My baby won't take a bottle.

Question

We have a constant battle with our baby (age 15 weeks) to take a bottle. Initially she would scream whenever we tried to feed her from it and so we gave it a break of a month and now when we try again she will take the teat in her mouth but just play with it and not try to latch on and suck. She only seems to get any milk b'c it drips out and down her throat. I love breastfeeding our baby, but it would be nice to think that I could have a night out every now and again. I would welcome any suggestions that might help. Has anyone tried introducing the sippee cups early and putting expressed milk in these.

Thank you

Answer 1

My little bub wouldn't take a bottle until he was about 13 weeks.  I tried heaps of different types of teats.  After a little break we eventually tried a tomee teepee which he took to immediately (and i think looks most like a nipple), so maybe give that a go, i have also had no hassels with nipple confusion with this teat.  Just remember though some breastfed bubs never take a bottle, i have tried a sippy cup but my bub is (still) not into them.  hope it all goes well :)

Answer 2

I had the exact same problem and I tried all sorts of different nipples, bottles and formula milk. Even expressed milk and my daughter did not take it when she was around 3-4 months. The only thing we didnt do consistently was to let my husband offer her bottle when she was really hungry. If u r around, then the baby can smell breastmilk and she will not take bottle, but when she is hungry she will take it from someone else. My husband and I tried it a couple of times, but gave up when the baby cried so much and was hungry. Hope u succeed.

Answer 3

Your baby is used to you for feedings, so she refuses anything else, and that's natural.  She's old enough to recognize the difference!  If you're really gung-ho on wanting to get her to take a bottle, don't try offering it to her yourself.  She'll recognize your smell and it'll be a no-go.  Have someone else try - a grandparent or friend, someone calm and ok with the screaming that may happen for a few minutes.  If she won't take it, that's ok, try again later.  Don't force it on her, just let her get used to it.  I also wonder what type of bottle you're using.  If it is a completely different shape than you are, you're really confusing her.  Try an Avent or Soothie nipple, they seem to work better for transitioning.  If all else fails, only plan short nights out.  Good luck!

Answer 4

your baby is NOT too young for a bottle..mine was introduced to the bottle at day 3 by one of the nurses at the hospital..

anyway, you could try some different nipples, I hear some babies are picky about the kind they use..

I've also read that babies wont take a bottle from "mom". That wasn't the case with mine, but you could try having your husband give the bottle when you're not in the room..

Answer 5

Hello. I have breastfed my son and am currently feeding my 9 month old daughter. Now that she is older she can have solids when I'm out. That makes things easier. In the mean time you could try feeding her your expressed breastmilk in a little medicine cup, with a little spoon or using a disposable syringe. I used all of these methods with both of my kids rather than using a bottle to avoid "nipple confusion". I used a syringe in the early stages to get more milk into them as they both had some trouble feeding for the first couple of weeks. It worked well.

Enjoy your night out :)

I don't see why I should get thumbs down for my answer. I offered 3 alternatives for a baby who wont take a bottle that I know from personal experience work. What is the problem with a cup, spoon or syringe if a baby wont take a bottle?

Answer 6

You  may have to try different bottles. The ones that my son liked after trying a whole bunch was the first years breast flow  and the NUK bottles.

One way to get a baby to take a bottle is by haveing someone else give it with you totally out of the room. If she smells you, hears you or sees you then it will not be successful.

If that does not work then you can try what I had to do for my son.

When she starts to dose off during the feeding then try to slip the bottle of expressed milk in her mouth.  She will suck on it for a little bit and either finish the feeding or she will start to cry.  If she starts to cry put her back to the breast and if she starts to dose off again during the feeding try it again.  Make sure someone is there to heat the bottle up in warm water for you so that way your expressed milk will be as warm as your breast milk from the breast.  Only do it once a day and every day until she ends up drinking a full feeding from the bottle. It took my son a week to do it but we got him to drink from a bottle which was nice.  I also suggest just doing a couple of ounces at each time so you are not wasteing a lot of milk.  Also once when you do get her on a bottle do it at least once a week so she will still remember the bottle and realize that she will have the bottle and the breast and be happy knowing that she will have the breast later.

I hope this helps.  

Answer 7

Your baby is too young for a bottle.  

Answer 8

have you tried bottles with different nipples? somtimes that matters. i have seen some bottles like a target that have something on them about being like breast feeding

Answer 9

have you tried different nipples? I love my playtex nursers. The nipple is large and soft like the breast or try these they are a little expensive but have good reviews.

http://www.adiri.com/products_html/natur...

also first years has the breast flow. I have heard good things about them.

Just keep on trying and if you spend a good amount of money in the trying then so be it. It will be worth it in the end.