Getting My Baby to Accept a Bottle

The baby probably is frustrated with that nipple. My son by the time he was 3 months was using #3 nipple. She should be using at least a 2, but maybe a 3. #1 is probably not coming fast enough, so she is probably frustrated. She will eat if she is hungry enough. My daughter did the same thing, but finally gave in when she was hungry enough. She HATED taking a bottle from me and would rarely do it. She was more likely to take it from anyone else. Do you have family or a friend who might be able to do it without you in the room? Just a thought. The temp of the bottle will make a difference too. Feel free contacting me if you have futher questions. I had to go through this with both of my breast fed children!

I had this same issue with my son. Everyone told me that I should have introduced him to a bottle at the beginning. I got the 'sippy' cups from Nuby with the soft spouts. I had Avent bottles, but he just didn't want them. It took him a few tries to get the sippy cup down, but once he got it, no problem! As he got older, he fed himself at the table with it.

I would start introducing the cup little by little. This is the kind I used (since it had handles on the side). They are readily available at stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, too.

http://www.babyearth.com/nuby-grip-n-sip-cup-7oz.html

Best of luck!

I had the same problem. Here are some things that worked for me.
1. Wait until she's really hungry. I had heard to try to give my son the bottle when he wasn't hungry so he could get used to it. Then I read something that suggested that he has no incentive to eat something he doesn't really like if he's not hungry.

2. Put the bottle in and hold it there, even though she will scream. After a few seconds or maybe even a minute, she will probably start to suck. I know it's hard to hear the baby cry, but it works and it is for her good. She'll realize it's not SOOOO bad! :)

3. Warm the milk and, here's the important part, at least for us, warm the nipple, by running it (sideways) under warm water and right into the mouth.

4. Smiling and encouraging her rather than looking stressed and annoyed (which is how you probably feel!)

5. You could try experimenting with different bottles, but I followed a bunch of suggestions for different bottles, and it turns out that you probably should just stick with one so she gets used to it. However, my friend swears that her son would only drink from the Breastflow bottle because it is more like the breast. My son has done fine with the Born Free bottles once he got used to it.

6. Once she takes it, stick with it! It is so much easier just to breastfeed rather than pump and give the bottle, but you don't want to lose this skill once you've worked so hard for it. So "practice" once a day for a while and then every couple/few days after that.

7. I found that now he will only take the bottle from me. I think maybe it's because I'm the most persistent. But I think it's important to practice with different people.

8. Don't give up. If you're serious about this, don't give in and breastfeed when she refuses!

Good luck. Breastfeeding is awesome but it feels better to know that someone else could feed your baby in a pinch!

My daughter was the same way.

Instead of the bottle, we went with the Avent sippy cup with the free-flowing soft spout (I think it's white). You could also just try a regular cup that you basically pour the drink (in tiny bits) into her mouth.

Also, if she has only had breast milk, maybe you could start her learning the sippy with something else, even water, to get the hang of it without depriving her.

And if all that fails, when you are gone for 5 hours a day on a regular basis, she will adjust (after all, she has 2 more months of growing to do before then). That may mean that when she is with another care giver, she will not have a problem accepting her bottle from then. It is also possible one way she will adjust is to shift her sleeping and eating patterns to make ti "more convenient" for her to get her nourishment form you while you are a round her!

Good luck and don't fret - you have time to work this out!

Dear Layla,

Keep trying. My daughter refused to touch a bottle for many months and when she was 7 months old (only 2 weeks ago) she decided on her own that it was time. I tried almost every day. Somedays she would drink a small amount and other times she would refuse it completly. But after many fights she finally just accepted it and now she drinks formula all day and I nurse her at night. Dont give up, what until she is very hungry, if she is hungry she will eat!!

I also use advent (no.4). They are great but my daughter initially took the cheaper gerber ($5 for 4) packs with the latex nipples. Once she got used to the bottle I transitioned back onto the advent!

Many people also told me to let my husband or someone else try but that made her more upset. I hope things work out for you. Please let me know if I can help any more.

Good luck, Kim

I had the same problem with my son. I looked online to see what others were doing. It was suggested to give him a premie bottle. I purchased mine at Target. It worked like a charm. Eventualy he went on to bigger bottles. The nipple on the premie bottle most resembled a real nipple. Hang in there!

Have you tried a sippy cup? I think Evenflo has a silicone tip one.

Your baby can also be given a cup without a lid, while someone gently helps her sip from that. There is also the option of using a medicine syringe dropper that typically comes from pharmacy for free.

Another option is to spoon feed it to her. (I recommend against thickening it with cereal or anything besides expressed breast milk until after 6 months of age) If you need something thicker, you can take frozen breastmilk and fork it until it's the consistency of a smoothie. She might like the cold on her gums.

Definitely continue trying the bottle if that makes you feel more confident. I would see if someone (neighbor?) can offer while you're out of the house completely (nevermind the other room, she knows!)

One thing you might try is starting to use a nipple shield while you nurse. If your baby gets used to the silicone of the shield while nursing, she may more readily accept the silicone bottle nipple. I had to use a shield for the first four months or so with my daughter due to latch issues and she would take a bottle during that time (from me or anyone else) even though we did not do that very often. As soon as she learned to nurse without the shield she started refusing bottles. You may also want to try a variety of bottles/nipples to see if there is a kind she accepts better than others. We finally had luck with the Nuk brand of nipples (same shape as the Nuk pacifiers -- not that she used pacifiers either because she is a thumb sucker but that shape just worked better for her I guess.
Good luck!

I would contact La Leche League for help and support. I would also not panic. You have all summer for her to learn this. If she is not ready to learn then wait another month. At 6 months you could start using a sippy cup. She may not ever need to take a bottle. You could go straight to a cup. You could also start introducing solids at about 6 months which could make it easier for you to continue to breastfeed. You could have some pumped milk available for her sippy cup and some soft foods/baby foods for her to eat.

I had somewhat of the same situation. It took a lot of patience and courage b/c my son didn't want the bottle from me either. First of all - CHANGE BOTTLES!!! Dr. Brown's bottles are by far superior to any other bottle on the market. My son won't even drink from anything else. Secondly, try the level three nipple. It is free flowing so she can get the taste of your milk without having to actually suck. I just tried a little bit at a time...he cried and cried and would only get about an ounce at time and then I would go nurse him. I did this until he started taking full bottles. It is very hard but you are doing the right thing. Good luck with school!!!

Layla,

I found that the Dr. Brown's bottles worked better with my daughter (a little pricier). She had trouble with the Avent. If you are pumping, I might suggest using Playtex drop-ins and storing your breastmilk in storage bags (really easy to heat up). I have tried all of them and love Lansinoh bags (if you get them at Wal-Mart in the 50 count box, they cost $0.199 per bag).
I might ask a friend or neighbor to try to give her a bottle. Make sure that she is hungry. Have them (with freshly washed hands) sqeeze the nipple so some milk comes out onto her lips. I suggest running the nipple of the bottle on her lips until she opens up. If she latches on, then she is rewarded with food immediately and will learn to make that connection more quickly. It may take some time. I wish you lots of luck.
J.

I had the same problem with my 3 month old (who is now 6 months). I was going back to work at 4 months and she was refusing the bottle. We tried for nearly a month with my husband offering the bottle with me leaving the room/house. We also tried giving her a bottle with water and letting her play with it, developing a relationship with the bottle (my mom did this with me and my siblings when she transitioned us to bottles). We tried numerous nipples and bottles (Avent, First Years BreastFlow, Adiri breastbottle, various Playtex nipples).

Ultimately, I grew desperate with only days left before I had to return to work so I withheld nursing until she took the bottle. It was incredibly difficult for me and for my daughter. I was in tears by the 7th hour that she refused feeding, but she finally gave in and has had no trouble with the bottle since nor has she struggled to switch between breast and bottle.

So here's what I did:
I nursed her for her first feeding of the day to make sure she got something. Then I offered her the bottle at each feeding. Each time she refused, she'd cry and I'd do my best to comfort her. She typically then fell asleep. I'd pump when she slept and when she awoke would offer the bottle again. This went on for some time, until early that afternoon she cried even at the sight of the bottle (Adiri). So at that point, I pulled out the Playtex drop-ins with the Natural Action nipple (the nubby one), heated the milk a little warmer than I normally would (a little over 100 degrees), and she took it. I'm not sure if any one particular thing did it, or if she was just hungry enough at that point, but regardless it worked. I then gave her bottles the rest of the day at each feeding and then nursed her for her last feeding before bed. For the next few days, I gave her one bottle a day and nursed the remainder of the time. She's been eating like a champ since.

A couple of other things to note: Stick with Stage 1 nipples - Breast fed babies should generally use slow flow nipples regardless of age. Also, it is said that the best position for a breastfed baby is not to try to imitate the nursing position, but to sit them upright in your lap facing away from you.

A website with great info for breastfeeding moms if you don't know of it already is www.kellymom.com.

Good luck! Apologies for the long response, but hopefully it is helpful.

First, move her up from a #1. I also nursed my kids and used Avent bottles since the nipples are most like breastfeeding. However, they couldn't get anything out of a 1. She should be on at least a 2 if not a 3. She's not going to want the bottle if she can't get anything from it. My sons never took the bottles from me at first either. It always had to be someone else. Could you get a friend to do it since your husband isn't home during the day?

Hi,

My 6 month old daughter is also breastfed and I had difficulty getting her to take a bottle when I pumped. I was finally successful when I tried her with the old fashioned glass bottles from Evenflo. She takes them great, better than any other bottle I tried. Now she will take a bottle of anything from me, even water. She is still mostly breastfed. The tips that people gave you are good and my baby will definately turn away from a bottle at certain times. For example, my husband sometimes gets up early with her and her sister and I sleep in. When I walk downstairs and she smells me and sees me, she will spit the bottle out very quickly because she has not nursed since the night before. It's not about nourishment, but comfort. Any breastfed baby is going to prefer the breast, but getting them to the point of ACCEPTING a bottle is progress. I had a similar situation to yours when my first daughter was a baby. She refused a bottle from me for a long time. I finally accomplished it one day by putting a really thick blanket over my chest so she was less likely to smell me or feel my breast. I had just pumped so the breastmilk was at my temperature. Of course she was more likely to take it from someone else. Here's what I woul;d suggest in your situation:

1. Only attempt to give her a bottle right now with warm
breastmilk (some people get it room temp. but it does not
come out of your body at that temp. when she nurses)
2. Nurse her for a few minutes so she has that familiarity
and comfort, then cover yourself well and try the bottle
3. Coat or dip the nipple of the bottle in warm breastmilk so
it smells and tastes familiar

I would definately order those Evenflo glass bottles. They are inexpensive and safe (plastic has been found to be dangerous, particularly plastic baby bottles)

Good Luck!

My son would not take a bottle either and I tried all kinds. Try a sippy cup and maybe try water. The good news is by then she will be 7 months old and she can go that long without getting too hungry. The craegiver could give her baby food and you may need to nurse her before you leave and when you return. I worked weekends when my daughter was born and she would go 7 hours at 3 months old. She would be really ready when I got home. My husband said the only time she cried is when he tried to give her a bottle. Good Luck!

Layla,
I had very similar issues with my daughter. I tried every type of bottle and every trick in the book and was getting desperate because I had to return to work. At first I tried to stay out of the equation and leave the bottle feeding to my husband or other relatives. All she would do was scream and get the milk everywhere but in her mouth. So I started giving her a bottle myself. I would breastfeed a little and then introduce the bottle. At first she cried, then after a few times she would chew, and eventually she began sucking half an ounce, one ounce...(all this over a period of 2-3 weeks) I positioned her sitting up facing away from me. Standing while walking and swaying also seemed to help. The Adiri bottle was the winner and we're sticking with it. She began taking a few ounces consistently from others the week before I returned to work! Now she's a bottle champ and will drink 5-6 ounces at a time from the bottle! Be consistent and patient and hopefully your baby will get the hang of it too.

I am going through the same thing with my son who just turned 6 months on the 18th. I am FINALLY after two months of really trying getting him to accept 2-4 oz. I tried three different bottles and the one that he accepts is called the soothie bottle. It is like the green pacifier you get from the hospital. I also run the nipple under warm water before I feed him to make it warm like the breast. Have you tried supplementing formula? I did that for a few days and he took to it right away from me. I was able to pump and store up more breast milk this way. Hope some of this might help. :)
----H.

My understanding is that the bottle needed to be introduced around 5-10 weeks and used somewhat regularly (once per week?). She may not take one now especially if you are offering. My girls would take a bottle from me, although look at me suspiciously the whole time, but we introduced earlier than you are. Definately keep trying, but maybe don't do it when she is starving and hysterical. Maybe nurse on one side and then offer the bottle.

Try a soft sopout sippy cup or even cup feed her a little to introduce a new spurce of feeding so maybe you can transition to a sippy (yes she can drink froma cup but it's messy). She may struggle at first, but in two months time she probably will addapt to a sippy. Keep in mind you would be weaning her from the bottle around 12 months anyway.

you may want to try a different formula. I did this recently by chance with my 4 month old, I had been giving her Good Start, but I was out and all I had was a sample packet of similac and she drank it right down. I could not believe it because I thought it was a problem with her taking a bottle as opposed to breastfeeding. I also am normally the one to give her a bottle or feed her because of my husband's work schedule. Good Luck!

The great thing about babies is that they won't starve themselves. I had to learn that lesson when my son wouldn't eat. Eventually the baby will learn that the only way to get food is the bottle and will adjust. Babies are resilient and if you are willing to sit through a couple of fit filled feedings go cold turkey on the breast and give only a bottle.

The only bottle that my son seemed to like was the gerber nuk bottles. The nipples are shaped exactly like the pacifiers.

I would change to a faster flow nipple. My son used to fall asleep he would get so exhausted trying to get enough out fast enough from a level one or slow flow nipple. Even though with our older son we didn't use a fast flow nipple on the bottle until he was probably 7 or 8 months, with the younger one, we ended up switching at about 2 months to the fast flow nipple because he just wasn't eating like he should.

I'm guessing you are pumping and that's what's in the bottle, but if it's formula or a mix, maybe that's too much transition at once?

Hi, Layla. Have you tried to just transition her to a sippy cup and skip the bottle? My sister also was a breast feeder and at six months she transitioned her son from breast to sippy cup -- he never had a bottle.

Hi Layla,

Contact the La Leche League.

www.lllusa.org/VA/WebTidewaterVA 1-800-525-3243

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

My daughter was nursed exclusively, and refused to take a bottle. When she was seven months old, my appendix ruptured and I was hospitalized. Guess what? When she was hungry enough, she took the bottle from her Grandaddy. One thing that might have helped is that she had been eating solids for a little over a month, so she knew she could get food elsewhere. When you start her on solids, you could work the bottle into that routine. Another benefit is that even if she won't touch the bottle, the solids will help keep her full while you're at school. Good luck!
D.

First, 5 months old is pretty old to introduce a bottle. You might just want to skip to a sippy cup, particularly as your daughter doesn't need a bottle until fall and by then will be plenty old for a sippy. THere are some sippies that are very easy for baby to suck on and are very like bottles.

Do not use a faster flow nipple as your child is breastfed. An exclusively breastfed baby does not move past slow-flow nipples.

I had the same problem before I went back to work. She will accept the bottle eventually; just hold strong. My biggest advice would be to move the nipple size to the next stage. During breastfeeding she probably doesn't have to work very hard before your let down, and using a size 1 nipple is a lot of work for a little one who is accustomed to a fast meal. If that doesn't work, try a new bottle. She might not like the nipple.
Good luck and be strong!