Help! My 7-Month-old Won't Take a Bottle

My 2nd son never took a bottle at all no matter how hard we tried. We did however have success getting him to drink breast milk out of a sippy cup starting at around 4 months so he would just have to drink out of a cup whenever I left him.

Consider contacting your local La Leche League Leader. All their services are free and medically accurate. You can find your local Leader at www.lllusa.org. Also, consider looking up the "Kassling Technique" of bottlefeeding. I think you could find an article about it using the search feature at www.llli.org. It is just a way to offer an artificial nipple that does not interfere with proper latch for breastfeeding.
Additionally. many mothers find it helps if the artificial nipple is warm, someone besides mom offers the bottle, and it's OK to experiement with positioning--some babies want to be artificially fed in a cradled breastfeeding position while others prefer to face away from their caregiver when they are not being fed at the breast.
Remember, too, that a bottle is *not* the only way to offer milk besides the breast. While other methods such as finger-feeding with a syringe, or using a spoon or flexible cup, are a bit more labor-intensive and unfamiliar, they work fine in a pinch and also do not interfere with proper breastfeeding latch. A LLL Leader or IBCLC-certified lactation consultant can help you with details about how to use these alternate feeding methods.
Please do be cautious about offering solid food. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until Baby is at least six months of age before offering anything besides your milk because of the risk of allergies, but babies should also have reaches several developmental milestones before they are "ready" for lots of solids. A Baby should be sitting up on his own, have no tongue-thrust reflex, and be using his pincer grasp to pick things up. Perhaps some little baby puffs can distract him while you must be gone, but they are not a major source of nutrition. Keep in mind that very little you can offer at this early age is as high-calorie as your milk. . . stuffing him with rice cereal is neither more filling nor more nutritious than your perfect milk.
Congratulations on your breastfeeding relationship. I know it seems like an inconvenience right at the moment, but you will both be reaping the benefits of nursing and your intuitive relationship with your child forever. Hang in there!

I feel your pain. My 7 month old son won't take a bottle either. He did just fun until his two bottom teeth came in. We have tried 7 different bottles and countless different nipples - nothing seems to work except for the "old school" playtex nipples (natural latch) - you can't even buy them in a store - I had to order them from Amazon! Even with those - he will only take about 3oz every couple of days or so. So - we have our sitter offering the bottle 2x's a day and giving him lots of veggies and fruits until I get home and can nurse him. We also tried the sippy cup (4 different kinds) and he just doesn't get the hang of it.

Good luck!!

First of all, I feel your pain. My DS is my third child. I thought we'd seen it all and that we'd figure out how to get him to take a bottle, despite that he was EBF. I DON'T always pump. I didn't want to deal with the engorged feeling when I went out once in awhile. So we decided to start one formula bottle a day at about 5 mos. Well guess what, he wouldn't take it.

Although I agree with the PPs that your son will most likely "give in" and drink a bottle when he gets hungry enough and if you aren't around...I know that doesn't make you feel any better/more reassured.

One "trick" we learned was try to mix in a little apple juice. I mix his formula in with apple juice instead of water. It's really 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 water. And IT WORKS! We have since given less and less apple juice and this weekend on the car ride home from Easter out of state, he took a straight formula bottle in the car!

Consider trying this, maybe even with the formula instead of "wasting" your pumped milk. Our pediatrician said it was fine since it wasn't every feeding. Also, I agree with giving more solids...MumMum rice crackers, baby food and yogurt will ensure that he is well filled while you are away.

Good luck! And try to relax. Babies tend to sleep when they are tired and eat when they are hungry - regardless of what WE think is appropriate.

Feel free to msg me.

I've been on both sides of this: as a Mom, and as the weekend babysitter who was told the baby wouldn't take a bottle. Guess what? When you aren't around and his little tummy tells him it's empty, he will take the bottle! He may fuss a little, but ultimately, he will be fine!
Try not to worry- and do keep having your husband try to feed him. Also, if he's started on solids at all, you can be assured he won't starve while you're gone. :-)

Have you tried to leave while your husband gives the bottle? I wouldn't panic too much about your trip - I know, easier said than done.

I travel for work, and one of the times my son REFUSED the bottle from my husband. I knew that he wouldn't starve himself, but it didn't make it any easier for me. It turns out that he would take it at daycare, but not at home - maybe it was his way of controlling it. So, my husband gave him some solids at home, and had the daycare offer milk right when he dropped him off, and right before he was picked up, on top of the normal feedings. He was a little crabby at night from the self inflicted fasting of about 15 hours, but he survived and the next time I left, he took the bottle again.

At this age, he should be ready to try a sippy cup. If he doesn't like a regular hard lid, try the silicon sippies. Nuby make pretty good, cheap ones. (My 7 month old can't seem to get the hang of the hard Playtex sippies - she wants to teethe on them rather than drinking.) If that doesn't work, try a straw cup instead. That's what my two older girls took at this age, and it worked great for them.

I nursed my son as well and when he was first born we had to supplement for awhile so he got use to using a bottle but after awhile I stopped using a bottle for awhile except just occasionally and he would still do really well with it. Then all of a sudden he just refused to take a bottle, probably around 6 or 7 months old. I was beside myself because I felt the need to have a babysitter every now and then so my husband and I could have some date nights but since he wasn't taking a bottle I didn't know what to do. When he was first born and we were supplementing we were using bottle that were very "breast" like. I stopped using them and started using an Avent bottle after awhile because the other bottles had 4 different pieces to them and I got sick of washing it all so the Avent ones seemed easier and less work. All that to say when he was refusing the bottle we decided to try the "breast" like bottles again and he surprising took it. Not sure if it will work for your baby but it's worth a shot. We got the bottles at Target and they are called The First Years Breast Flow bottle and here's a link to it at Target.com

http://www.target.com/First-Years-Breastflow-Bottle-oz/dp...

I hope this helps.

Try a sippy cup! I know it seems young but our 5 month old had the same problem. He never had a problem with the bottle (he didn't even have a nipple preference) until we went a while without giving it to him. But now he takes the sippy cup just fine (we use the Nuby one). I have a friend with an 8 month old who wouldn't take a bottle or standard sippy cup, but she would take the sippy cup with the straw. Good luck!

Maybe try having someone else feed him (not you) when you aren't around, so he doesn't think he has a choice. They can be stubborn even at a young age. Good luck!