My Baby Doesn't like the bottle...please Help

Updated on December 19, 2006
B.D. asks from Smithtown, NY
10 answers

My 10 week old baby has been breastfeeding beautifully since he was born...but lately has been refusing the bottle on the rare occasions we attempt to bottle feed him pumped breastmilk. He was more receptive to a bottle and pacifier at first, but recently refuses both. He is in good health and has gained about 6 or 7 pounds since he was born. I have tried 3 types of bottles (Dr. Browns, Medela and Second Choice) and 4 types of pacifiers. I am beginning to get nervous that I will never be able to leave him with his father or a babysitter for more than 2 hours! Fortunately, I am not returning to work, otherwise I don't know what I would do. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

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R.L.

answers from New York on

B., Have you tried the Adiri Breastbottle? You can get them online. They're funny looking. Really looks like a small breast. Several moms have told me their babies refused bottles until they tried that one. Best of Luck!

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J.D.

answers from New York on

B.,

I had this problem with my son, and my best advice, is BREAK IT NOW!! What you are afraid of is exactly what happens. My son refused to take a bottle after about 2 mos, and that was just that. The key is consistency, and an acceptable bottle. You have to give him the bottle more trhan once every few weeks. Try to pump for one feeding a day, until he's willing to take the bottle without complaint. Have someone else besides you, give it. Many breastfed babies refuce the bottle from Mommy, because they know another choice is right there.

I have not used it myself, but I've heard good things about a bottle sold by One Step Ahead. It's a catalog company of really great kid's products, and their web site is onestepahead.com. The bottle is shaped just like a breast. You can't miss it on the site! Take a look at their feeding products section, and I guarantee you won't miss this thing.

I hope you have better luck than I did, because this problem is definitely on my list of mistakes not to make the second time!

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C.R.

answers from New York on

I had the same concerns when I had to go back to work but I went to Babies R Us and walmart and bought any bottle who's nipple resembled a human one the Gerber Comfort hold bottle worked out the best but they are hard to find the only place thats sells them is Walmart and with pacifiers luckily the first I tried worked which are the Nuk silicon nipples

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M.L.

answers from Burlington on

Hi there. I had the same problem with my son. I tried all those bottles with the funky nipples made for breast fed babies and stuff. The only ones that my son would accept was the Playtex Nursers. It does involve buying the liners and what not but if my son liked it and I could pump and fill so my mom, his daddy or my older kids could feed him then it was worth it. Also, it helped when he went to the sitters on those rare occasions when my mom couldn't be there. The only reason I could fathom that he liked them so well is that the nipples on the Playtex are more like a woman's than any other one's out there. I hope this helps.

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E.S.

answers from Elmira on

try paytex nursres they r more think ur nipple and nuk pasificer good luck Esta

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L.P.

answers from Hartford on

Hey! Try feeding via another method. Try an eyedropper, a sippy cup or a spoon. Sometimes little ones just will not take the bottle. But Dad might be able to get a little food into baby using one of the items mentioned above. I would not push the bottle issue because, first of all, you aren't going back to work. Secondly, pushing the bottle will just cause unnecessary stress for your baby.

If it is important to you to use the bottle instead of other methods, I would suggest a very slow introduction - by someone other than you. That person should be open to holding the baby in different positions (not the same cradle position that he is held in to nurse), and should be very patient. Never force the nipple into the babies mouth. Express some milk onto his lips, rub the nipple gently over his lips, but never force the bottle into his mouth. If the baby cries, stop the session and try again later. Don't wait until the baby is very hungry to start, either. Also, they tend to like the milk from the bottle a little warmer than you might expect. ALWAYS check milk temp on your wrist and don't microwave it.

Hope this is helpful! Good luck!

L.

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D.

answers from New York on

I also used the Playtex Nursers with the drop in liner. I also breastfed my son until he was 9 mos old. The nipple is shaped more like your nipple and it may be easier for him to form his tongue around it to suck properly. Also, you can push all the air out of the liner before you start to feed him and he gets less air in his belly that way.

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L.W.

answers from New York on

TRY DIPPIN THE NIPPLES. IT'S BEEN A FAMILY FAVORITE. DIP IT IN LIKE THE MILK/ SUGAR (VERYLITTLE THOUGH) OR AT 10WEEKS. FRUIT (BABY FOOD FRUIT) BANANAS MY FAVORITE. GOOD LUCK

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J.B.

answers from New York on

My son was a great nurser, but we had to stop because he had a bunch of issues. He didn't like bottles either, until I tried the Dr. Brown's wide mouth bottles. These are different than the original Dr. Brown's bottles. The nipple has a wide-base that nestles right against their lips and noses, the same way the breast does. The Playtex nurser is the exact same design (I used that one with my daughter, who also nursed first). I found both of these to be very similar in style to nursing. Just persevere with it. I would have my husband do the bottle feedings at first, just because if I tried to, then my daughter or son would fuss. They wanted me. If my husband did the feeding, they were so hungry, they didn't fight him. Keep trying and good luck!!

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S.L.

answers from New York on

I used the Playtex Premium Nurser with the drop-ins. But what I think really made the difference was that whenever I wanted my son to have a bottle, I would not feed it to him myself. I even tried not to be in the same room. I had my husband or my mom feed him. The other thing you should know is that the Playtex Nurser is a great bottle, but you should squeeze out any air from it before feeding the baby so that it minimizes the amount of air or gas your baby swallows and this way the drop in will also contract to empty just like the breast. My son didn't have much problems switching between breast and bottle, even though we did it so rarely. We first introduced a bottle, just to try and see if he would take it, at 3 or 4 weeks. He mostly breastfed until I became pregnant when he was nine months, since then he's been on the bottle without problems. My husband or mom always did the bottle feeding so that he wouldn't get confused because he knew I had the breasts.:-) I feed him a bottle myself for the first time at probably 6 or 7 months, and by that point he had been given the bottle on occasion and didn't mind me giving it to him. Hope this helps...Good Luck!

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