Breastfeeder Won't Take a Bottle!

Try soaking a really soft blanky in some of your breast milk then letting it dry. Leave that with dad or the person that will be watching baby. When they get hungry and want to eat have the soft blanky rubbed against baby's face then while he searches for breast insert bottle in his mouth and keep the soft material constantly next to his chin and face like you would the breast. That was the only way i could trick my second child at 6 months to take a bottle while I was at the gym. let me know if it works - Good Luck

If your baby uses a paci, then maybe try using the same type of bottle as the paci he likes. Mine loves Playtex, we use the playtex drop-ins...

Good luck!

My son did the same thing. I still have every bottle imagineable. I kept trying and nothing worked. By the time he was 5months old, he was strictly on the breast. I couldn't let my little one cry after he had cried for five hours strait. I know how you feel as my husband would call me home all the time. The most I could leave for was 2 hours.

If you keep at it, he might just succumb but I didn't go off to work and leave him for any length of time, so that had a lot to do with it. Women who go off to work have a better chance of having a baby that will take the bottle as a baby doesn't have a choice. My husband couldn't stand to see his child cry either. In other words, I didn't have a choice either as if the person you're leaving your child with doesn't or can't handle the crying, then you have to feed you child. My son was basically still an infant and I didn't want him to starve. The last bottle my son took was in a Target parking lot.

My suggestion is to keep trying. Show your hubby this blog. I didn't sleep for almost 2 1/2 years until I weaned my son off the nights.

I am expecting my first, so I don't have any first hand knowledge. But a friend of mine has been going through the same thing as you for the last several months and I've stumbled on information for her during my preparation to becoming a mom.

There is bottle that is designed to flow much like the breast called The Breastflow Bottle by The First Years. Here are a couple links on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h5OOp-sOno

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3393703

And I also found a great post with lots of useful information on another board - http://community.babycenter.com/post/a13881325/help_baby_...

I hope this information helps. Good luck with your little one.

it's hard. just have whoever is with her 'work on it' while you are gone.
your baby won't starve- nurse before you go- I called it 'dine & dash' LOL!

seriously though, if your baby misses a feeding or even two, yes she will be miserable but she will make up for it as soon as you get home...

so just keep trying...

www.kellymom.com has a breastmilk calculator so you can figure out exactly how much she needs in a bottle and also the same sight will tell you HOW to feed a breastfed baby a bottle- they actually have to 'latch' on and the person giving it needs to do it SLOWLy- try slow-flow nipples...

I had a similar issue with my now 7-month-old who also refused a bottle. He was supplemented with formula until he was a month old and then exclusively breastfed until he was 5 months at which time we tried to give him a bottle again but he wouldn't have it. We tried Dr. Brown's, Medela and and finally had success with the Playtex latex nipples for the drop in bottles. They mimic the latch-on and are soft and shaped like a natural nipple. Don't get discouraged, it took a good 3 weeks before my son readily accepted the bottle -- persistence and patience. Good luck!

Some babies are so smart, they want the good stuff straight from Mom! Congrats on your baby. (I think we chatted via email about hypnobirthing when you were pregnant?)

I had a similar thing happen to me with my daughter. Other people will probably have better advice as my daughter just never took a bottle again after 4 months. I eventually just switched her to sippy cups around 5-6 months. I just wanted to mention that the reason I believe she wouldn't take the bottle was because I had a lipase problem. That will give pumped milk a soapy/musty smell. The milk is not bad at all, but some babies object to the taste. I found that I had about 24 hours before the lipase would break down and my milk would get that smell/taste. It's different for different people though. With my son (who luckily takes bottles, even cold) the lipase issue doesn't kick in for 4-5 days now. Just a thought if you continue to struggle with bottles.

While she was refusing to take bottles, ways I got around it were to nurse her right before I left or to put her down for a nap and go out while she was sleeping. 3 months was a super needy time for her and I quit going out at night for a while because she was so miserable while I was gone (and this was when she was still taking a bottle). My son luckily has an easier disposition so it's been easier.

Good luck! I'm sure they'll be some Moms along who have successfully gotten their babies back on the bottle. =)