4 Month Old Needs to Take a Bottle!!

My 2nd daughter wouldn't take a bottle when we tried to introduce it at 4 months either. We ended up doing an Avent sippy cup with the valve removed so the milk just kind of dribbled out into her mouth. Once she learned the feel of the spout (Avent are flat) and associated it with milk we were able to put the valve back in and she began sucking the milk out (took maybe 5 feeds before she started with the valve)

She won't starve. Her body won't let her. Your husband is going to be miserable for a few days - but hey, he didn't go through labor right? SB had a great suggestion about the sippy cups. With the right kind of cup, she will eat. Make sure you bring back a nice gift for your husband - he will need it
Good luck

K.:

She will NOT starve. Promise.

Take a deep breath...let it out slowly.

The bottle will need to come from someone other than you. That will help her adjust immensely.

You, your husband and your daughter will be fine!! Go on the trip. Relax. Continue pumping milk and all will be well when you get home!

If she won't take a bottle when you are around, try leaving the house. And also try offering different kinds of bottles or even a sippy cup like a nubby with a soft spout. He can also try spoon feeding it to her.

Plan an outing for yourself. Leave when you know baby will be hungry soon. Give Dad the bottle and wish him luck. Don't expect baby to take more than an ounce or two, and it may not be until it's been several hours and several times of trying. I do childcare and most of my new Moms have pumped, in my experience breast fed babies like the milk in the bottle to be VERY warm.

It can take a while but they will learn to drink from the bottle.

Good Luck!!

M

Neither one of my children would take a bottle. It's so frustrating!!! We tried every trick I ever heard of and I think every bottle on the market. Any time I left for any amount of time, our kids would simply scream themselves to sleep rather than take a bottle. Thank goodness for patient grandparents. Our pediatrician said that it is not uncommon for breast fed babies. He suggested that we skip bottles and try a sippy cup. (Our son was a large baby and had to be supplemented with formula for a few days until my milk came in, they showed us how to use a little cup in the nursery to avoid nipple confusion, so his idea made sense to us.) So we got a Gerber soft spout and took the stopper out. It was a slow process for hubby. And it was messy. But we did finally have success. The trick is to go slow and not tilt the cup up too high (you don't want to cause baby to cough or choke). It was very messy at first. It worked for both our kids and was only a mess in the beginning. But the nice benefit is that both of our children we pretty self sufficient with a sippy cup rather early on.

It may not be necessarily the bottle but the type of nipple on the bottle. Since baby is used to breast feeding, a bottle nipple shaped like the breast nipple is better and this way baby doesn't have to try to learn a new method of suckling. AV was correct when suggesting spoon feeding. Us a soft spoon and all will be well. My son was sipping things off a spoon by the end of week 1. His doc explained that it is a natural reflex thing.

Lastly have a great trip and don't worry. Baby won't let herself starve. Try all of the suggestions or combinations of them until you find what works for your baby.

Something that I didn't see mentioned and that helped me on the rare occasion that I had to bottle-feed:
Make sure the baby is in a similar position as when you are breastfeeding. Close to the chest, very close to your (your husbands) body, bottle held in the same place where a breast would be located.

She may fuss and fight but she won't make herself sick, I don't believe she will. I do think that this is something you need to work on right now. She needs no breast at all. She will have to break this now, before you leave. That way it's not cold turkey, all or nothing for her.

Stop all breast feedings and give her only the bottle right now. That way by the time the trip comes around she'll be taking the bottle all the time.

It would be good to continue experimenting with various methods (different bottles, cups, etc) over the next couple weeks. Babies often do a little better when it is freshly pumped milk (which can remain good at room temp for several hours) and when it is offered by someone other than you, you should be no where around. Also try before the baby is too hungry and already crying a lot, offer when you anticipate the next feeding and every so often thereafter. If she takes a pacifier, try getting her to suck on that and then swiftly switching it out with a bottle. I bet once she has more practice she will take to it. I would try for one feeding a day until you leave. She will not starve herself for two days, she will find a way to get food eventually. If she is not good with a bottle/cup by the time you leave, I imagine it will be a stress filled time for the both of you. But you will all make it thru in the end.
Whatever you do please do not stop nursing. Even if you only stop nursing and pump instead to prepare for this trip you will be needlessly compromising your milk supply. And she may not go back to the breast if you quit directly nursing cold turkey and force her into taking a bottle full time.
I hope you find a solution before you leave and can have a more peaceful time away.