Arghhh... she won't take a bottle now.. help!

[peanut4us]

Ok. SO she's a breastfed baby, but I do pump and need her to take the occasional bottle and in Sept. she's going to have bottles at day care. And I know it's my fault because I've only been trying to give her a bottle about once a week... it's just in convenient to feed her a bottle just for the sake of it beacuse I need to pump then too.

So NOW she refuses her bottle. She screams and cries. SHe won't take it from me, her dad, friends of ours. We've tried when she isn't overly hungry, when she is ravenous, at the house, away from the house. YOu get my point. Anyway, this has to stop.

PLease, if anyone has ideas or has gone through this, what can we do? I do NOT want to stop bfing and just give her EBM all the time, but one bottle a day is necessary (I have to do work at the office sometimes).

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Have you tried different types of bottles and nipples? I have had great success with the Adiri Breastbottle. It looks and feels just like a breast and my daughter loves it. She actually smiled the first time she was given this bottle, just like she does at my breast.

http://www.breastbottle.com

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel 2/27/91
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[CherylT]

I totally know what you are going through. I never had a problem with DD, but DS started refusing bottles at around 4 months of age. I tried a couple other types of bottles and every type of formula (my body doesn't like the pump) to no avail. I've read that some kids just start exercising their freedom of choice around that age :)! I decided to give it a rest for a few weeks and then keep trying periodically. I had planned to wean DS at 5-6 months, but had to delay it due to his aversion to bottles. At about 7 months he began taking the bottle again like he never had a problem with it in the first place. Go figure! However, since he is taking it again I am making sure that he has a bottle a day and have decided to wean him now (he's at 2 bottles a day). It is very frustrating, but eventually she'll take the bottle. Good luck to you!!!

Cheryl
SAHM to Lilli 9/20/00 & Alec 10/21/02

[KathyO]

By all means try the different style of bottle, but my story is more like Cheryl's - no luck no how! We did work it through, though, and everyone survived.

Rather than type out the whole tale again, here is a link to the thread where I described the problem as we had it, and what the lactation consultant said. http://www.windsorpeak.com/dcforum/DCForumID4/896.html

Incidentally, the La Leche League website also has a section on getting breastfed babies to drink from a bottle. It's at http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/bottle.html .

Wishing you good luck! Let us know how it works out (and it WILL!)

Cheers,

KathyO

[MartiesMom2B]

Thank God you wrote this post. I'm in near tears b/c Martie won't take the bottle. We're yard saling on Saturday and I have the wedding in July. I'm desperate. As soon as her lips touch the nipple she cries. I'm buying that booby bottle tomorrow at my hospital. Hopefully she'll take it!

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

[cinrein]

Yup, Anna did the same thing around 3 months. Don't blame yourself for giving her a bottle once a week because I don't think that's the problem.

We just kept trying and trying. She seemed to get over it, although it's still hit or miss sometimes. Anna did best with a bottle if I was no where in the vicinity, like not even in the house, while DH fed her. Just keep trying and she'll come around. I didn't try other bottle types. We started with Avent when she was 3 weeks old and she had no problems with it until 3 months old. I figured her aversion was not to the nipple/bottle type, but more to the idea of a bottle in general. Just as Kathy said in her previous post, she learned to take the bottle again once she realized that it was a bottle or nothing.

Cindy
Mama to Anna 2/11/03