Baby Won't Let Anyone Else Feed Her

Updated on June 28, 2013
*.*. asks from Beverly Hills, CA
7 answers

Hello Mamas!

I've been away awhile. I had my daughter 9 weeks ago and it's been crazy busy! So, away with the pregnancy questions and complaints, and here I go with those that come with motherhood.

After a long battle trying to breastfeed my little one, I've opted to pump exclusively. I know, I know, not the best but quite honestly it's working for us. By us I mean only my daughter and me. We have a wonderful bond during mealtime. However, she won't take a bottle from anyone else.

As soon as she is showing signs of hunger, I give her a bottle and she drinks it no problem. If she starts to look hungry and I ask someone else to feed her, she won't eat. If I leave, she won't eat. After too long she gets really hungry and the poor thing screams and gets really upset because she's so hungry. Then, she will sometimes take a bottle from someone else but not always. Usually she will wait it out until I get home or available to feed her, making it rather miserable for her caretaker.

I'd like my husband and MIL to be able to feed her. I work from home most days and can feed her then, but I will be traveling 2 days a week so I will be gone overnight. I would do it every time if I could...but life doesn't always work that way.

Any advice to help get her used to the idea of someone else feeding her? Maybe it will work itself out when I'm gone? I hoped to get it under control before I had to leave but I really don't know what to do.

TIA

Edit: Yes, I've "decided to be the adult" and am trying. I've left her for hours at a time, usually about 6 but overnight a couple times. I was out of the house. Typically she does not eat the whole time, with the exception of overnight she ate once in a 24 hour period.

I guess I was looking for ways to make the transition more comfortable for her, and I'll try the t-shirt and having her caregivers hold her in another position.

What can I do next?

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More Answers

R.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

Have you tried leaving the house for many hours, so she has no choice if she's hungry? Like overnight if need be? Especially since at some point your work will require it.

My daughter did the same. Her ped advised just that. He explained that she might cry from being mad that I wasn't the one feeding her (and let me tell you, she could scream for hours, until she was hoarse,) but that an infant's survival mode would not let them starve. That her body would tell her when to eat. So I left ALL day until mid-evenings, to give it a chance. It worked, she seemed to know I wasn't around after awhile. It took a few times, he warned me it would. And I learned that if I needed to be home but have someone else feed her to not let her see me or hear me. But she got it, I returned to work when she was 12 weeks old. We were able to continue nursing in spite of breast milk bottle feeding.

Step away and allow her caregiver to deal with her. Enjoy the times you get to feed her. It will work out!

2 moms found this helpful

J.S.

answers from Hartford on

Have you tried having your husband and MIL keep a shirt that you've worn wrapped around her when they hold her during a feeding?

EDIT: Also, when you say that you leave, do you mean you leave the room? Because your baby has an incredibly sensitive sense of smell she can smell you the instant you walk in the house. If you're in another room or another part of the house she can smell you. If you don't leave the house for several hours, as in the better part of a full day for several days in a row, then you're not going to be able to train your daughter to allow other people to feed her. My SIL's first daughter did this and they dragged it out for a month because my SIL couldn't stay away for more than a couple of hours she missed the baby so much. There was plenty of pumped milk and my MIL and BIL were fully capable and willing and ready, but my SIL just couldn't stay away. The baby KNEW when she was in the house. When SIL finally figured out that she had to completely stay out of the house for "a full work day" for an entire week, that's when my niece started to take the bottle for other people and they never had issues after that.

2 moms found this helpful
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D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Some tips - these are kind-of adapted from my breastfeeding experience, but maybe they will help here.

Don't have the person hold her just like you do when she eats. If you cuddle her in a cradle position to eat, then when she's in that position, she expects you to be there. When someone else is feeding her, try putting her in her bouncy seat to eat, or laying on the boppy pillow. O

Or, maybe she associates a bottle with you, but would take some milk from a sippy cup with soft spout (no valve at first so she can figure it out) from someone else.

2 moms found this helpful
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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I think you're going to have to decide to be the adult here and just leave and let her cry until she takes the bottle from someone else. Then they feed her each time, even when you're home and right there. As much as it is pleasing to hold your child and feed them, you're situation is different. She will make herself sick if you don't draw a line and take a stand.

2 moms found this helpful

L.M.

answers from Dover on

I have not had that problem but maybe you not feeding her regardless of how much she refuses will help.

1 mom found this helpful

L.C.

answers from Washington DC on

Welcome to motherhood.
It starts with feeding and escalates...
She is throwing temper tantrums.
You are going to have to realize that she will cry and it is ok. It might not be pleasant for her caretakers, but they will get through it.
If she gets hungry enough she will eat. She needs to learn that if she is hungry, other people will provide food - maybe not the same way as mom, but, food none the less.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.R.

answers from York on

I don't have any great advice, just wanted to say sorry that you're going through this! My son was always very high strung about eating. Sometimes, even though he was clearly hungry, he would scream instead of eating for hours. It was so frustrating, and it made me feel so guilty. I remember one day when he didn't eat from 10 in the morning till 7 at night, in spite of everything I tried. And that was just with me trying to feed him myself in the same exact way as always!
I guess my point is, some babies just have very specific ideas about what they want and how they want it. He always ate eventually and never starved. He's a happy, healthy four year old now, and he has always been particular about his food. He eats a wide variety of food, but ever since starting with finger foods he has had very specific ideas about which foods can touch each other, what temperature the food should be, and how stringy it should be. All that infant fussiness was just an early glimpse of his personality.
There are some cool benefits to it- he learned how to express himself very quickly and most of his first words were food related! The coolest was his fourth word, "hot," which he used to describe anything that was too cold, too warm, or not the right texture. My mom made the smash cake for his first birthday, and we all got a laugh out of warning her not to ruin the party by making it too "hot!"
Anyway, when you're feeling tortured by your little girl's screams, just think of how well she is expressing her preferences! Try to imagine her as a toddler telling you what she wants for lunch. Will she demand the rainbow plate at every meal? Will she request her bananas "monkey style" or "coin style" today? One secret to surviving motherhood is to make your face and voice appear sympathetic to your child, while forcing your mind (with its tendency to worry/feel guilty) to go to a happier place.

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