple. I'm nursing my 3 month old, and we first tried a bottle with breast milk and these nipples when she was 2 months. She will take it from her grandmothers or her dad, but not from me.
She's refused it a couple of times when she's not been super hungry, but when it has been a full 3 hours since her last feeding, she'll take it.
Good luck!

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I had the same issue with my little girl. I couldn't give her anything that even resembled my breast (like a bottle) because she would cry for the "real thing". I HAD to be somewhere and was not going to be able to feed her, so i expressed some milk and my mother fed it to her with a cup (we don't use sippy cups, just small plastic cups, but you could use a sippy cup). You do have to go a little slower to watch for air bubbles and it can be a bit messy but it works! I would suggest testing it out a few times, with your husband feeding her before your next outing.

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I had that problem with my 2 month old baby. A couple of weeks before I had to go back to work, we unsuccessfully tried every bottle we could find. She would only take a bottle after being at the babysitter's house for 6 hours-she finally gave in. After that, she has been fine drinking from a bottle. The bottle that finally worked was the cheapest kind Gerber makes (Clearview, I think). The nipples are smaller than most. Good luck!

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I think alot of moms have this problem.

I had heard that you should have someone else give the baby the bottle. The baby knows its you and knows what other option you have to offer (she can smell your milk). Have you husband feed the baby the first couple of times until the baby gets used to it. This is what I did and it worked. Also my son liked the cheap $1.00 bottles from Wal-Mart best. I have two shopping bags full of bottles/nipples that I tried.

Good luck,
TL

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Is there a time of day where she tends to space out her nursing? For example, mine has a 4 hr span in the evening where she doesn't nurse. Then she nurses again right before bedtime and will nurse to sleep. If I need time to myself, I will take it during the 4 hr span where her norm is to not want to nurse. This has made it MUCH easier.

Also, she's my third child....it will get better. As they get older and begin wanting to eat/experiment, your DP should be able to distract her with a little avocado or pineapple or something...but that's probably a bit down the road.

I swear I have a point!! Don't stress..not one of mine EVER took a bottle and I did eventually get some time to regain my sanity!! :)

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My daughter preferred the Playtex nurser at first, then later switched to the plain Gerber bottles. I agree with those above. The bottle needs to be offered by someone other than you. As a matter of fact, you need to be totally unavailable when they offer the bottle. Leave the house, go for a walk, go to the store or something. My daughter also preferred the milk to be very warm. Good luck!

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Hey, you should try the Adiri Breastbottle Nurser ... it totally mimics mommy, they are awesome!!! And as others have said you should have someone OTHER THAN YOU introduce the bottle ... you can get them here ... www.thenestingplace.biz Good Luck!!

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