My Breastfeed Daughter Refuses the Bottle and the Pacifier!

Have you tried a cup? Syringe? I've read that day care workers have more success than anyone else when getting a baby to take a bottle.

My baby refused every type of paci until 5 months old. One day she just decided she liked it.

She will likely eat less with a day care provider, but won't starve herself. She may eat more in the evenings to reverse cycle feed, but she will be okay if you decide to take the job.

1 mom found this helpful

My son did the same thing. Now he is 18 mo. I had so much anxiety and thought we would never survive. I tried 12 different nipples/ types of bottles. Changing temp of the milk, other people feeding him,me leaving the house when they tried, holding an article of my clothing next to his face. I too tried holding out for long periods of time and in the end.... I went to work,he still wouldn't take bottle. I worried, it was very hard. Eventually he gave in and took the bottle. Each day I worked he did better. He ended up preferring the gerber drop-ins over all the expensive "breast like" ones I had.
Hang in there, she too will figure it out. I believe you can click on my name here at mama source and view all the responses I got at that time if you would like. Good luck.

My daughter was 6-8 wks old when I was scheduled to go back to school. Like your daughter she wouldn't take a bottle or pacifer. I was going to postpone the school thing but my doctor convienced me to go anyway saying she would eat when hungry. He was right the only problem (that I didn't feel was much of a problem) was she switched her day and night eating schedule around. She'd take 1-2 bottles during the day then eat every 3-4 hours after I got home. She never did take a bottle if I was around (I came home one day and she was taking a bottle until she sensed me then pushed it away) and never took a pacifer,but we did live through it. They will eat and in time she will get used to you being gone for several ours a day. Oh and I had tried every nibble and bottle on the market at the time (okay that was 27 yr ago) finally settled on the drop in kind. By 9 months she was off breast and bottle and drinking from sipper cups. mainly because I never gave her anything to drink in a bottle and started her on juices and water in cup from the beginning. Yes she'll cry but then again that won't hurt her either and she will stop. hang in there you'll both me fine and remember as she gets older and problems come along "this too shall pass".

Do I ever feel for you! My daughter is now 5 months old and until 3 weeks ago I could have written your post. We tried a lot of bottles and had marginal success with one, so we used that one for "bottle training" every day. I would nurse her so she was full and happy, and then would leave on an errand or a walk and my husband would try to give her about 2 oz or so - at first she rarely took it but she eventually got the hang of it and now she takes them like a champ. I think part of the success was that we weren't offering the bottle when she was raving and hungry - she was satisfied and happy, so that was one less stressor. It was a challenge, though.

Best wishes

Try changing nipples and sizes. My son did the same thing. We bought 17 different nipples, but found he preferred the orthapedic Gerber nipples...and we had to have bigger holes (older ages) to make it easier for him to suck. It is all about what is easiest and most comfortable to a baby. If it is easiet to get milk from the bottle nipple they will start preferring that over the breast. We had to jumble between both for a while to get him to do both. If you want the baby to go back to the breast...get the tiny holed infant nipples again. Sounds crazy but it worked.

My daughter now 10months had the same trouble. What I did was to put her in her car seat and just kept giving her the bottle she eventually took it. Everytime she would turn away from the bottle I would follow her with the bottle it worked great to have her in the car seat because I was not holding her. She was able to come to work with me up until then and I to was nervouse about her not taking it. Big thing is to relax as she can feel your tension. She will get it eventually.
Also, I had to use the playtex brown colored nipples for her and to this day that is the only one she will drink from. It took about 1/2 hour to get her to drink from the bottle but eventually she did. As for the pacifier she did not take that until she was almost 6 months old. She just did not want it. I kept it in front of her and one day she just picked it up and started to use it.
Good Luck! and keep trying. She will get it eventually. :)

Best of Luck, Sheree'

My DD refused taking a bottle until 9 months of age. After she was born, we gave her one bottle a day per her pediatrician's advice, and then at 4 months we slacked for two weeks. That was enough - she flat out refused a bottle after that. We tried everything - syringes, different kinds of bottles, different nipples, different people feeding her, and eventually our pediatrician told us to stop trying because she probably wouldn't ever accept a bottle. She does take one now, but we thought she would never do it.

I disagree with the PP about this not being an excuse to not accept a job. What's more important? I've heard that babies won't starve themselves and will eventually take a bottle, but I think it's an inhumane proposition. Transitioning your daughter to daycare while not fully equipped to take nourishment from a bottle rather than your breast will be traumatic. I don't mean to be harsh, but I think you should think long and hard about this and consider waiting until your daughter is better equipped to go into the care of another person.

Keep trying different bottles (can you borrow any from a friend?). Check the nipples to make sure the flow is just right for her.

We had to use Daddy to work the bottle and a syringe at the hospital.

Ours gave up the bottle at 9 months, never liked the paci until 5 months. We struggled with transfering her over to a cup after 9 months to give me a break and now HATE the paci (it's days are very short lived!!!).

Can you leave her with another woman and see if she will eat from a bottle?

Good luck to you!

I had problems with my daughter taking a bottle. I breastfed while on maternity leave and tried a bottle a few weeks before going back to work and she wouldn't take it. I finally tried Breastflow bottles by First Years and she took those.

Have you tried different kinds of bottles. When we first gave my little one a bottle she refused and so i went and got a few differnt kinds and tried them. We finally found one that work which was not the same one that worked with my first child who was also breastfeed. We used the nuk bottles for him and my little girl now will only take the soothie bottles.

Don't turn down a good job because of this! (I'm a career counselor and know just how hard it is now to land a job.) Your daughter will eventually learn to drink from a bottle. Pick a bottle and nipple that looks as much like yours as possible and stick with it. I'm sure you'll get lots of specific tips, but the one that was important to my baby was to have the milk/formula heated until quite hot (body temp).

My daughter started daycare at 3 months and the daycare workers eventually got her to drink from the bottle. I did worry about her during that time, but no baby will starve themselves. If you have an experienced daycare provider, they have dealt with this before.

Ok, you are going to have to just pick one battle now. Throw the nuk idea out the window for now and just work on the bottle issue. The bottle is a nutrition issue. First off, choose a smart bottle. Choose one with a dome shape nipple. Advent ones are good. Then make sure you are using at least a med flow nipple. Many times moms who have not bottled frequent are still using the newborn one that is in the orginal package which is for sure a no go with older babies. You next need to use fresh exspressed breastmilk that has not been in the fridge or frozen.

Leave her with a person she is USE to caring for her. Not someone who only plays with her or visits. Needs to be a care taker of her that changes diapers, etc. Also the night before, sleep in a teeshirt. Do NOT wash it and give it to the person who is caring for her. Now you leave the house. Hugs kisses; see you soon and leave. You would have feed her an hour before. The caregiver then needs to be relaxed and before she gets hungry but after they have had some relaxed time together, give her the bottle. Timing is a center element. She would have to had some relax time with the person, she would have to not be hungry, but not be full either. Catch her before she gets too sleepy too. Offer the fresh breastmilk. No need to heat it as you would have pumped it right before leaving (remember you have 10 hours to use it sitting out). The caregiver then needs to drape the shirt over the front and soulder of them while they give her the bottle. Let her snuggle in to your shirt as they feed her. The smell of you will make her a lot more accepting. Good luck.

Hi V.,

That has got to be hard. When did you first start introducing the bottle? It is best for someone else to offer it to her...she will get hungry and need to eat. But make sure it is a warm, comfortable, secure embrace...maybe when you know she is really tired--she will be less apt to be stressed about what she is eating from. The other thing I am wondering is if maybe you should try a different bottle. What bottles are you using?

this is common and normal

2 resources:
www.askdrsears.com
www.llli.org.

find a local la leche league in your area or near you. its almost a guarantee that someone in a la leche league group has experienced the exact same thing that you are going through. :D best advice is from someone who's been there.

other things to consider; the bottle nipple being either too strong, or too weak, or the wrong shape, etc.

good luck. this happens a lot, and you have to trust that your baby is just trying to tell you something. :D i hope you find some great advice.

Hi V.,

Seperation from the breast and child can be a very difficult thing for both of you. There is a bond or connection that the two of you get from doing so. I breast fed my daughter also and when I felt it was time to ween her from my breast I started using a breast pump that way she is still getting your milk just not in the same manner. Having her dad feed her or even friends or family members also helps disconnect her from your breast. You just have to be diligent in continuing with the bottle and eventually things will fall in place. Don't give up, just be patient. This is a hard thing for her to get used to. My daughter was the same way.

Have you had anyone try giving it to her in a cup? (Take out the spill proof thing so she won't have to suck hard.) Or how about a spoon.

Otherwise ask if you could start the job in another month or two.

I guess if it was me and I could afford to, I would just postpone the job and stay home with the baby. Especially with having this feeding issue. Your baby is more important than this job IF you can afford to stay home!

Our son ended up NEVER taking a bottle. I breastfed on demand STRICLY BREASTMILK till 9 months. We started baby food then and about a week or two later, some table food. He was breastfed for a total of 18 months. I wouldn't change a thing OR give up the special time we had together. You are the mom. Nobody else will be able to give her what you can.

Good luck.