6 Month Old Breastfed Baby Suddenly Rejecting Bottle

That happened to my son although he was younger--he was 3 months and had never really taken the bottle very well in the first place. I never did get him to take a bottle after that and he went straight from nursing to a cup at 14 months. Your situation sounds different since she is older and was taking the bottle well before. I would consult a lactation consultant; most hospitals or clinics should be able to set you up with someone. Good luck.

I was thinking you may want to try a faster flow nipple,if it seems like she is getting impatient. The other possibility is that she is getting some new teeth and has discomfort while sucking. Just some ideas, best of luck.
A.

Im guessing that when she was sick, you were with her nad nursing her full time? If thats the case, just give it time, she will get back to her old routine nad start accepting a bottle again with time. Just try to keep in mind that she will not starve, and will eat when she is hungry, but babies are stubborn little things, and if she thinks seh can hold out for the breast, she will.

But again, she got into the habit of having you around full time to nurse, and jsut needs to get back into the habit of taking abottle when you are at work. SHe will, just be patient and keep offering.

My son is 5 months now and also went through this - and still occassionally does. I too became worried when he started eating only 1 oz at daycare compared to his 6-8 oz. The Pediatrician advised that this it is not uncommon for breastfed babies to prefer the breast over the bottle. They will eat when they are hungry and if the bottle is the only option at the time then they will take it. He also advised that as long as they have 1 wet diaper in a 12hr period that there's no concern about dehydration. Just make sure that when you are home you're supply is good because that's when they'll make up for the feedings! Good luck ;)

My daugther who is now 8 months old started out to take bottle pretty well. She was given bottle after she was born since she was in the intensive care unit and I would nursed her when I can. Couple weeks later, I was nursing her full time. By the time, I was ready to go back to work when she was 3 months old, she forgot about bottle and didn't want bottle. The first 2 weeks at daycare, she did not drink much but after a while she started to get used to it. This is probably different from your situation but I switched to a softer bottle nipple and she liked that better. So, maybe you can try out different bottle like Annie V was saying. When my daughter was refusing bottle, I was worry that she was not eating enough but eventually she was ok. Hope this helps!

I too bottle and breast fed my son for about 2 months, then he rejected the bottle and never took it again, I breast fed him until he was 13 months. I tried every type of bottle out there, worked with a lactation consultant too, he just wanted the breast. It did get easier in that once food and a sippie cup was introduced he didn't need to breast feed so often, and time away I just planned to feed him right before I left home and would be back for the next feeding. It's not the end of the world, my son is now 3 and a half and breast feeding was such a small amount of time when you look a the big picture :)