Hi Everyone,
I was just wondering how old your babies were when they started holding their bottle independently? My 7 month old son just got evaluated for physical therapy for muscle weakness in his right arm. The PT looked rather shocked when I mentioned that he wasn't holding his own bottle yet. So they are adding more PT for "grasping" skills. I can't remember how old my other son was when he held his bottle, so I was just curious. Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the responses everyone. My son can grasp at toys, hold them for long periods of time and change them from hand to hand. So I was surprised that him not holding a bottle put him "behind" in the grasping area. We are very excited for him to start PT because we knew from a young age that he had issues with his right arm by the way he held it. He is able to crawl and pull up on things. But he is requiring physical therapy because his right arm gets tired and "gives out". So we are building up muscles. Again, thanks for the responses and kind private messages.
Why does an infant need to hold its own bottle? Neither of my kids held their own bottle because I never taught them how. I fed them!
At 6 months he was interested. At 7 months he would hold it for a short time. I hold him in my arms and he holds his bottle. When he's tired of holding it then he lets me take over again. He's now 8 months and still the same thing. He will hold it up to drinking 5 oz. On his own, then he gets bored.
My daughter refused to hold her own bottle. If I ever even tried to get her to put her hand on her bottle to help her hold it she would get angry and jerk her hand away. At one point her doctor suggested that I just set her bottle down in front of her and wait for her to pick it up when she was thirsty/hungry. Her doctor thought that she would pick up the bottle on her own after about 5-10 minutes. I tried this and my daughter sat and looked at her bottle and cried and screamed for 30 minutes until her face was purple. She wanted her bottle but she just would NOT pick it up. When I told her doctor about this she laughed and said that it was just her personality. She was off the bottle at 12 months and using sippy cups which she held just fine. I probably should have started her on sippy cups much earlier since it turned out that she was willing to hold them on her own. Now that she's 4 and we've discovered that she has some sensory issues it makes me wonder if she refused to hold her bottle because she didn't like the way it felt in her hands.
Never. My kids were breastfed but I didn't ask them to hold my boob.... he's only 7mos old and should be held and fed lovingly, with a parent holding his bottle.
My DD was breastfed for the first year as well as receiving pumped bottles of breastmilk from about 6 weeks on. She is almost 15 months now and is just starting to show interest in holding her own bottle. Its not that she cant she is just a bit lazy and knows that we will do it for her so she lets us. Plus both my husband and I know that she will soon be off the bottle and that cuddle time will be gone so I dont push it too much. But she has a sippy cup throughout the day and has been able to use that ever since we introduced it at about 7-8 months.
My kids do not drink bottles but held toys well around 5 months and would drink from a straw/ hold a sippy cup around the time they sat up independently 5-6 months.
Is you little guy crawling yet? Getting enough tummy time?
J.
First time was around 4 months....I think that's a little early actually, he had it mastered by 6 months-my little guy is very stout and muscular though and has shown advanced motor skills throughout his development, so I don't know if that's a fair comparison.
I have a 3.5 yr old daughter, a 2 1/4 yr old daughter and an 11 month old son. None of them really held their bottles, and they were all bottle-fed babies. My second daughter did a little and she is my little go-getter-I'll-do-it-myself-thank-you kid.
I guess if he is already doing PT for muscle weakness, then the "grasping" skills PT can't hurt.
.
My bottle-fed baby did at 4.5 months - he got expressed breastmilk from birth. My breastfed baby was 6 months on 2/26 and only gets bottles at daycare. He won't hold a bottle at all! He seems to figure it is his caregivers' job. My bottle-fed baby didn't crawl until 8 months - but breastfed baby has been crawling for 10 days now. Each child is different - but PT for grasping isn't a bad idea.
My son was bottle fed from birth and he started at 9/10 months.
At 3 months when she got a bottle.
My DD was breast fed, but she held her own sippie cup when I introduced it to her at 5.5 months.
My son was holding his own bottle at 3 months, but I think that's unusual. He's just always been a fiercely independent kid.
I have known kids a year old who still don't/won't hold their own bottle, so I wouldn't be too worried about this by itself.
Obviously, though, there are some other issues in your sweet little guy's case, so I'd focus on those, and if they want to teach him to hold his bottle, all the better.
HTH
T.
my son never held his own bottle, but could hold a sippy cup fine. He gave the bottle up and age 1 by his own choice. my daughter now has held her bottle since probably like 5-6 months. But with a toddler running around i think she taught herself early on. Does your son hold a sippy cup? I would not worry a whole lot about not holding a bottle.
Not all babies do hold their bottles, but it's not a concern unless they're not grasping other things either, like in your son's case. My daughter would hold and drink well from a sippy cup at 9 months, but NEVER held her own bottle. She was breastfed mainly, but did get bottles of my milk often, about 4 a week. She just flat out refused to hold them herself-no fits or tears, just let her arms and hands go limp while looking at you like "nice try, but this is your job".
I agree with never! My breastfed baby got bottles at daycare and even there they would not let babies self feed with a bottle. Pediatric advice is pretty clear, babies should be bottlefed by a caregiver.
Have him practice grasping and holding on other things!
My son never did. (He's 3). That's not a thing that "all kids eventually do". So I don't understand why they'd be measuring on that...
My daughter - 7mos - doesn't hold hers either.
Both kids are right on par, if not early, on the other gross motor skills spectrum. My son walked at 9mos. And the baby is starting to crawl now, grasps things well, claps, etc...
So I wouldn't put too much stock in that one.
Independently 9 months.
Having two typical daughters...one didn't hold it till 11 months and one at 8.5 months. I didn't mind because they did not have delays in any areas and we spent that time together. Your physical therapist/occupational therapist needs to be working on gross motor skills before grasping skills. Primitive reflexes that are retained past the time they are supposed to be present has everything to do with the struggles he faces. Work on trunk and core strengthening, rolling over, and crawling on all fours. That is what makes hands strong and develops the many arches we have in the hands. Put him on tummy as much as you can at home.
I also never let my babies hold their bottles. As the previous poster mentioned, this was a bonding time. Another reason I never let them hold it is to make breaking them of it easier- it they never held it, then it wasn't something they thought of as "theirs" it was just something we did. So when they were around 9-10 months I started introducing the cup and by 12 months they were done with the bottle and never had a problem. I would just work on grasping skills with other things.
