6 1/2 Month Old Refusing Bottles at Daycare

I haven't seen the responses yet, but have you tried a glass eye dropper or shot glass? I don't use bottles with my 5 month old because after introducing them, I found myself with cracked and bleeding nipples from his change, in just a handful of bottles as I mostly breastfeed. My midwife said she's seen this a lot once a bottle was introduced and I soon as I stopped using them, I healed up fine. I was worried that if I didn't give him a bottle, I'd never have my freedom, but this has worked out great. it takes longer and can be a little messier, but it does work. I'm just using the dropper right now and the trick is to stick it in the side, partway back int heir mouth so they don't push it out with their tongue.
GOod luck with whatever you find works best!
Cheers,
J.

Hi L.,

Each baby is different, as is each mother. My children could nurse and be satiated (full) in less than 5 minutes. While I have had friends whose children needed to nurse for at least 30 minutes in a feeding.

If you are at work for 6 hours. You probably need to figure that your child would nurse probably once or twice in that time period. Just make sure that you make up the feeding and feed them once or twice more when you are home. I do not think it is an issue, unless your child begins lose weight and your Dr. will be sure to keep you on track for that. At abourt 6 months, my son started to lose weight and I needed to take him back to the ped. office the next week for a weight check. He made the weight check, but only by one ounce. I tell you what, I was stressing out cuz the Dr. said I was going to HAVE TO supplement with formula! But since I nursed him as frequently as possible that week, we made the weight gain. The other reason I would not be worried either was because you only work three days a week, so your production should not really be affected. The way I see it, is your baby is only missing three feedings. Something that can easily be made up over the course of a week!

I also think it is a great idea to have daycare put breastmilk in the cereal or other food they are feeding him. I would not go to any great expense to try and find a new type of bottle or nipple. Just try and go with the sippy type of cup. The other thing you can remember is that many babies at his age sleep for longer periods than 6 hours in the night and they don't have any issues with their weight gain.

Best of luck with working and nursing. I loved nursing and found it to be a special time to spend with my babies!

Hang in there and good luck.

HI L.,
My daughter started day care around the same time as well, she also did the same thing. I was worried, but the doctor said because she is on solids, she is getting most of her nutrients that way and at night while at home with me with nursing. since i am and was still breast feeding at night, he said that was sufficient. I also started her on the sippy cup and would put her milk in there to have with her meals at day care (good for helping her wean from the bottle) also, i would add the milk to her rice cereal or oatmeal or whatever she would be eating that day. It's a transition time for both of you...it'll get better. just so you know, my daughter only drinks bottles at home (when my husband has her) or nurses with me...we stopped it completely at daycare and just give her the cup, otherwise she would waste 5ounces from 6 ounces pumped. hope that helps a little.

My daughter (8 months) also refused the bottle at 6 months. My mother-in-law babysits for me, so she was able to spoon feed her the pumped milk. Day-care won't have the time for this, but the other trick my mother-in-law did was use the pumped milk to mix in the baby oatmeal, until it was very thin. My daughter would eat that from the spoon, and the day-care will probably be able to implement that in a group setting. I tried EVERy bottle I saw, and she refused everything. I even started sippy cups with water. She loved the soft sippy cups and would play with the water (drinking a mouthful, maybe). When I came home, she was desperate for nursing, but never lost any weight, and was never close to being dehydrated.
We always kept the bottles out, as an option, and at about 7 1/2 months, she started to take the bottle again. I think she was just so excited about the baby food, and the bottle was old news. As soon as the baby food was old, she was fine with both.

Sounds emotional to me. Does he have to be at day care that many hours? Some parents need to have that, but others don't. Kids seem to go through transitions at 3, 6, and 12 months more than any other times.

Our first son was almost potty trained at 18 months and then we left him with my parents who saw him every day - and even had sleep overs - for a 2 week vaction sans child in Spain. (We called him twice each day on the phone.) When we returned, he refused to sit on the potty. He'd do it for my parents, but not us. The day he turned 3, we took him out of diapers and it was a power struggle for a week - but by the end of day 7, he was potty trained.

The point to this story - he was punishing us because he was angry with us leaving him.

Sounds like nursing him is a great idea to remind him that he is ok and loved. Most kids won't starve themselves. I would just talk to him, like you would an adult and explain the situation - they understand more than we give them credit for.

Hi L.,

I remember something like this on La Leche League magazine "New Beginnings". You might want to look up the last two issues and it will help you a lot on this situation. He might be too busy to eat and may be satisfied with the milk he takes and the solids he eats. Yes, let him nurse when you are home with him and offer no bottles when you are there to feed him. He NEEDS you and your milk from the source, not the bottle. The bottle is for others to feed him. Try looking at their website and look up the article. I wish I can remember what month it came out. I wouldn't worry so much. How many months is he? If he's 6 months or so, he's getting older and like I said may be satisfied. Plus he sees a lot of different activities that keep his attention. Good luck!

Hi L. I'm a mom of 3 girls the youngest being 10 months. she has never taken a bottle and now is past the point where I'd ever give her one so I won't be trying to get her off of it in 3-4 months. so the only thing I could suggest is he is missing special time with you and loves the closeness and needing the milk because he's waiting to see you. or maybe the nipples are old and he needs the next size up so he doesn't have to work so hard? as my daughter has gotten older she has been drinking less and less and eating more and more so I would check with his doctor and ask how much milk does he really need. relish the breastfeeding it doesn't last forever. and maybe this would be a good time to switch to one of those nipple like sippy cups. hope this helps

If he's eating solids than the breast milk can be included in his solids, too. As long as your son is not losing weight and diaper changes are needed (his diapers are wet and has bowel movements everyday) your son is doing fine. Many times as babies turn to toddlers you'll find that their eating habits change (teething, alertness, environmental stimulation, etc). It sometimes takes a couple weeks to adjust and just when you think you have it all figured out it changes again!

L.,

Your son may be having seperation anxiety. As long as he is eating and gaining weight, there shouldn't be a problem. ONe thing you might try, although he is a bit young still, is to try a sippy cup. My kids were off the bottle by nine months, and he just might not want a bottle, being with other children. Does he feed himself? This is also a way to discover he is growing out of the bottle.

Make sure that there is liquid between the mouthpiece and the stopper. He needs to know that there is liquid there, and he will take the cup easier. (I have sucked on the cup just enough to start the liquid, or you can pour some into the lid).

with my oldest, i was home with her for the 1st 4 months exclusively breastfeeding. then i went back to school. i would pump 16 ounces while away from her. but she would only maybe take 4-8 ounces. she would nurse more frequently throughout the night. we were co-sleeping, so it didn't interfere with my sleep. she eventually took the bottle more frequently and more amounts of breastmilk from them.

he is probably still transitioning to day care. just watch his behavior and his weight. healthy babies don't starve themselves. they just know what they want and where they want to get it from you (his mama!)

My son did something really similar at that age. For about a week he refused bottles. Sometimes he didn't want to nurse too, but he was much more open to it than bottles. I still don't know for sure why he did it, but I think he was teething and it was uncomfortable. I would just keep trying until he takes it again.

I would give it another week before you start worrying. My 9-month old has gone through the exact pattern several times in the last few months, and I've tried all of the suggestions you've been given. Some may work, but I've finally concluded that it's just his normal growth pattern, and you may find next week he's taking 3 8oz bottles! Don't be so sure it's the daycare, even when mine is home on the weekends or with grandma, the pattern continues. I never know if he's teething, has a tummy ache, or is just too busy practicing his new crawling skills to sit still for a meal! I try not to get frustrated, all I can do is offer milk, he will eat when he's hungry (right now it's mostly at night because he's so busy playing during the day). Your son could be so interested in his new environment he's just taking it all in. Plus, this could have been going on since the beginning, when I'm nursing I have no way to know how much he's actually getting. Hang in there!

Are the nursery workers physically holding the baby while he eats or are they giving him the bottle to feed himself? You may have to show up unannounced just to peek in and see how it's being done.

Hi L. - my son has done the same thing. There are times when I think it is because he would rather breastfeed and there are other times when I think it is the daycare person feeding. I've settled on the latter - I think he can sense the mood/energy of the person feeding him. My poor son has had 4 day cares for various reasons but... two of them - he wouldn't eat from. Those two people were nice ladies that he liked but they were not lovey cuddly like I am. I had to remove him because there were days where he would only eat 2 oz. the whole time. He always has been able to take solids from them though (which I noticed your son does too). The first admitted to me after he left that Isaac would cry when she yelled at the other kids. He was probably scared of her. The second I've now heard from the guys that were working on the house that she would stick him in his room and let him cry himself to sleep and when he woke, he'd be placed in his play pen to play with toys - no personal play. I'm glad I followed my gut by moving him - I think your baby could be telling you that he is not comfortable. Isaac now drinks like a champ with the new lady and did with his second daycare too. This doesn't mean I think your daycare is doing something wrong. Maybe you could be there to watch how they feed him. (The first expected Isaac to hold his own bottle at 3 months so he was full of gas from the air he was sucking - just a nightmare!) BTW - Isaac also uses Dr. Brown's - we did move up to level 2 and 3 incase you haven't done that - your son may have to be working too hard with a level one nipple. Good luck!

Hi L......I have a 6 month old girl who suddenly started refusing her bottle after maybe 2 or three oz. I too was very concerned and then I realized I was still using the Dr. Brown level 2 nipple. I switched to level 3 and she drank 6 oz. in three minutes and we've had no trouble since. She was just giving up early because it wasn't flowing fast enough for her. Also, this happened a month ago and that time it was a taste issue....as her doctor had guessed I had to try ALL the formulas till she was happy. THEN 2 months ago she rejected my breastmilk and that turned out to be a taste issue too because my period had come back which changes the taste of your milk......hope this helps! B.

Hi L.. Have you bottle fed him yourself since he started refusing at daycare?(with same bottle) I had the same thing happen to me with my first child. Also is your babysitter using the same technique? I'm sure by now you've tried everything in the book. I don't think that its too much of a seperation anxiety thing but you never know. As they get older they miss mama more. Maybe you should bottle feed him more at home and nurse at night as a bonding. That way he recognizes that that is yours and his time. Maybe that would be less confusing to him. I did that with my third and she nursed for 2 years. But I nursed her at night as a comforting and bonding time. And now her and I are so close. Remember to stick with a program so that even on your days off your doing the same thing you would be doing on days that you work. Good luck

G. C.

He won't starve, a lot of kids just "wait" for mom, they prefere you and the boob, has nothing to do with the style bottle. He just misses you and that's his only control. My sister didn't stay home with her kids and both her sons went all day every day w/o a bottle and just nursed ALOT once she was home from work. Not ideal, but a lot of them do it.

Hi L., I would suggest trying a beginner sippy cup. He might e seeing other kids drinking from this and want the same. Though he s young it's worth throwing out there especially if he is eatting some solids. Other suggestion would be to try the gerber shaped nipples. I breastfed both my boys 1 up to 13 months and 2 up to 24 months. Both of them preferred the shaped gerber nipples early on. I worked as well and did the pump thing. Also, make sure they aren't heating your valuable milk in the microwave. It will change the flavor, reduce it's value, make it too hot. You might want to see if someone has gotten lazy and started doing that. Hope that helps.

Babies are survivors. He will not starve. When my son was 6 months old, I went to work full time for 3 months while my husband stayed home. My son changed his feeding schedule all on his own and began to nurse more while I was home, and he just snacked on the bottle during the day. He never drank a full bottle. He is now a healthy 8 year old. Make sure your son's day care person is holding him while giving him the bottle. Day care is a huge transition for a baby.

Do not worry, I had a little boy come in at 8 months and was breastfed. He never wanted the bottle from me. Although the parents knowing he was going to daycare never really worked on the bottle, which was part of the problem, when he got here of course he wanted nothing to do with it. AFter a few months I just started using a sippy cup. He adjusted just fine. During those few months of not getting breastmilk he was fine and heathly.