Baby Won't Take Bottle or Pacifier

I don't really know anything about pacifiers, but for the bottle have you tried very many different kinds? I have heard moms say that their baby would take a Breast-flow bottle when it would not take any other kind. Also, some recommend the Avent.

Chances are, if you haven't offered a pacifier until now, he won't take one. However, the bottle can be worked out. They do recommend that you offer a bottle at 4 weeks after birth so they can get used to it, but you aren't too far off from that. Anyway, try at first to give bottles of breast milk, not formula. Then, make sure that when you offer the bottle, you are not in the room or anywhere he can smell you. This can distract many babies, as they can locate their moms by scent from far away, and if you are around he would way rather have the real thing. Have your husband give him the bottle when he is hungry, but not too hungry so that he is fussy because he will be less likely to take it when he is in real distress. Getting him to take the bottle may take time, so when you give him the bottle, give him only 1 oz or 2 oz of the breast milk so that you don't have to throw a lot away if he decides not to drink it. You can always give him more if he finishes it. Breast milk is like liquid gold, I always hated throwing away wasted milk! I didn't read the other responses, but I hope this helps. P.S. We LOVE the Dr. Brown's glass bottles with the vent system. My daughter NEVER got gassy with these, even when we gave her bubbly formula! Good luck!

It MAY help if you are not in the room or even the house when your husband tries to feed the baby. My husband always gave our boys a bottle each night before bed and they were breastfed the rest of the time... My oldest son didn't care where he got his milk as long as he got it! :) My youngest would fight and fight but, if he realized I wasn't around to feed him myself, he would eventually give in and take the bottle.
Another idea would be to build the bottle into a nighttime (or anytime you prefer) ruitine... Such as the bath, bottle, book, bed ruitine that alot of people try to do. Then, he'll just learn to expect that that is the time that Daddy takes care of feeding instead of Mommy.
Good luck! I know what you're feeling because I've had one easy baby and one not-so-easy baby when it comes to taking a bottle... Also, try not to give up on breastfeeding too early if that's really how you want to feed your baby. You can always use bottles as a back-up method too which is SO nice if the baby needs to spend the evening with a babysitter or relative for a few hours. Good luck!

Neither one of my two kids took to the bottle or pacifiers very well, and after trying about 5 different shaped nipples/brands with my first, we finally found the Mam/Sassy Brand pacifiers AND bottles were the most readily accepted....I think it is because the nipple on the bottle and the paci are somewhat flattened like the breast nipple gets in their mouth. Both my son and my daughter do /did well with these, and they hardly have a burp at all with the bottles which have an anti-gas valve in the bottom (which are also BPA free, BTW), another plus is they don't drool milk or formula all over themselves with this shape nipple the way mine boh did with all the "cylindrical/traditional shaped" nipples we tried.

When they are little/first starting with the pacifiers, you have to hold them in for the baby, for the first minute or so, and once they start to suck well, tug it a little as if you were going to take it away, and they will usually suck harder.

You can get the bottles at Walmart online, and the pacifiers at nearly any store like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, etc, they come in a newborn (teeny tiny) size, then 3-6 months, and then 6 mo +. Have Daddy or someone else start introucing the bottle when you are not around, and once they accept it, try to be consistent and give a bottle wach day, to keep them used to it.

Good Luck!

Jessie

first of all, baby wont take anything if you are there. he can sense and smell that you are there, and so you will need to leave the room, or even the house, in order for him to take a bottle. pacifiers are hard for babies that young because they cant get them back easily once they lose them.

anyway, if you are interested in a breast pump, you can probably get one through your insurance company. i got the medela pump in style and all had to do for the insurance company was get a "prescription" from my doctor!

congrats on exclusive breastfeeding! find a local or nearby la leche league - www.llli.org - they will be able to give you LOADS of support, and its great to know other moms in your area who feel the way you do about breastfeeding and parenting. they also do support moms wanting to switch to bottles, so dont be turned off by that! :D
anyway, www.askdrsears.com is another GREAT resource - william and martha sears write a large series of books - check those out too!

Okay, if you really want the nukkie thing, I would make that the second task & the bottle the first. With the bottle, I would try a couple of different bottles. Avent is a good one and so are the Dr. Brown ones with the dome shape nipples. I would then start with breastmilk in the bottle. If you can make it a fresh bottle instead of one that you had to warm or unthaw, it would be better. Remember fresh breastmilk is good at room temperature for 10 hours. Also sleep in a teeshirt the night before. Leave out the house and have your hubby place your teeshirt in front of him (depending on your size if he can wear it, that works too) and then feed the baby. Hubby has to catch him before he is frantic hungry too. The tee shirt, different nipple, you being out of the house and fresh breast milk usually works. I would actually do it on a day where your hubby is off of work. Sometimes the "extra work" of feeding the baby when getting home, the guy is not as relaxed. The time hubby tries should be a time, he is totally relax and there is noting else going on in his mind. Good luck, he will do fine. Now the nukkie thing, you just have to buy a bunch and keep trying differnt ones until he takes it. I would not do this until the bottle thing is mastered.

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but my son never took a bottle or a pacifier after repeated tries with various people and various nipples. He went for 8 hours once without taking anything. Some babies just never take a pacifier. Even my oldest son, who loved his bottle, wouldn't take a pacifier. It's frustrating now, but you will appreciate it when you don't have to struggle in a couple of years to take it away from him! You could try consulting a lactation consultant at your hospital. They weren't able to help me, but they might have some tips for you. It's exhausting when you don't get a break, but my son is now 9 and the time that I was the only one who could feed him seems like such a very small part of his life in retrospect. I miss that bond that we had! Great for you for breastfeeding and good luck.

I don't have a whole lot of suggestions because we had the same problem.... Our son refused a pacifier from the start (and we tried a little later as well...LOL) and he never took a bottle. Since he's already 6 weeks, give up on the nuk and concentrate on the bottle thing.

I've heard of babies that refuse bottles may be willing to drink from a cup. Use a regular (tupperware, etc.) sippy cup or one with the spill proof pieces REMOVED and try getting him to drink from a cup...

Our son went straight from the breast to a cup. Although we waited till about 5 months to start introducing the cup, I've heard you can do it from the start.

Good luck! And enjoy this breastfeeding time. It goes so quickly. I nursed exclusively for 9 months with Jack and then continued until 18 months. I miss it now that we're done.....