My 7-Week Breastfed Baby Won't Take a Bottle

My baby tried avent (because of the shape) at about 6 weeks and took it without any fuss. I was not the one to give it to her, which may have helped. i don't know if this will be of any help at all... I hope it is! :)

I just went through this with my dtr also. You just have to be persistent. My dtr likes the playtex latex nipples. We have to get the milk really warm and run the nipple under warm water. Then whoever is feeding her holds just as I do when breastfeeding. She's still sometimes fussy with it, but had to accept it if she wanted to eat while I was away!

We went through this with my daughter. My pedi wasn't too much help in this area. I posted something on here about it and it was suggested to try different bottles and different temperatures. We tried everything under the sun and had mild success with Avent bottles and room temp milk. I say mild because she would use it IF I wasn't anywhere around AND she was absolutely starving. Fortunately her grandparents are our babysitters and were very patient with their fussy baby. I usually nursed her right before we left anywhere hoping to "top her off" and keep her happy a little longer. We toughed it out until five months when she started using a sippy cup. Fortunately she took to that rather quickly! Sorry I don't have any sage advice. But I know how you feel. I hope you find something that works!

Jenea has the right of it, but really it is not cruel. I've done similar with all three of my kids, and guess what they all survived (ages 15, 10 and 3). Anyway, it isn't necessarily the type of bottle so quit wasting your money. It CANNOT be you who gives the bottle, at least while you are training her to accept it. And you can be no where around . . . she'll know. So you need to leave her with her daddy or someone else and go away, for 3-4 hours. Yes, she will fuss with them and initially she won't drink. No, she will not starve but eventually she'll get hungry enough and she'll drink from the bottle. And it will get better each time. But once you do this, then make sure at least one feeding a day is from a bottle . . . she'll become a pro at switching between breast and bottle without batting an eye.

It may be the type of bottle you are trying to give her. I Breastfeed all three of mine and the bottle that they took for my husband and others was the playtex drop-ins with the vent-aire natural shape nipple slow flow. If the flow is too quick on the ones that you have right now they could be making her fussy and mad. I hope this helps you all. If you have any questions just shoot me an e-mail.

When I dealt with this with my son, someone gave me some advice that I thought was absolutely cruel. BUT I tried it and it worked. I chose a time when my husband wouldn't be home because I knew he would not be able to take it. I locked myself in my bedroom (with a few things to do) and for the next 3-4 hours I had my mom try to feed my son breastmilk from the bottle. Thankfully my mom was patient enough and knew that we had to do it because I was going to back to work soon. Finally into the 3rd hour, he stopped crying and starting drinking from the bottle. It was very difficult and sometimes I even went into the bathroom and turned on the shower to keep myself from hearing him so I wouldn't go into the family where baby and mom were. This may not work for you but after I tried several different bottles, temperatures, and techniques, this is what I resorted to. Good luck!

We had the same problem. All the other nipples did not react the way my son expected so that he would not eat from a bottle. I got the breast flow bottles and he never seemed to notice a difference. Took the bottle from daddy and the sitter.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3393703
I always got mine at Babies R Us. I loved the variation in sizes because my son went from 3 ox to nine oz overnight and i had all the choices of different oz bottles to choose from. Easy to clean and store breastmilk for short periods of time as well.

I wish I had more to offer - with my oldest, it took a long time to get her to take a bottle- she often just wouldn't eat when I was gone to work! She wouldn't be fussy - but she really didn't like the bottle much - she did wean to a bottle at about 7-8 months - but would only take it with formula - not breastmilk and she used Playtex nursers. My middle child would do breastmilk or formula - only from Avent bottles (he was a chow hound - it didn't matter what it was, he would take it). My third would not take ANY bottle ever... we tried EVERY bottle on the market - and tried leaving her... she never did take a bottle - she went right to a cup (she nursed for 2 1/2 years though).

Keep trying... I know it is hard.

While I don't have any personal experiencce with this (yet), the best I can say is to keep trying different types of bottles, perhaps the wide-nippled type (think Playtex).

Good luck and I hope you find a bottle she likes!

We had the same problem. She eventually took Breastflow bottles but it took a lot of trying. When I finally went back to work, she just started taking it without a fuss but we tried for weeks before then and she refused. We fed her with a dropper, and we tried and tried but then she finally just took to it. Good luck! I know it is frustrating!

Hi V..

First of all, congratulations on your new angel. You have so many wonderful times ahead of you.

The Breastmade bottles worked well for my daughter. I bought mine at Target, but I'm sure you can find them anywhere. Good luck!

The same thing happened to me when my little girl was 3 months old and I had to return back to work. I've given her the bottle here and there but for the most part I nursed her. I would leave 3 Avent bottles, 5 ounces each with the sitter and she pretty much refused to drink any the first week. My sitter would try every 15 minutes. That weekend, my husband and I decided to only bottle feed her until she got the hang of it before I could switch back and forth between nursing and bottles. My husband would feed her that entire weekend with the bottle during her scheduled feeding time and I was out of the room. She would cry and fuss but eventually she would take it. The first bottle that weekend it took her 1 hour to take 5 ounces. Eventually, the times got shorter and a little easier each time. You have to be persistent and patient. Your little one will feed when they are hungry. It's hard not to give in but don't give up. Good luck! You'll get there!

I went through the same thing with my daughter when she was 12 weeks; when I returned to work after maternity leave. We used every kind of nipple and bottle there was, but she finally got hungry enough that, I think, she would take anything. It was not fun for me or my husband, but she survived. I have since learned that I should have introduced the bottle at 4 weeks and continued to give, or really, have someone else give it, at least once or twice a week, so she gets used to it. You should continue to only breastfeed, so she doesn't get confused.

Try the playtex nursers drop in system. The nipples are close to the shape of the breast and they are soft like the breast. all 3 of my kids took to this bottle and no other. Good luck.

My son and niece were the same way. They would only accept the Avent nipples and bottles. It's worth a try. Good luck!

I had the same problem because I never used a bottle and when someone else tried to feed my baby he would reject it. My mother told me a trick that worked but you will have to devote a couple of feedings to get the job done. Try feeding your baby yourself with a bottle by hold her close like you are breast feeding (bare breast so she can feel your skin). Then have the father do the same. You will feel alittle stupid but it works. The biggest problem is getting the father to agree to it. After a few times she will be ok and dad can keep his shirt on.

Try the Avent bottle and see if she likes that nipple. Also, have your husband feed her when you are out of the house. If my sister was anywhere near him, my nephew would refuse to take a bottle but if he knew it was his only option, he would take it. "Breast is best" and some kids believe in this more strongly than others! Good luck and congratulations on your little blessing.

M.

try the breastflow bottles from 1st years. They have two nipples that fit together and the baby has to suck just like nursing. I nursed for 15 months...and like you had to pump and use bottles for times when I had to travel. These worked great for us and my daughter never had any problem going back and forth.

Keep trying. Neither of my daughters took a bottle. And with the first - we tried everything available. I had to as I went back to work when she was 4 months old. We started her on rice cereal before I went back because I worried about her starving. My sister-in-law found she would take liquid from a straw, so we found an angel of a babysitter who would feed her with a medicine dropper! That lasted about 6 weeks, then my daughter learned to drink from a sippy cup (low flow). She ate solids at the sitters and drank a little milk, and moved her feedings to the evenings and night-time. Rather hard on me - I learned to nurse her in bed so I could sleep too. Around a year, she dropped the middle of the night feeding and was drinking more from a sippy cup. Babies tend to work around the problem. lol By the way, my first is now a healthy, happy, 6'1" 15 year old! so no harm done by not taking a bottle even though I wasn't available.

The medela and nuk nipples flow is too fast for a breastfed baby. Mine choked on the medela. Only one that's worked for me was gerber. Used breastflow bottles with my first child and was pretty happy with those too. Good luck!

My son never took a bottle, but there is a bottle that is shaped like a breast - I would also suggest wrapping a piece of clothing that you have worn around whoever is feeding her. The smell just might make it work.

Good luck.

Hi V.!
I didn't read all your responses, but I can tell you that I tried EVERYTHING to get my son to take a bottle. We spent money on every bottle we could, even one that was shaped just like the breast. Nothing worked. I tried leaving him with my mom for a few hours on several occassions, and she would try all the different bottles. In the end, I just nursed and planned my time away around his schedule.
I hope you have much better luck than I did. I just wanted you to know that some babies will not take a bottle, no matter what you try!
C.