My baby doesn't want to take a bottle

[lea1373]

Hello Mums. I have a 14 weeks baby boy and for now I only breastfeed him ,as I start my classes on Wednesday I'd like to pump and leave him with my husband so that he can feed him but the little one doesn't want to take a bottle. I really don't know what to do anymore I've been trying for 3days but nothing.Your suggestions will help a lot

Hi.thanks to all for your comments "I had time to read each comment but didn't have time to thank all of you bcz i have another kid 1.8 y.o so its not easy to get a free time"

Its been a hard week, couldn't even concentrate on my studies ... Anyway thankssssss a loooottttt your comments helped a lot now i feel a little bit stressed.
Have a good Sunday

 

[bookinweasel]

@lea1373 If you can get your pediatrician to write a referral to work with an occupational therapist, that's what we did. Here's what we learned:

1. Most bottles weren't working. We ended up getting a latch to the even flow (it looks most like a breast with breast tissue to latch on to and it's not the mam with a compressed nipple (not what you want your nipple to look like after breast feeding).
2. Positive association only...don't practice or force feed the baby when they're upset or fussy. With practice we sometimes would feed to complete satiation and then introduce the bottle nipple or would feed to half satiation and introduce the bottle.
3. Practice with the nipple of the bottle only. When baby is in quiet alert state, take the nipple from the bottle and play with it against their mouth. Introduce it like you would your own nipple, let their tongue feel around, point the tip to the roof of their mouth, see if they'll start to latch, and eventually suck. Once baby gets a small latch or suck on the nipple (either one) is a win. Practice this every day 1-2x a day (like tummy time).
4. Begin to introduce milk to the nipple...can put it on the tip of the nipple or have a second person use a syringe to insert milk into the nipple once the baby is latched to nipple.
5. Add the base of the bottle with milk in it.

It's taken my boy about 5 weeks and we practice 1-2x a day every day or every other day. He still will only take the bottle from me and not my husband, but we're working on just getting associated to the bottle. At any point there is fussiness, give up and try another time (practice with only an oz at a time). Again, you can try introducing in the middle of a breast feed as they're already in a sucking/latchign rhythm

 

[pilgrim]

@lea1373 We also had this problem, he took a bottle no problem up until 10 weeks and then decided he was over it, and then randomly at 5 months started taking it again. I tried every bottle I could and he eventually accepted the mam bottle, the thing that helped the most in my opinion, was letting him play with a bottle with milk in it. Seemed to make a difference.

 

[zooplankton]

@lea1373 I had the same problem. We combo fed until six weeks then transitioned to EBF, and it was like he completely forgot how to take a bottle and would scream bloody murder. Babies . A few thoughts:

1. Make sure your milk isn’t high-lipase. At some point between newborn times and 4 months this became a problem for me, and where he used to drink 2-3 day old milk now it has to be absolutely fresh or scalded.
2. Everyone says to have someone else try, but that just wasn’t working out for us. He wound up taking his first bottle from me, mom. And now dad can give him one too.
3. The Phillips Avent Natural Response bottle is what he finally took - with a lower-flow nipple (2).
4. Keep offering, when they’re hungry but not too hungry. Let them play with the bottle, keep it low-pressure. Like the bottle is just another chew toy.
5. I used formula because I didn’t have any sort of stash, and pumping just to have to throw the milk away was not feasible for me. Don’t be afraid to use formula and try different types.
6. It took like two months of experimenting, so don’t give up. Mine now drinks like a 1-2oz snack bottle once a week to keep up practice for when I go back to work.

 

[ledbythespirit]

@lea1373 Are you the one offering the bottle? Often they will take the bottle if you are completely removed from the home

 

[subitoit]

@ledbythespirit My son was on a bottle and boob the first month of his life then I chose to EBF as I’m a stay at home mom. He will only take a bottle if I’m not home. Bc why would he need a bottle when the tap is there .

 

[ledbythespirit]

@subitoit Same here!!!!!!

 

[eve_marie]

@lea1373 There’s the whole list of things to try:
Different brands.
Different nipple shapes.
Different nipple flows.
Cold milk.
Warm milk.
Fresh milk.
Frozen and thawed milk.
Spoon feed.
Syringe feed.
Formula.
Sippy cup.
Open cup.
With mom gone from the home.
Wearing a used shirt from mom that smells like her.
Bottle in the same spot in the house where you nurse.
And of course what gets likes on social media…tape a picture of mom to your face to confuse baby.

Ultimately I tried most of the list (hubby refused to wear my clothes or a picture of my face, understandably) and baby simply still refuses. From 3 months to today, almost 9 months. It’s like she completely forgot how to work a bottle, chews the nipple, and screams when milk comes out (the biggest offense ever!).

But I still leave her with hubby, even with refusal. I feed right before I leave as much at I can get her to take. And hubby works his list of comfort the baby tools once she gets fussy. All the bouncing, toys, games, etc. The one that wins is when she’s finally ready, she’ll nap in the swing for a long while for him. The first day was the worst for her screaming and mad, then it just got easier from there. The longest we did before solids was 8 hours while I worked. That napping was golden! Baby was hungry and excited to see me. Hubby and baby both survived. Now that she’s pretty good with solids, it’s easier to leave for longer because foods can tide her over until I’m home again.

 

[etainmacintosh]

@eve_marie All of these techniques ^ we’d also only try for like 10 min before giving up bc we didn’t want to anger him too much.
I went through something similar where my baby was both bottle and boob fed since he was born. Then around 10-12 weeks he started refusing the bottle. We tried everything and ultimately it took my MIL feeding him consecutive days, at her house, when I wasn’t around for a few hours. He eventually got back into bottles and now I can feed him a bottle no problem.
I will say the bottle refusal phase was one of the most stressful times of my life. Some nights I lost sleep thinking about how I couldn’t leave him. Then I started reading about how some babies never take a bottle, etc.
I think my stress and tension made the situation worse. I’d say have tour husband try when you’re out of the house and your baby isn’t starving but close. Hopefully they’ll eventually take it. A friend of mine just went back to work and her baby was refusing the bottle too. The first couple days were rough on her husband and then finally the baby gave in after their lactation consultant came over and fed her a bottle. A new person can sometimes really help.
Best of luck and please don’t stress!! Easier said than done but so many people told the same thing and I wish I’d listened.