Baby Wants Bottle Not Breast

You might want to try to breastfeed before the baby is fully awake for a feeding. she would not be so frustrated with the milk not coming in as fast as a bottle. Another option would be to try a breast shield, which feels more like a nipple on a bottle.

I had the same problem when I had my daughter, I ended up just pumping because I was still breast feeding and I still got to be close to her . I hope all works out for you

It is usually best to have all the feedings on the breast if you are around. This will keep your supply up. La Leche League is a great place for information and support. Sometimes the problem is the immediate "letdown" in the bottle, so maybe try and express a little so when it is time to feed the milk is right there for her. My daughter refused to take a bottle when I worked and my husband asked me to to try and get her "used" to it, I didn't because it is better for her to just have the breast from me. He gave her a sippy cup instead and she has done much better with that (started at about 4 months old, and was able to hold it herself by about 5 months). I think this helped us to not have nipple confusion and she is a pro nurser now at 8 months. Good luck!

My son did the same thing around 3 1/2 months. He had been feeding just fine from both both breast and bottle from 6 weeks. And then he went through a jag for about a month where he wanted either only the bottle or only the breast at a given time. (Makes me wonder if there is a developmental change around 3 months that contributes to this issue....)

I did notice that he tended to want the breast at night and the bottle during the day, which was his schedule during the week when I went back to work at 3 months -- so I think he was actually trying to follow the plan.

Like Kelly, I would give him some bottle and then sneak in the breast after he was more relaxed. He was always fine with nursing on the breast in the middle of the night when he was sleepy, so I kept that up as much as possible, even if it meant a little more wake-time for me.

And after a few weeks, he mellowed out again. He's 10 months and still nurses and bottle feeds, sometimes in the same feeding -- so I have faith your daughter will work it out too.

Hi,
I had some challenges with breastfeeding in the beginning of my son's life. I wasn't producing enough milk. The silver lining fro your situation is you are still able to give your baby breast milk... does it really matter if it comes directly from your breast or a bottle? It's already crazy enough taking care of an infant and being sleep deprived. Just think... then your significant other would have an opportunity to help too while you get some sleep!
Good Luck, L.

The bottle takes no work compared to the breast, so often babies will prefer the bottle. Keep trying! Call your La Leche League right away or a lactation consultant. The money you pay her is nothing compared to buying formula or the time you'll spend pumping. You CAN do this, but get help right now. It will be worth it.

I dont know where you live in the valley but I would suggest calling Jennifer at Every Mother and Child she is listed in Local Businesses on here and she is very helpful when it comes to breastfeeding if she cant help you she can refer you to someone that can. I would start there first. Her phone number is ###-###-#### generally store hours are 9:30am till 6:00pm

I would say just keep trying! I had a lot of trouble with breastfeeding at first and pumped almost exclusively from the time she was 5 days old until she was a few weeks (breastfeeding her once every few days while I healed). I found that breastfeeding her while lying down seemed to work best because we were both relaxed and I didn't have to try and manage holding her at the same time. You might also try turning on some relaxing music and feeding her from a bottle for just a few minutes so she's not super hungry and prone to getting so frustrated. I will tell you that with me the breastfeeding came easily sometimes and others was a 15-20 minute latching process, but after a while it starting clicking and she actually starting preferring breastfeeding over the bottle. I know it's not the same exact situation but your daughter may change her preference back to breastfeeding too if you just hang in there. Hope that helps and good luck.

hi I.. i wanted to write to offer support. my baby girl did the exact same thing. i started her on the bottle so dad could help a little bit later then you but everything else was/is the same. she is almost five months old now. i also have a 15 and a half month old son. i was given a lot of suggestions.....nursing in different positions, don't give her the bottle, spend time kangarooing, as much time as possible skin to skin,relax and just focus on being with her, keep trying, see if you can't get her to latch on at night when she is really sleepy. i hope they help you guys... sadly, my little one has not returned to breast. i pumped for over a month before my milk supply went way down and i was getting so tired from waking to both pump and feed her in the night. sending you hope.

Be persistent!
Put her to the breast before she is hungry
Use hot washclothes, as hot as you can stand, to encourage letdown just before she nurses. She is probably frustrated that milk doesn't come as quickly out of your boobies as it does from the bottle.

My daughter is doing the exact same thing..she'll be 3 months on the 25th of this month..and I try and breastfeed and she turns her head and began to cry..I still try to breastfeed before giving her the body...even though it's not working..

i have two boys. the first one hd a hard time latching on and would gag when i put him to the breast. so i tried for one month and then just pumped and gave it to him in a bottle. the most important thing is the milk itself at least the first 3 months.i stopped pumping when he was 6 months and he went to a sippy cup after that. he is now 6'4" 190 lbs and is 29 yrs old he has always been healthy except for normal illnesses like chicken pox and very rarely got colds. he was 11 lbs 8 oz at birth. my second was born at 31 weeks he was 4lbs 2 oz. he loved to breast feed. so much that he breast fed until he was 3 yrs old. i know that is a bit much, my mom didnt beleive in breastfeeding at all and she would be so embarassed. she sused to tell me that he was going to take me to the prom, leave me outside and come out for a sip every once in a while. i knwo he wasnt getting much nutrition at that age but it was mostly a comfort thing. he is also a healthy young man. very athletic. we both run 5 miles each morning and he runs more after school. he is on the cross country team at school and runs competitively. he is also on the wrestling team. runner up and state champion fo the last 2 yrs and hopefully agian this year. he is 6' and weighs 152 lbs. he has no medical problems other than the occassional scrapes and bruides from sports. he was always the smallest one in class until his sophomore year when he grew 4 inches in a month and he did have leg pains and hip pains from growing so fast and he got stretch marks on his hips. he is very concious about his diet and health and as a result i have to be healthy too because he doesnt allow junk food in the house. as you can see children can be completly different. but as long as they get what they need, they will hopefully grow up healthy.

I did the nipple guard when our son didn't want to nurse. It worked great and we only had to use them for a few days. You can get them at most any baby section. Ours were made by Medela.

My other thought is would a nipple that made your daughter work a little harder at the bottle help so that there isn't such a big difference between the bottle and you? I'm sorry I can't say more. I had one son who couldn't care less who fed him or how and one who once he decided to nurse never took anything else. I hope you can find something that works.

There are several things you can do. First of all let me tell you I have been certified in lactation so I should be able to assist you.

It is much easier for a baby to suck on a bottle then on a nipple and so sometimes if you start a child on a bottle too early, they can get nipple confusion. Generally we like to have them wait until they are 6-8 weeks old before starting them on a bottle. However it sounds as if you child started prior to that which is okay we just need to get your child back on the breast.

There are several things that can be causing it, tension can be a big one. If you are tense and your milk is not coming in fast enough or even perhaps too fast, your child will react that way. If you have a lot of milk coming in I would suggest pump a little bit first to get your let down and then latch your child on. If that does not work you can also try different holds (what I mean by this is perhaps your child will only breastfeed laying down verses sitting up, or vice versa). There is also a breastfeeding support group at Renown every Tuesday and Thursday from 10-11:00am. You could always attend, it is free, on the second floor. One of the lcatation nurses could assist you as well.

Best of luck.

Babies like fast milk flow. She has learned that she gets the milk faster out of the bottle. Don't try and force her to the breast, it only makes them mad. I would start giving her just enough of your expressed milk in a cup or by finger feeding, even through a dropper or spoon, then try the bresat when she is calm. You can also get a lactation aid, and feed her at the breast with it. This will give her the quick flow and the illusion that the breast is giving her that. You need to make sure the latch is good, so she is getting maximum flow from you. Chin should touch the breast, not the nose and most of the areola should be covered by her mouth. When she is sucking properly you will see a open-pause-close type suck. Keep trying the breast, especially when she is sleepy at night or at naps, most of the time they will nurse when sleepy. Lay with her when you can skin to skin to allow her the opportunity to take the breast. And don't worry about your husband feeding her, they will bond in thier own special way, and you can always make him feed her when she starts solids and is messy!!! Let him take her and calm her down if you get frustrated, take a few minutes to yourself, and try again later. And don't forget La Leche Leaugue, they can help you with any problem. Don't give up, you are doing a great job, and giving your baby the best . good luck
T.

My daughter did the same thing at around 2.5 months old. She's now 3 months. I'm not sure if I did the "right" thing but it worked for us. I would put about 2 ounces in a bottle and feed her just to get her to calm down, then I would try to nurse her. Most of the time it worked great. Sometimes I had to put an extra ounce in and then she would nurse. I always made sure to have her nurse though.

Hope that helps!

I had a friend that used a nipple guard ( I think that is what it was called). Her son also took well to the bottle though, because the guard had a similar feel to it...you might try it.

At about three months old an infant realizes that there is more to the world than mom and dad. They are able to focus more on objects and can spend minutes upon hours staring at objects, faces, toys, etc. Therefore, it is at about this age that breastfeeding infants want to look at the world around them as they eat. I experienced this with both of my children, who went on to breastfeed until 14 months and the other until 20 months. I have also seen countless children in all of my experiences exhibit these behaviors.

Be persistent. Do not offer her the bottle. Nipple confusion is real and can affect your breastfeeding. She will eventually latch back on and take to breasfeeding. I used to escape to our room, lay on my bed with my children and breastfeed that way. There were no distractions and the bond between us became stonger. I also used to turn off the tv and sit in a comfortable chair and relax before I would feed my children. The key is to be relaxed and to not focus so much on how much she is getting, rather that both of you are comfortable and not distracted.

I can remember crying on the floor of our living room, rocking my daughter back and forth as she screamed her little head off. I so desperately wanted to breastfeed her and she just was not showing interest. She would nurse for one minute and then pull off to look around. It was so hard, but I stuck with it(mostly because we could not afford formula) It took a few days of hard work, but it paid off. We did it, we accomplished it and we were a happy breastfeeding pair from then on! I know you can do it! Best wishes:)