I am having trouble getting my 3 month old girl to get to get the bottle. I am currently breastfeeding and I have made several attempts to get her to accept the bottle. My husband had tried and a friend has also tried to get her to take the bottle. I have tried several different types of bottles as well as different types of nipples and so far nothing has worked. She will actually gag when I put the bottle in her mouth. She will not take a Nuk either. Right now it is not that big of an issue becuase I am able to take her to work with me however, I will need to place her into childcare by March and I know she will need to be on the bottle by then, and I don't want the daycare to suffer with trying to get her on the bottle. She has gagged so much that she has thrown up several times. Any suggestions would be a great help.
I have 2 older boys and did not have a problem getting them on the bottle at all.
Here is a more recent update today my 3month 1 week and 3 day old finially accepted the bottle and drank 2 oz's, from a Playtex dropins bottle with a fast flow. I had her sit in her car seat and I held the bottle for her and it took about 15 minutes of her playing with it and then she finally latched onto the bottle and started to drink from it. During the day I kept offering it to her and I did have to nurse her just a half hour before so she was not fussy. Oh and I used the brown nipples she seem to like those better than the clear ones.
Thank you to each and everyone of you who wrote a response. I am happy to say we are on the right track. :)
I had a hard time getting my son to switch too. But after a lot of tries I got him to take the Nuby sippy cup and the Breastflow bottle. Both worked really well
There is a Breast bottle at www.onestepahead.com it is just like ther breast. There is also one by a company called Adiri you can find them on Ebay. Otherwise my son had the same problem and I went to the Playtex bottle with the drop ins and I used the nipple that is short and shaped like a nipple when it gets sucked on, I dont remember the name right now but it says best for breastfed babies. Dont give up and have your husband keep trying, I know mine would not take it from him even if he could hear me or see me in the room.
I had the same problem, and was never able to get her to take the bottle. Try the cup! My little one was four months when I went back to work, but if it worked at four months, it might work at three!
You can still breastfeed your baby and go to work at the same time. You can pump ahead of time for your baby but if she is struggling with a bottle like you say then the only possible thing for you to do is come back every time she is hungry. I know people who have done that--it is possible.
Have you tried while nursing to do the quick exchange from breast to bottle? My son didn't like the bottle either but he did learn to take it if I had my mom watch him or something. The playtex nipple he seemed to like--I'm guessing because it was really close to his face while he ate. Also I had purshased nipple shield type things and he also got used of the "plastic" on my breast which I think also helped with the transfer. It wasn't permanent though--I kept nursing because that's just what he liked best. It's just more natural you know. The babes are smart to refuse the bottle. lol.
Hope I helped. =)
I am currently having the same issue with my 2 month old daughter...it must be a girl thing (although my older daughter never had a problem!). My Lydia won't take a paci either. She has taken a little (1 or 2 oz) breastmilk from the bottle for my husband, but I had to be far away (even out of the house), and she had to be sitting in her bouncy seat or car seat, no cradled in his arms. Once he stops to burp her, she won't take any more. It is a work in progress for us. I pump and we are offering her a bottle every day or every other day. The bottle she has taken is the Nuk brand, however, my pediatrician suggested I try the Playtex Nurser (drop in system). He says that moms with this issue say their babies take to that style of nipple (the brown one). I'll let you know how it goes...my husband will be trying it tonight! Don't get too frustrated..she'll eventually take it. Good luck!
You may have to get a super slow-flow nipple for him - avaliable only at Babies-R-Us amongst the massive WALL of bottle and nipple types. We had to do that with our boys because they didn't develop a suck reflex for nursing and had to be "taught" how to handle a bottle.
Feedings may be slow at first, but as she gets used to it she'll speed up.
I would start with a bottle that looks like a breast. I think it is called breastfriend bottle or something like that. You only need one and then transition to the other ones. It is smooshy and feels like a breast on the baby's cheek. I think that they are great to start. Then start with that, they also do not have a long nipple on them so she should not gag. I also would start getting other things in her mouth to get over the gaging more. Like her sucking your finger (clean of course) when she is real hungry. Give her the bottle when she is starving with breast milk in it and make sure that you are not in the room or maybe not even home at first. My son just started taking a bottle from me, he prefers to nurse and is 5 months. But takes it great from others! Good luck. As far as the pacifier start with the soothie (hospital type) and then go to the nuk latex kind!
Have you tried having your husband or friend give her a bottle when you are not around? I ahd the same problem with my now 26 yr old. She would not take a bottle when I was around at all. I too had tried every type of bottle or nibble there was at that time. I was going back to school when she was 6 wks old and was so concerned I almost did not go. My doctor advised me to go ahead and go and she would eat when she got hungry. He was right. As long I was not there she'd take a bottle from others. On the other hand she did switch her eating schedule around and was fed every 2-3 hrs when I was home and that included at night. Because of this she was drinking from a glass much earlier then other friend's kids at that time. So you may want to see if she'll take a bottle from others while you are gone or in another room. Best of luck. Oh yea and she never did take a pacifier.
I don't know how long you are going to be away from your daughter, but I would think about foregoing a bottle altogether, and trying a cup or even an eye dropper. I have heard of people using the small plastic "dosing" cups that come with medicine, or, as others have pointed out, sippy cups.
If I have more kids, I honestly do not think I will bother with a bottle. Breastfeeding was going GREAT for us, my son took a bottle with absolutely no problems. Then, at 4 months old, he refused the breast and never again latched on, preferring the bottle. I ended up not giving him any breastmilk after 6 months because to pump exclusively was so time-consuming.
Here is one more bottle type to try, they sell them at Target and Walmart online - I haven't seen them IN the stores, though. We too tried about 5 different brands/styles of bottles before finding this one, and it was the only one she would take, she would also only take that brand of pacifiers....I think it is becasue the bottle and paci nipples on these are flatter, like a real breast nipple gets when they nurse....hardly every got burpy or gassy from those either.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1020...
http://www.target.com/MAM-Girls-oz-Bottle-Set/dp/B001BKVY...
Good Luck!
Jessie
Sheree',
My daughter never would take a bottle either. Never. When she was a bit older than your daughter, maybe around 4 months, we were able to give her a NUBY sippy cup once and a while and for whatever reason, she took to that. The NUBY's have really soft nipples that require almost no effort to suck. If that doesn't work, my daughter also did really well with sippy cups with straws - again, a little older. I guess she thought the straws were fun.
Good luck, I know that is frustrating!
