Hi Moms- I am in need of your suggestions on how to entice my 8wk old DD to take a bottle. My first child was opposite and never was a good nurser so would switch back and forth between nursing and bottle with no problem. As a result with my DD when she was nursing so well, I thought if I tried a bottle too soon she would give up nursing. Well, now I'm in a situation where she will have nothing to do with a bottle. I have about 3 weeks left before I have to go back to work. I've been trying for about a week giving her one bottle a day w/ no luck. I've tried Avent, Breast Flow and Playtex. The only one she will let in her mouth without screaming is the laytex brown nipples but she will just gnaw on it and not suck. She doesn't like pacifiers either so she's just not used to anything like that. I really don't want to make her cry it out. Dad has tried, we've tried swapping her while I'm nursing, I've tried putting her in her bouncer chair and walking around while I feed her so we aren't in our normal nursing positions. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! My next thought is to try to put some apple juice/water in the bottle to see if she will take something new out of it (doc said a nipple full to an oz was ok diluted in a specific ratio). I hate to go buy other bottles to try b/c she hardly lets them in her mouth to even know if she likes it or not. THANKS SO MUCH!!
I must have gotten good karma from all of you because yesterday she drank 2.5oz out of the bottle. It took 3 different tries over an hour but she did it! I will try again today and hopefully will continue to make progress. At least I know she WILL do it. Yeah!! I did warm the bottle more than before and also ran warm water over the nipple. Most of the time she gnawed on it but she did latch on and drink a few times. Also daycare said it was not an issue if she didn't take a bottle. They usually have good luck with the babies. She also said warming the milk pretty warm can help. Thanks all!!
Have you tried putting some milk on the outside of the nipple so she gets the idea that she's going to get milk?
When you say "dad has tried"..... qualify that for me? Typically Dad can't "try".... he must do (says Yoda). Which means you need to leave the house for an entire day. Yep. An entire day. The baby can smell you if you are around and won't take the bottle. Plus, let's face it.... we hate to hear our baby cry so if you are home and it's not working.... moms tend to step back in and nurse. Which just tells baby if she cries mom will give her the good stuff.
I would not put juice in the bottle. I think that may backfire on you.... plus that's a ton of sugar (even if you water it down a ton) to be giving a newborn.
Good luck.
I have been going through the same thing. We are still working on it....but my first day back to work is today. Check out my question....11 wk old not taking bottle. I got some good ideas. What has worked the best is being away, rubbing the cheek to stimulate sucking and waiting until almost asleep to sneak it in. Good luck.
Please do not give her juice. Her system isn't ready. Same with plain water. I would check with your pediatrician about plain water.
It's possible that she just hasn't developed the power for sucking yet. When attached to you, it just sort of pours, so she doesn't really have to try. I suggest that since she allows the brown nipples, to keep using them. Perhaps try the stage 2 version that has a slightly faster flow. Even letting the nipple in her mouth to chew is progress that will be helpful.
Sometimes, as hard as it is, you just have to let them cry.
Don't panic. My DD took a bottle, then didn't and I called the LC in a panic. She said that after a while, a baby starts to consider what she's getting in her mouth and may not actively suck on everything. It may also be the type of bottle. My DD didn't like Avent, either. Have you tried Tommee Tippy or plain old Medela with the silicone nipple?
It may also be that as long as she knows you're around, she's holding out for the "good stuff" straight from you. Have you tried leaving the house? I wouldn't try juice. You may also find that she reverse cycles to nurse MORE with you and take only the bottles she must during the day. Some kids are like that.
If you feel badly about the bottles, consider donating the ones she doesn't like to a women's shelter. I'm sure they could find a new owner for them.
I am a child care provider and this is very common. I assume you have child care lined up, you might contact the provider and see what ideas she has. I have a storage box full of all kinds of bottles that I get out and just keep trying when I come across this problem. The Nuk bottles worked for one of my kiddos, but I've used AVENT and Playtex very successfully as well.
One thing you might try is leaving the house. Leave baby with Dad or Grandma or a friend (make sure it's a good friend and you buy her a drink when her time with your little one is over LOL). Plan to be gone for about 5 or 6 hours, this should allow enough time for baby to get really hungry. Have the care giver try anything and everything and once they are successfull follow up every day with the same bottle (maybe from Dad in the evening.) One thing I have found is that breast fed babies like their milk really warm.
Good Luck.
M.
J.R.
Congrats on your new baby girl!!
I would take it that your daughter is picking up on your apprehension and reacting to it.
I would NOT put or give juice to an 8 week old. Her system is NOT ready for that in my opinion.
If you are pumping/expressing your milk - I would give that to her...offer it to her...if she refuses, okay...wait a few minutes and try again...I can tell you that she will NOT let herself go hungry. I know that sounds mean - but it is natural instinct to survive...so at day care, she will take the bottle...her instincts will tell her she has to.
it WILL be okay. Don't panic. Please DO NOT put juice in her bottle.
It will all work out.
My daughter wouldn't take a bottle willingly for a long time. We started trying at 6 weeks and it probably took a month before she'd take it without screaming. I always left the house or went to another room and pumped while dad was feeding her. If I was around it made it worse so I never stepped in. I hid till she ate. I think some of our problem was dad was feeding baby during "unhappy hour" (3/4pm-6/7pm). She was just plain miserable then so to give her something she didn't want made things worse. It just takes time. Be patient and keep trying everyday. Don't give in. Some tips I've heard of since then:
Wrap the bottle in a shirt you've worn so the baby can smell you
Have dad feed baby in a completely different position than the position you nurse in
If you warm the milk try it cool/cold instead
I've never tried these tips but plan to with my next if need be. Know that your baby will drink from the bottle eventually because she's hungry. She won't let herself starve. Good luck and let us know what worked!
I second what Michelle G said, my guy would only take the bottle if it was warm enough. I also held him very close to me with his cheek against me (as if nursing) and he took the bottle. I can't emphasize enough how picky he was about it not being warm enough.... drove me crazy!
The one thing that I had to do with my youngest was leave the room and let someone else give him a bottle. He would not take one if he could see or hear me. My oldest didn't care what it came out of as long as it came out.
Good luck and God bless!
