Advice on How to Get Infant to Take a Bottle

[Indianamom2]

Well, the title pretty much says it all. Ds is 12 weeks old. He's had maybe 4-5 bottles in all that time, all pretty spaced apart. I usually just always nurse. I guess I should have tried harder to pump and get him to take a bottle, but he took those 4 or so without much trouble. Today...he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. And after MUCH crying, when he finally tried, he doesn't seem to "get it".

I never had a problem with my DD #1, but then again, maybe I tried more often (I honestly can't remember!). How do I encourage him to take a bottle? I know I will need him to take one from time to time...I need ideas, ladies!

Christina

[misshollygolightly]

Hopefully someone else will pipe in with more advice, but here are some things to try:
-leave the house (or at least room/line of sight) and have someone else offer the bottle
-check the temp of the bottle--maybe it's too hot or too cold?
-are you offering formula or breastmilk in the bottle? Maybe try whichever one you haven't?
-maybe it's time for a nipple with faster flow?

Good luck!

[bubbaray]

Some babies just won't take a bottle, ever. Neither of my girls would, no matter what was in it or who gave it to them or when or where. My dr said her kids were the same.

JMHO.

[jenfromnj]

-leave the house (or at least room/line of sight) and have someone else offer the bottle



This is what worked for us when DS was initially being introduced to bottles--he refused to take them from me, but if I left (even to another level of the house), he'd eventually take a bottle given to him by DH or by my mom. It did take a few tries though.

[smiles33]

Some babies just won't take a bottle, ever. Neither of my girls would, no matter what was in it or who gave it to them or when or where. My dr said her kids were the same.

JMHO.

DD1 had no problems going from breast to bottle or even switching bottles when we discovered her daycare wouldn't allow glass bottles. Fast forward and this time around is much different, as DD2 still refuses bottles. She's over 4 months old, has had a bottle offered to her every day since she was 4 weeks old, but it takes 1-2 HOURS fighting with her to get 1/2 oz down that mostly dribbles as she refuses to suck (except for 2 known instances of sucking it down in only 5 minutes). Apparently, she can do it if she's really hungry, but daycare spoon feeds or gives her breastmilk in a cup.

Long story short, I followed all the advice on kellymom.org and any other baby site I could find about bottle feeding babies who are breastfed. I spent over $100 trying 5 different bottle systems (investing in Dr. Brown's after she actually took a bottle two days in a row and then she stopped again).

My advice? Try the tips and if all else fails, your baby will make up for the milk when you get home from work. DD2 gets 3-6 oz in the 8 hours she is at daycare but then nurses 3 hours on-and-off when I get home from work. I spend all night on the couch and DH cooks dinner, takes care of DD1, and everything else like laundry or dishes waits until the weekend. Even though she's only taking 3 oz by spoon/cup, she's in the 97th percentile for weight and 95th for height so she's obviously not starving. Our ped was surprised she wasn't nursing all night, as she STTN so it really is those 3 hours on the couch that makes up the difference.

Good luck!

[lmr1101]

My daughter stopped taking the occasional bottle just before 4 months. With help from others on this board I tried a sippy cup. She caught on very quickly and was much happier with the sippy cup. Around 6 months she liked to play with the sippy, but didn't drink much from there anymore. We started to introduce a small toddler size cup.
Good luck