My 4Month Old Refuses to Take a bottle...we've Tried 5 Different Ones!!!

I also have to agree that the ADIRI bottle was a lifesaver for me. Both of my kids were resistant to the bottle when I went back to work, but both took the ADIRI. They are on the more expensive side, but worth it. You can find them on Amazon.com.

Try the disposable bottles with the plastic liner, the brown nipple is more like the breast. they sell them everywhere

my family just went through this and my son went for 1-2 months not into the bottle, but would take it eventually after fighting it out. now he seems to be more ok with it. i can not tell you exactly what changed for him, but i will tell you that while my mom was up visiting, she cup-fed my son, sitting him on her lap facing out -- she said she didnt even want to try to trick him into thinking it was like mom. and she put a bib on, because he spilled! but he got some down, played with the cup some, and would then switch to the bottle with more patience. i believe they make flexible cups that can avoid the dribbling. my partner and i also discussed introducing rice cereal early if it would increase the sanity in my house while i am at work. but i have the advantage of not working full-time, so i would be able to nurse a lot and still provide the real nutrition. we just thought the rice cereal could avoid over-hunger. i would also say not to wait until the kid is clearly hungry, because they get so frantic.

I had the same problem when my daughter was that age, she' almost 2 now.

I agree with one of the mom's comments and babies won't starve themselves. If they are hungry enough, they'll take the bottle. You need to have the patience to wait them out, even if your baby is crying. Taking a bottle is a change and babies hate change. It was HOURS before my daughter would finally take the bottle from my husband!

Hi there! My daughter was very much like this when I returned to work at 3 months. Well, first day I came back she held out for 8 hours. Obviously, there was a lot of crying (on all sides - mine, hers and even my husband's who was very frustrated). Next day she held out for 6 hours, and then took Dr Brown bottle. After a week she figured it out. It seemed very difficult at that time, but now, when she is 28 months, and a very healthy toddler, it's rather amusing. So try to look at this struggle as a temporary transition, pick one bottle with a nipple most resembling your shape and stick with it. Good luck!

maybe try a sippy cup . S.

My daughter was the same way, she WOULD NOT take a bottle. We tried EVERYTHING. I was a wreck. Then, when I left her at daycare for the trial run(she was 4 months) before returning to work, she took the bottle from the caregiver like she was a pro. I could not believe it.From that day forward, she took the bottle NO PROBLEM at daycare. She would take it home after that too, but not as readily. Strange, huh? Anyway-I don't know if that makes you feel any better but maybe try the trial run with whomever you are leaving your baby with. GOOD LUCK-I know how stressful that can be. And remember...if she is hungry enough, she will EVENTUALLY take it.

Hi N.,

I am so sorry you are going through this, I went through the same thing.

I tried about 10 different bottles and different nipples, I also tried having someone else do it and holding him differently nothing worked. If nothing is working the bottle that did the trick for me was a Podee bottle, it is a travel bottle so it isn't with the other bottles in the store usually. The reason I think my son like it is that it felt like a pacifier, because the nipple is connected to the bottle with a tube. My son wouldn't take a bottle no matter how long he was away from me, so this saved me from the guilt and worry I felt when I went back to work. He would even take it from me, which was always hard because of the fact he could smell me when I was around.

I hope something works for you, because this is so hard for us mom's.

Keep trying. I had the same trouble w/my son at 3 mos, but after about a month of relentless practice, he finally decided to drink from a bottle. Now he *loves* bottles, all kinds of bottles, which is hilarious! One creative thing I did was to have both a bottle and the boob ready at the same time when I was feeding him. I'd nurse him for a while, then slide the bottle nipple in one corner of his mouth at the same time, let him suck on both, and then slowly remove the boob and let him work on the bottle for a bit. I thought this might help him to associate the bottle as an alternate source of food. Eventually something kicked in!

Try Dr.Brown's bottle. We tried lots of different techniques, what finally worked with our son is, starting bottle first thing in the morning when he's just woken up from sleep.

As he's hungry and thirsty he took in an ounce and then wouldn't take anything at all and went back to sleep in an hr or so, when he woke up again we gave him the bottle, he just drank an ounce in 1/2 sleep and refused again and played and slept.
The third time he woke up, we still gave him the bottle, and this time he took 3 oz straight.
From the afternoon i breastfed him, as he started missing that.

We did this for a couple of days and he picked it up and was fine alternating between bottle and breast.
At times he'd refuse, but later got used to it full swing.
Hope this helps!!

And finally, be patient and relaxed. Babies can sense that. I know its easy to say, but it is really hard to do as its not really easy.

Hi N. my baby boy was the same way,I tried everything bottles, nipples, leaving him with dad and babysitter and nothing. He would rather go on a hunger strike up to 5-6 hrs at a time. The day came and I return to work FT and he lost one pound the first week because he was not eating at daycare except for lunch when I would show up during my lunch break, I was a wreck. The the second week he took it like a pro and now does both the bottle at daycare and breastfeds when at home in the evening and weekends. He has adjusted just fine. Good luck.

I had the same problem with my daughter when I went back to work when she was 4 months. Contrary to what everyone says in leaving the room, I was the one who gave her the bottle. Before each nursing, I would give her the bottle. She would fuss and play with the bottle but once she took a little then I would nurse her. I did this every feeding. It took a week but then she was able to take the bottle. Be persistent!

N.... I see you have gotten lots of advice! I wanted to share with you what worked for us. I was the anti-bottle one (and being home-based in my business, I didn't NEED to use a bottle); however my second baby had a health issue and couldn't nurse for a week when she was 2 weeks old! Yes, I pumped and yes, she took my breastmilk... but we didn't have bottles in our home. What worked for us was my hubby using a teaspoon to dribble the milk in our daughter's mouth~~ 2 feedings later she was taking a sippy cup like a pro (did even better at 2 weeks old than her older sis did at 18 months;)). So... there is NO need for the bottles.. you can introduce a cup very early on! Good luck and try to keep encouraging her to take whatever method you choose ;)

One thing that I think is very important it not to be tied to HAVING to use the bottle. I went back to work wen my son was 3 months - he'd take a bottle occasionally but ended up refusing all types - even the breast shaped ones. i was really stressed out for a while but my husband tried to feed him with a little cup one day (a shot glass really) and it worked. He was slurpping it up. Our nanny prefers to use a medicine dropper. He's 6 months old now and is still anti-bottle, but he's starting to get into thee sippy cup.
Bottles are a great convenience item for parents and caregivers, but they're not the end all-be all. There are plenlty of places in the world where bottles are no where to be found - these people just use a little cup.
You may find a bottle that works for you - but it's ok if you don't.

As a licened family child care provider, I strongly encourage baby to be bottle fed by someone other than Mom before starting child care. Of course a baby wants Mom the most. In child care the first weeks are rough with baby not wanting a bottle and baby is up at night nursing making up for what they didn't drink that day. So the baby is getting the food he/she needs. Little by little the baby does drink from a bottle and taking in more and more. It takes time, patience, and love to work with the baby to take a bottle. And trying different nipples like you have been doing.
F.

I completely understand what you are going thru. I went back to work when my son was 6months. I breastfed him exclusively. It became very hard for him to take the bottle. I tried many different bottles, someone else fed him, I left the house...etc -- Nothing worked! The first few days, he cried and held out, until I was back home. The solid feeding then started and after the first week, he had taken the ADIRI bottle. The transition will happen, just slowly, we need to be tough, it has to be done. Hope this helped.

Hi N. - I know what you're going through and it's sooo stressful. My daughter refused the bottle starting at 9 weeks and her strike lasted a good 4 weeks until I decided to not nurse her until she took the bottle. I've tried everything, too for those 4 weeks - different nipples, bottles, feeding her hungry, having her dad and my friends try feeding her, leaving the house, etc. etc. Unfortunately, none worked and at the sight of the bottle, she'd cry. I ended up being the one breaking the strike. Her pediatrician said that babies won't starve themselves so it's okay to let them cry...this was difficult to hear but I too was going back to work in a month's time and I just couldn't handle the stress of not having her take the bottle. I gave her the bottle while having her face out (I turned on the tv at times, or had something for her to look at so she wasn't looking at the nipple and rejecting it immediately) and really, I withheld my boobs until she finally took the bottle - it lasted a good 6 hours of her crying, falling asleep, crying, etc. etc. My limit was going to be 10 hours(!) so I was glad that she took it in 6 hours. It took a good week for her to accept the bottle readily but she started taking it because she knew she wouldn't be fed otherwise. It's difficult to see your baby cry and let them go hungry (or so you think) AND to withhold your boob (b/c it's just right there and would be so easy to just feed her) but it'll be worth it at the end. I truly think that your baby knows when you're stressing too so even if it's hard you should give it a try and get over the strike. Best wishes.

This may sound odd, but try testing the temp of your breastmilk and try to get the forumla to that temp. Your baby is used to getting milk fresh from mommy at the right temp. Now shes being asked to take it from a strange source and it might be cold, or too hot.
It took a week for me to figure out the right temp for my son when he went on formula. For him, it turned out that it had to be room temp....so I kept water in a jug on the counter to make the formula with. You might also want to try switching what type of formula you use, my first son like Enfamil, my second son liked Good Start (on the one in the red can though).
the other thing you might try if all of those don't work is blend the formula with the water and let the air bubbles go down, maybe it's that the formula is tasting grainy to her so that might help.

good luck
K.

All I have to advise is keep trying! Every day!! Luckily, my friend advised me to introduce our son to the bottle at 3 weeks old, so by the time I got back to work he was totally into them.
I think you should wait until she is really hungry and then she might not fight it as much.
Good luck.

I went back to work at 4 monthes, and my daughter had taken the bottle in the past but it had been awhile since we tried it. I put breastmilk in the bottle at first, so show her that it is ok (atleast something was familiar)....then the transistion to formula here and there wasn't such a culture shock. The temp was a big thing for my little one. She likes it on the hotter side. The bottle we use is the Gerber latex nipple. Its the brownish colored nipple. I use the slow nipple becuase I figure my breastholes are not getting bigger as she grows, so why does the bottle need to? We bought every expensive bottle on the market and low and behold...the one she likes is the cheapy Gerber one...anyway...you're not alone! Your baby WILL eat when hungry : - ) Good Luck!

my daughter did that too when i was about to return to work. i used the playtex nursers which we loved. unfortunately, she had a few rough days at first. i had to commute to work so i was gone for 10 hours at a time. the first few days she only took one ounce for the whole 10hours!!! i felt horrible but she got through it. iwould basically nurse her out the door and then pumped two times at work then nurse when i got home again. needless to say, she finally took the bottle and then didn't give it up until she was two! good luck! she'll be ok! V.

if you are not around and she is hungry, she will take it. it may take a few days of crying etc but they are smarter than we think. also, have you tried the ADIRI bottles?? they feel and look much like a nipple. they are great. good luck!

My first and Third had problems.
My last one liked cold milk only. The plain nipple and
formula was an issue to, she liked enfamil lactofree.
Get samples from your pedi....

Somehow we all get thru this!

I had the same problem! My daughter is just now 4 months and I had to go back to work part time over a month ago. She wouldn't take the bottle at all and I was having to leave her everyday for over 3 hours. It took a month of trying everyday (I was starting to think I was going to have to donate breast milk I was storing so much). Finally after a month of being at work she started taking an ounce then a little more... I guess this is less advice and more hope... Something you might want to try is having someone else give her a bottle while you leave for a bit in incrementally more time - and by the time you go back to work maybe it will be easier than the time I had! Good luck

Hi N.,
We went through this when my daughter was 3 months old. We must have bought every bottle and nipple combination on the market. We were so stressed because I was going back to work the next day and she still hadn't taken to the bottle. That morning, I happened to find the nipple that the hospital gave us in the diaper bag as the last resort. After about an hour of fussing and crying, she took 4 oz with this nipple from our nanny. It is softer and thinner than nipples on the market. This was also the nipple she used right after she was born at the hospital when we supplemented for couple of days waiting for my milk to come in. Now, after 2 months plus of drinking breast milk from a bottle, she can go from bottle to breast back to the bottle in one feeding. It turned out to be a texture thing with her. You can buy these nipples on ebay or from Abbott (Similac infant nipple and ring). Our hospital actually gave us some after much pleading. Good luck. I think our daughter would have eventually taken the bottle even without this nipple. I also posted on mammasource asking for advice and most people said she will eventually give into the bottle once she gets hungry enough. It sounded so cruel but I think it's true.