I am a new mother of a 3.5 month old boy. When he was 3 months old, he refused to take a bottle. I breast fed him primarily since the beginning and has only been given a bottle maybe 10 times in the first 3 months of life. Now, he is justy refusing it all together. It's as if he does not remember how to latch onto it or is just outright rejecting it. I work mostly from home, but when I need to run out on an appt. or just take him out with me, I need to bottle feed him. I am pumping, so it's not the formula he is rejecting. And I've bought all different bottles/nipples, nothing works. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I just want to say I am so glad that I happened upon this website a few days ago. I was just looking for a church in my new neighborhood and there it was. Everyone has been so incredibly helpful and kind. All of your advice was great. I went to the doctor's yesterday and she said that we could try cup-feeding and rice cereal since he's 2 weeks from turning 4 months. I bought a sippy cup with handles and a flexible spout, so cross your fingers! I'll introduce cereal in a couple of weeks. I worked so hard in the beginning to get breastfeeding down and really would like to do it for the next year if we can. It was really encouraging for me to find all of you had gone through similar experiences. It's a tough job this mothering thing...but so rewarding. And though father's try to lend a hand, sometimes I feel like a single parent. Thanks for all of your words of wisdom and support!!! I'll let you know how everything worked out.
N. W
My baby is 10 going on 11 months old and she just started taking a bottle like last month before that she wanted nothing to do with it. She would drink from like a normal cup though, it was messy but she would do it. I actully still breast feed her and i will whip one out with a blanket and feed her anywhere. after 11 months i dont care anymore, i dare someone to say something to me about it :)
I hope that cup or fingerfeeding will work out for you. I disagree that switching to exclusive pumping will help; direct breastfeeding is important for keeping your supply up and for helping the immunological benefits of breastfeeding, as well as that comfort and snuggliness. ;) Also, fyi, it's not really recommended to start any solids (inc cereal) before 6 months of age unless you're dealing with reflux, and they don't recommend cereal as a good first food anymore. New AAP guidelines. Your doc might be a little behind the times.
PS, do you have an LLL group near you? It can be a huge help to get together with someone in person who can help. :)
How about using an oral syringe? They can get a bit messy until you get the hang of them, but it's better than nothing. :)
N.,
My 6 month old son would not take a bottle until very recently. Even then, he absolutely will not take it from me. My husband has gotten him to take a bottle a couple times, but if I'm around, only I will do. The only thing I can suggest, is try having someone else give him the bottle if possible. Otherwise, throw a blanket over your shoulder and let him have at it. Most states now have laws in effect protecting the rights of breastfeeding mothers. As long as you are comfortable feeding him, there should not be a problem.
I breast fed only for a few weeks then gave it up, but my daughter refused the bottle also. So someone gave me the advice to have someone else feed her from the bottle, cause when its you, your baby knows your scent & wants to nurse. So I had my mom feed her a bottle of breast milk and she quickly adapted to it!! Hope this works for you!!
I had the same problem when my DD was a baby. Someone gave me the advice of giving my DD the breastmilk cold....it worked! I guess the warm breastmilk was too much like getting it "on tap", so she would refuse the bottle.
Good luck!
--L.
Hang in there N.. My son is now 7.5 months he was the same way. We found that at around 3.5 months he would drink from a sippy cup....the Nuby brand with a silicone spout, the hard spouts were too hard for him to suck from but the nuby one he could get the milk. It worked great for car rides when he was hungry and when my husband was watching him. I think that they don't like the free flow of the bottle and with the Nuby (sold at CVS, Kmart, Target, Babies R Us), they have to work for it a little. If he won't take anything though, just let him have the breast and keep trying the cup, soon, he will take it no problem.
My friend went through the same things with her daughter. She would only take the bottle of breastmilk if she was basically sleeping. She would not take breatsmilk form anything but the natural source- the boob! Some babies are that way. She suplemented with formula when a bottle was needed and breastfed when she was available.
good luck!
I think your son is confused between the breast and the bottle, obviously wanting the breast! My advice would be to pump and switch totally to the bottle 100%. Don't flip flop back and forth unless you can commit to strickly breast feeding.
Also, do you think it might be the formula you are using?? He might prefer another brand?!?!
I had the same problem with my daughter when she was 6 weeks old and I was getting ready to go back to work. I tried everything. The first couple of weeks fo daycare were stressful because she would not eat during the day at day care - but - as the pediatrician said - eventually she was hungry enough to accept the bottle. (The kind she finally accepted were the old fashioned playtex bottles (witht the disposable liners)
Hang in there - I know it is hard but it will get better.
if you absolutely have to be away from him and he wont take a bottle there are alternative ways of feeding. You can cup feed or finger feed. To cup feed you take a medicine cup and fill it about 1/2 way, then tip it so that the baby basically laps it up (kinda like a kitten would) or finger feeding you put a little milk on the tip of your finger and the baby licks it off. you can also use a supplemental nurser and fill it with breastmilk then tape the tube to your finger and the baby sucks it like they would at the breast. All are more time consuming than bottles, but can be done. We had to cup feed my third and use the supplementer with my youngest. (because of breastfeeding problems, not because of bottle rejection.) My youngest did reject the bottle, and I just took her everywhere until she was on a cup. If you are nervous about bf in public, practice being discrete at home in front of the mirror and it is alot easier.
