Getting a 5 1/2 Week Old to Take a Bottle

I would continue to try she is still really young so usually at this age they dont have a set routine with much of anything I would put the breast milk in the bottle and see how she does with that than you can always transition her to formula in the bottle if she likes or you can do 1/2 formula and 1/2 breast milk and eventually switch totally over to formula a slow transition

As far as the pacifier I wouldnt force it on her if she doesnt want it it is better for you in the long run I have 3 kids and none of them were attached to pacifiers I tried it with all of them in the first few weeks of life but they kind of sucked on it and than spit it right out I am glad that they never got attached to pacifiers it is just something else to worry about getting rid of when they are a bit older they all have blankets that they are attached to instead

It will get better it takes time Good Luck

This is VERY common for breastfed babies. My daughter is 11 months old now and she has never had formula, although I went back to work when she was 4 months old. We tried at least 10 brands of bottles, but the one our lactation consultant recommended was the Playtex Nurser system with the Naturalatch nipple (designed for breastfed babies). Even the slow flow nipples for most brands is way too fast for a newborn used to the flow from mom...so she ends up gagging and almost drowning in the milk/formula, but the Naturalatch slow-flow is much slower...and controlled by the baby's sucking just like when she's latched to mom. We also had to do 24 hours only of bottles only (with pumped breastmilk)...and at first she would only drink 0.5 oz at a time, but by the third or fourth feeding, she was taking 3-4 ounces (this method was recommended by our lactation consultant). If I were you, I might wait until your baby is a little older before you try this... I think we tried this at 3 months. Once my girl started daycare, she started to refuse the bottles again, so we had to do the "24-hours bottles-only" a second time at around 5 months, and she finally started to take them again. On the plus side, you might have a really easy time weaning her off bottles...like we did. We started practicing with sippy cups at 5 1/2 months because she really was not keen on bottles...and by 10 months, she is on sippy cups only!
Oh, and she didn't accept a pacifier until about 6 weeks old, when once I just held it in place until she stopped spitting it out. She's never been addicted to it. We just offer it to her for our benefit, not really for hers...so she can go for days without it now but occasionally we'll offer it to her if she gets fussy and overtired.

Keep trying!

You can also try a Breastflow bottle, with breastmilk in it. My son used that brand when I first wanted him to switch back and forth between nursing and the bottle. It's a pain, with all the parts, but it's just like the breast! Once he was used to taking the bottle sometimes, then I started with the Born Free brand and he was fine.

I think it's a great idea to give a baby a bottle of breast milk every day! It makes it much easier later, when other babies are refusing anything but the breast. Plus it offers a little break for you (hopefully it's not too painful right now?), and a chance for daddy to bond.

If there's any way to exclusively offer breast milk for at least the first 20 weeks, then you'll be giving your baby a huge gift as well. Of course, that's not always possible, and you're giving her a great gift already!

Good luck!

My daugher had trouble taking the pacifier at first too and my friend taught me an amazing trick. Put the pacifier in her mouth right after feeding, so she's still in sucking mode. Then tap on the plastic part of the pacifier with your finger (the part that's right in the middle). The tapping, for some reason, makes the baby suck. I did this with my daugher every time I put the pacifier in her mouth for a week or 2, then she began sucking on her own. Now she's almost 5 months old and picks up the pacifier on her own and puts it in her mouth when she wants it.
I don't have much advice for taking the bottle but I've heard it helps if your husband puts something on him that smells like you (like a shirt you've recently worn). It also might be helpful to put breastmilk in the bottle first and then gradually switch to formula. It also might be the nipple on the bottle that she doesn't like. My daughter would not use the first kind I tried, then I bought Playtex drop-ins and the nipple is more like breastfeeding so she likes it better.

This is certainly common as babe prefers your breast - but she will take the bottle again if you keep trying. Make sure you are not in the room when your hubby tries. If she refuses just wait and try again - don't get her too upset. Have others try too - have a friend who stops by to visit give her a bottle, and her babysitter. This worked for me. It also depends on the personality of your child. My oldest refused to take a bottle and so never did - but then again he was my first so I was not resolute enough!!! Good luck.

Helllo D.,
I would keep trying but I would definitly pump breast milk into the bottle she is really young yet and the longer she is breastfed the better her immune system will be. You can pump and store breast milk in the freezer. Babies are smart and it is instinctual for them to breast feed so that is what she is going to want.
Some babies just aren't into the pacifier do you feel she really needs it? It can help if they fuss and that is about it after that getting them to stop using the pacifier is a night mare( some kids are still using them at 4 or 5 much to the horror of their parents). I tried to give one to all four of my kids and none of them accepted it instead I would hold them alot, put them in a baby swing, a ride in the car, a walk in the stroller, seat them in their baby bouncer in front of the window etc. You get real creative. That is one the main jobs of motherhood ( creativity).
Good Luck and remember breast milk is essential at this age.
J.

consider yourself lucky that your baby hasn't taken to the pacifier! if she hasn't needed it yet, she won't need it now, and you won't have to wean her from it later.
if you can pump, i'd recommend putting breastmilk in the bottle, and just keep trying. don't give up. my son ended up taking the bottle from me before taking it from my husband, so leaving the room doesn't always help. just stick with it.

Dear D.,

As a daycare/preschool owner I have seen this happen many times. I would try different pacifiers first of all and make sure they have the same type of nipple as the bottle you are using. I know it is hard however you have to keep trying. I would put the breast milk into the bottle she may not like the taste of the formula yet. If you can get her to take the breast milk in the bottle I would slowly start adding formula one ounce at a time to the breast milk so she can slowly get used to the taste. As far as pacifiers I have had great success with preemie size nipples they are much smaller and the babies seem to like them better. Good luck!!

Your little one prefers breastmilk, she knows the difference. Please pump and try a nipple that is similar to the breast. As far as the pacifier, does she really need it? If not, that's one less thing you would have to ween her off. I breastfed both of my boys and neither would take the pacifier. It worked out well.

I can't help with the bottle but I might be able to with the pacifier.

If you put it in her mouth and then start to slowly pull it out she will automatically start to suck to keep it in her mouth. Keep doing this for a few days or a week and she will get the hang of it.

Breastfed babies supposedly like the rounded pacifiers more than the orthodontic ones, so try different shapes.

Make sure you really want one.
I didn't want my son to have one, but he REALLY like to suck and wouldn't take his thumb or finger. I didn't want to have to buy pacifiers or remember to bring them everywhere. I viewed them as a hassle, but we ended up with them.
My best friend, on the other hand, wanted her daughter to use a pacifier because she hates thumb sucking. She views it as unsanitary and thinks it is easier to take a pacifier away than it is to take a thumb away. Her daughter refused to take a pacifier and sucked her thumb from day one.
Both are valid arguments and worth thinking about before you get your girl hooked on something you will have to take away someday.

Good Luck!!

Why push the pacifier? My son used one as a newborn because he had a very strong sucking urge, but he was completely done using one by about 2 months of age and learned to self-sooth in other ways.