Will He Ever Take a Bottle?

I don't mean to be rude, I really don't.

Why in the world would you WANT to leave your small baby for a few days??? I don't get that?

And are you switching him to formula just because you want to get away from him??? (Honest question here)

Maybe I'm weird but there's no way in the world anyone could separate me and any of my babies EVER for more than a few hours. I just can't think of anything I would want to do that I couldn't do with my baby.

I don't mean to ramble, I'm just thinking it through...I don't get it.

Anyway, you can pump your milk and place in the fridge, collect several ounces through a few different sessions, when all the ounces are cooled to the temp in the fridge you can pour them together into a larger amount to freeze. Unless your planning to leave this weekend you should have enough time to pump an appropriate amount for your baby. Another thing to keep in mind, if you're trying to give an exclusely breastfed baby a bottle mom should be out of the room because s/he can smell your milk and prefers it. Remember, too, that your breastmilk tastes completely different from any formula, there's an extremely sweet and sugary foremilk and then a rich fatty hind milk; formula is the same from start to end in taste and consistency. Your milk also changed from day to day, meal to meal, depending on what you have eaten. Some babies don't like to give that up. (I wouldn't either--I like veriety and sweet). If you keep those things in mind you'll be able to come up with a solution that will work. Keep in mind also that swithing formulas too much can upset your baby's stomach from mildly to severe--my nephew would projectile vomit because my sister would use a different formula all the time until the doctor told her to quit...to pick on and still with it...so be consistant with whatever you choose so he as the ability to adapt to it instead of trying to catch onto an everchanging "new" thing.

Have fun.

2 moms found this helpful

Of my 4 only one would take a bottle even though with the first 2 I had to go to work. My oldest son would starve himself all day while I was at work, refusing a bottle all day until he was 10 months old and finally gave into a sippy cup. My second, I was not producing milk so he took a bottle full on at 5 weeks no problem but I had no milk smell and he was starving by then. My last 2 nursed until they were 16 months each, no bottle ever! We tried to go out with the 3rd when he was about 7 months old and ended up coming home to a frantic baby. I never bothered introducing one again. I have to agree with another poster. Babies are free on the plane and it's no big deal to take one along in a sling if you are nursing. If you need to go out at all while you are there, most hotels offer a good sitting service referral or you might have family/friends/business partners who have a good sitter you could use.

1 mom found this helpful

You can try until you can't stand it anymore, but if your son is like mine and many others, he just won't be happy with anything other than your breast. I could be wrong, but I tried the pumping thing with both of our kids so that my husband could be a part of feeding, but to no avail. Breastfeeding is what he has known for six months, and that is going to be hard to change. Personally, I wouldn't put him through the discomfort if he is really resistant. I also wouldn't be taking a trip without my very young kids. Is there some way your kids could come with you so that you can keep the feeding routine you have? They make really great wraps that even big babies can fit in comfortably while you are enjoying sight seeing or whatever. My daughter also fit in an umbrella stroller until she was almost 4. Of course this is just a thought and just my opinion. Good luck and enjoy CA.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi R.,

I went throught the same thing with my daughter. Eventually I gave up the bottle and gave her a sippy cup. I had to mix breast milk with formula for a while gradually increasing the ratio to formula. Be persistent and consistent and take your time. If possible have someone else give him the sippy when you are not around.

Good luck!
R.

he probably won't take a bottle. Babies get very set in their ways and have opionons (as I'm sure you're noticed) about how their food ought to be delivered. My thoughts: try a learner/sippy cup and see if he'll take that. Gerber makes some really great ones. My niece would take a cup and not a bottle. As far a formula goes, good luck. I don't know what to tell you except that when he want milk bad enough, he'll probably eventually take the formula. Try having your husband or other care taker try to give him fomula... he may refuse it from you becuase you are supposed to nurse him in his mind. Good luck!

Oh... and you might try the first years "breast-flow" bottle. I've heard that a good number of exclusivly breast babies will tolerate that one.

Hi R.,

If you're nervous about it being gentle, my daughter drank Alimentum by Similac. Its really expensive (about 25 for a small can) but it was the only thing she could tolerate with her reflux. I think it's fairly close to breast milk. Regular formula has lots of bubbles, soy seems to have less (my daughter's been on all three kinds). I think the taste of Alimentum is fairly mild as well.

You might want to try different bottles as well. I nursed for the first three months, then because I didn't make a lot of milk, I supplemented then went over to just the bottle. I used the Playtex nursing system. The nipples are shaped more like a breast (especially their orthodontic nipples). Maybe its the nipple he doesn't like. Also, if you still want to nurse when you get back, you can get slow nipples, that keeps the flow of milk more like the breast.

Anyway, hope that helps. Have a great vacation!!!
J.

My 4th won't take a bottle (I haven't tried the MAM yet)my friend that watches her found that if she held her sitting up w/ the baby's back to her chest instead of the traditional cradle hold she took it better. Seems that she was missing all the other things she gets from nursing... nurturing, skin to skin contact, mommy connection, hearing my heartbeat etc.

Have you tried mixing a little formula in with some breastmilk, then half, then 3/4, then all formula?
You'd hate to put him and his caregiver through any tough times, but rest assured that if he knows what a bottle is already, and knows how to use it sometimes, he will eat when he gets hungry!

Another thought--my son took a sippy cup around 7 months. Have you tried one of those? I got one with oz. markings so I could mix formula right in the cup.

Other ideas are using a spoon or eyedropper to feed the formula. It might be all that he needs at the beginning of the feeding to get him interested in a bottle.

My son will take adiri bottles. They're rather expensive (12 for one) but the lady from WIC said most babies can't tell the difference and Jax seems to be fine with it.

I heard that bottles are slower flowing than the breast and he could be frustrated with that. We used the Avent with the nipple that was almost flowing by itself--I can't remember what it is called, but it had a huge hole in it. It worked. We also found that our babies preferred Carnation formula--it didn't smell as bad and the taste wasn't horrible. It also has the milk protein broken down so it is easier to digest....And, remember, if he gets hungry enough, he will eat.

Hi! I went through the same thing with one of my daughters, we wanted to go out of town for the weekend, but my mom said she needed to be doing well on the bottle or I had to take her with me! Have you tried different bottles? It was the thing my mom suggested to me. We went out and looked at them and found the First years Breastflow bottle. It was designed by a latation consultant and has a double nipple on it that it supposed to be like breastfeeding. I came home from the store, washed it, handed the baby and bottle to my husband and left the room - and bam! she took it! We tried it with a friend of mine as well. It didn't take quite as quickly, but after some attempts, he will take it. You just have keep trying - he will take it! And do not feel bad about going away for a weekend - there is nothing wrong with that and it will be good for you!

My oldest dd NEVER took a bottle- we tried a couple times with no success. Finally my sister in law let me borrow all of her bottles, just so I could try out some different ones to see if she would take to one. She finally found one that she 'liked' but she would eat soooo slow from it (she would nurse in 10 minutes or less, but would take over an hour to eat from a bottle) so we finally just gave up! Sorry, that's probably not what you wanted to hear!
Try some different nipples to see if you want find one that he likes!

We tried changing the nipples on the bottle...also mixing half breast milk and half formula to "break him in".
Hope that helps,
D.

maybe try some baby food and water for a few days? goat's milk is especially healthy too if you can get that.

My 3 month old would not take a bottle at all. I finally tried the MAM bottle, they are expensive, but it worked. She know takes it great. Good luck!

I had a very similar problem. I was to go back to work and started trying to get my son (now 10 months) to take a bottle when he was 6 months old. I tried MANY different kinds. The ones that he ended up liking were First Years Breast Flow bottles. Babies have to suck from it similar to the breast. However, he would only take 1-3 oz from it the entire day! (but this was better than other bottles we tried where he would just chew on them). When he went to daycare and saw the other babies takinng the bottle, he actually started taking 8-10 oz/day! (which still isn't much, but good for him). The other advise people gave me was to have someone else feed him with the bottle. My son associates me with nursing and so it's confusing for him to be offered the bottle by me. The other one that he kind of liked was Adiri (they are at BBR'Us). But these leaked a lot, so we took them back. If you have any way of having someone else feed your son and he has the opportunity to see other babies take the bottle, perhaps this will work. Or perhaps try him on a sippy cup. We tried that too when he was 6 months old and refused the bottle. Good luck.

Hi I have a similar problem, I too have a son that will not take a bottle. So I really don't have advice on that. But as for the soy formula goes, Soy is a natural estrogen and you really do not want your baby boy to have excess estrogen. I personally would steer clear of the soy formula. Also keep me posted if you find a bottle that your son will take, Like yours my baby will only nurse and it sure does make it hard to leave for longer than 2 hours!!! Good Luck!

I would say if he can smell you that can cause some issues for him wanting to breast feed instead. Have your husband or someone else offer him the bottle and formula. Start by just a little formula and add in breast milk and then start slowly adding more formula with each bottle. Try offering him a sippy cup even with half breast milk and half formula.
Having to get him started on a bottle now and break him of it in five months can be tricky too.
I would say don't mix up his formulas if you don't have to and find one that works for you. Soy and Lactose free formulas can cause constipation too.
If he needs specifically these formulas do half and half.
I had my daughter on the concentrate instead of the powder, I mixed a pitcher of it in the morning and made the bottles of it for the day, seemed to agree with her and she liked it a great deal more. However I had to use Nutramigen with her and concentrate is more pricey but easier to measure, mix and make a few bottles at a time.
Hang in there...Have a great trip! I think it is great you can take some time for yourself, have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Skip the bottle and go straight to a cup. Not a sippy, but one without a lid. He's old enough to learn how. Start with a bit of breast milk (just a tiny bit so it doesn't make a big mess). Help him hold the cup and let him see and smell the milk. Gently tip the cup until he gets some on his lips. At first it is mostly going to spill, but keep at it. He should pick up before long. Sometime I used a small spoon to put some in baby's mouth and moved the cup closer until he was expecting it from the cup. After he is drinking, you can start giving juice and formula from the cup. Hopefully you have a month or more before your trip - it will give you more time to teach him to drink from a cup and be getting enough milk from it.
Good luck!

R.,
I don't have alot of advice for you, other than what some others suggested, such as having someone else feed him, try a sippy cup and mix formula and breastmilk. what I did want to offer was some support. I read alot of the responses, and although a few people out there think it is horrible to be away from your baby for a few days, there are many more out there that think and know it is ok to want a break. Babies are VERY hard work. women are all wired differantly. Some need breaks and are better mothers when they are given those breaks. Others are maytrs. I would lay down my life for my children, I love them more than anyone in the entire world, yet I know my limits, and I know that a day or two away with my husband is just what I need sometimes (heck even a few hours is all I need sometimes). I've run across this same critism before, and from gathering support from friends and family it seems these people are a minority. My step mom gave me some wonderful advice when a woman chastized me for working. "She told me you are your children's mother, you know what is best for them better than anyone else. Trust yourself and you do no owe an explanation to anyone...maybe your husband" So take your trip, enjoy and refresh yourself. allow your children to bond to grandma/grandpa(or whoever is watching them while you are away). You will be amazed how much you miss them, and how happy you are to see them again, but you will be so grateful for the reprive. But don't feel guilty!!