My Child Won't Take a Bottle

I think you should reconsider the cost of working vs. the income you bring in. Your baby needs you, not just nourishment, if that's what you want to call formula. Your baby knows what she needs. I would stay home longer.

Good luck!

~A.

1 mom found this helpful

The only thing I can say in addition to the other posts is it is VERY important to try different nipple flows as you want it to be as close to the breast experience for the baby as possible. When I went back to work I failed to plan on this situation and panicked a little when I realized I had 1 week to get my son used to taking a bottle. Bottom line - have someone else give the bottle (baby won't take it from you, wants breast), try playtex nipple with medium flow and experiment, don't give up, it will all work out when you go back to work. The baby will get hungry and you will not be there so it just happens. I pumped for 11 months after going back to work and am so happy I stuck it out. Next challenge...weaning. lol...that's a different post. God bless you.

You might find that if you are there she won't take a bottle no matter what. If your breast is around why would she want to. Try leaving the house for short periods of time when a close family member is there for one of her feedings and see how she does. Rest assured that she will not starve herself. If you have to leave her and she refusses the bottle she may just nurse more when you get back home. She will eventually figure it out...but not if she doesn't have to;o)

Not sure why someone would say that 3 months is too young to get her to take a bottle... very odd there. I had to get my baby on the bottle to get her going to daycare right at 3 months. I spent almost a week getting her to take a bottle. I would nurse her in the morning at night and give her a bottle during the day. At first she fought it left and right. I would try for about 10-15 minutes, and then would have to nurse her at the beginning. But eventually, with persistance on my part, she took it.

Some people say the non-nursing parent needs to give her the bottle. That didn't work in our case. However, what did work was to put her in a different position than she was used to. If I would hold her in my lap, she equated with breast. So I put her in our baby papasan (LAMB) and she took the bottle after a little coaxing. After that, I could hold her in my lap to feed.

Be strong. She will take it...

I returned to work after my first child, and he never went 1 entire day on the bottle before I returned to work. And he had no problems taking the bottle during the day while I was at work. I'm not sure what your work hours will be, but will you not be at home when your baby wakes up and goes to bed? If you are gone during the day during traditional work hours, I would recommend breast feeding first thing in the morning and at night before bed. Those are the hardest transition times for babies and usually the last feedings to go when weaning. I would make the practice bottles during the day, and have someone else give them to her. At two months my youngest (now 4 months) stopped taking the bottle from me but will take it from Dad. Also, are you pumping and giving breast milk in the bottle or are the bottles formula? If you're using formula, she may be rejecting formula and not the bottle. Good luck!

I fully agree with the advice about switching bottles/nipples. It can make all the difference. I was having the same problem with my oldest daughter. I found that she would accept the Playtex Nurser style bottles.

My first was the same way. Unfortunately, you will have to leave and let the person feeding continue while they are crying. That is what my husband had to do. He told me one day that she just cried through the entire feeding and it was miserable for them both. I also remember a time I was in a restaraunt and tried to give my 2 month old a bottle and she screamed at the top of her lungs. I even tried to have my friend feed her but the screaming just got worse and everyone was looking at me. Finally, I went to the car to breastfeed her. (I was a little more shy breastfeeding with my first) However, she eventually got used to it; she really had no choice b/c I couldn't be with her 24/7. She was very attached to me and still is :) Hang in there and just have other people give her the bottle periodically and she will get the hang of it before you go back to work. My second had no problem with the bottle. Kids are just very different.

My kids were all different when it came to the bottle - my oldest initially just wouldn't eat when I went to work - she wouldn't cry - but she wouldn't take a bottle - I held off until she was actually able to take some solids before going back to work (she was about 7 months old) she would nurse the minute I went to pick her up and then the rest of the day and night (I only worked 2 days...)

My middle child took the bottle fine with breast milk or formula - he would eat anything!

My youngest NEVER took a bottle no matter how hard we tried, and I never went back to work when she was a baby - I couldn't leave her EVER... We tried EVERY bottle and nipple on the market, sippy cups, droppers, regular cups, spoon feeding breast milk - you name it - she had no part of it! We later learned she was "tongue tied" and just couldn't latch on to the nipples... ah wish we had known that sooner.

Have you tried someone else giving the bottle when you are NOT in the room?? If they can see and smell you - they will want you.

You may need to try different types of nipples and check the flow on the ones you have(slow, med, fast) She may not like the nipple or she may be having trouble getting milk out if the flow is too slow.

Bless your heart. Your child chose your breast milk over bottle feeing. Are you not lucky!!!!! This is what most mothers pray for. Some mothers do not have enough breast milk to feed their infants.
Try consider your child and put her first before work for a couple of months. Four to six months is not bad atal. A mother's breast milk is the best milk,if nothing else, it fights infections.
Have you tried using breast pump to save your breast milk in a bottle? Do you know you form a special bond when you hold your child to breast feed her? If you do not do it now, when else? This is just one stage in a child's lifespan. That job would always be there for you if it is destined for you or you would find something better. Take one day at a time, nourish, nurture your child.

On the other hand, some babies have problem swallowing, call for medical attention. Try to give pure water to clear her throat for any dislodgment. If is a big child, breast milk will not fill her up so fast, do both bottle and breast-feeding. Some big babies start taking semi-solids as early as six months. It could be the baby is not satisfied with bottle-feeding or do not like the taste.
Also, you might want to change the baby-food. Try a different formula. Your baby might be allergic to ingridients in the current formular. Most babies like similac with iron.If condition still persists, check her for possible sore-throat or tonsillitis with a pediatrics or family physician and treat the cause.

Ask your employer for more maternity leave. He or she would understand. We are all humans.

Goodluck,

J. I.( a mother of three grown children).

She is too young to wean. You will have to schedule your time without her between feedings. Some babies are more dependent on the breast than other, but 3 months is too young to wean. SORRY!

Have someone else feed her the bottle when you're not in the room - my son won't take a bottle if I'm holding him or if I'm in the room - but he'll take it just fine if I'm not there.

I am so sorry that you are having this problem. I know it can be frustrating. As Cricket said, you may need to try different nipples. Also, make the temp as close to breast milk as you can, not warm, not cold, more like room temp. Make sure it is someone other than you giving her the bottle, you need to be out of the room so she can't smell you. If you are going back to work I would nurse AM and PM and offer bottle in the daytime. What does your ped say? Lactation consultants can be helpful here, too. Do you have one that you can call?

You could try a sippy cup with a softer tip. She might prefer it. If you do this, try one of the better transtion bottle to cup sets. The cheaper ones may allow the milk to flow too fast and cause her to gag. I hope that you find what works for you.

If you have not tried the Breastmade bottles yet, give them a shot. My daughter had no problems taking them.

Neither of mine would take breastmilk from the bottle, only formula. I uses Enfamil Gentlease (in the purple can) as it was the easiest on their tummy.

You can try nursing her for a bit and then switching to a bottle. If she is really hungry then all she'll want is the breast but if you satiate her a bit and then try the bottle it may work. My daughter was weird about bottles and the only one she'd take is the Soothie brand (like the pacifiers you get at the hospital). Also you can try to have someone else feed her the bottle because she can smell the breast milk on you and of course that's all she wants. I think someone else said this already but warm up the breast milk or formula a lot. Most breastfed babies like their food warm :)

My daughter wouldn't take the bottle! We tried all the tricks and all the bottles and read all the help we could find online. She refused! We would force her to eat using a medicine dropper. Then on the second day I was back to work, she took one with no fuss!! Sometimes she will fuss a little now but she takes one like a pro! Good luck! They kept telling me, if she is hungry, she will eat. Finally she did!!

M.,

I have 2 girls and neither one of them would ever take a bottle. I even put my first daughter in a MDO program just so she would learn to take a bottle and she would just not eat from 9-2pm. The would offer her a bottle and she wouldn't take it. Enjoy breastfeeding!