Bottle Feeding an Infant

I never had that problem w/ my son before. But when my niece was about 2 months, my bro & SIL tried like 10,000 bottles & nipples. She struggled, too. For some reason she couldn't grasp the nipple properly & she always got frustrated. Eventually she got the hang of it.

I remember trying to trick her into sucking on my finger (bent). Or like how when she got really frustrated & hungry she'd start sucking on her own hands. Once the sucking got going, I'd pull a fast one on her & move the hand & give her the bottle. It worked until she realized what happened, LOL. After a while she had the bottle down like a professional.

Just be a little more patient. Just try sticking to trying the bottle when she's not too hungry or too sleepy. Keeping her busy might help keep her mind on the task at hand. She'll eventually get it... hang in there! Good luck! (Keep us updated!)

Hi S.!
My daughter did not like the bottle either! A friend of mine....that is NOT a mother made a great suggestion and it worked! I started nursing her (foot ball hold) and after a few seconds of sucking I pulled her off and inserted the bottle and it worked like a charm! A few times doing that and she adjusted!!!!
Good luck

We are basically twins at this stage in the baby process.. I too am a teacher currently staying at home and have a 3 year old girl and a 15 week old daughter who refuses to take a bottle. I posted the same question a few weeks ago. I got a lot of advice. She currently still does not take a bottle but the hysterical crying has stopped. About a week ago she did take a few sips from the bottle. I am now pumping and bottling breastmilk and using Brest flow bottles from Target. Good luck....your not alone

Hi S.,

It's great that you're breastfeeding your baby. I'm a thorough believer of breastfeeding and I breastfed my 4 children about 1 to 2 years each. Breastfed babies don't nurse as much as bottle-fed babies because it's much more work to suck breast than rubber. As long as she is nursing, I don't think it's a big problem. The doctor told me to give my 2nd child a special formula to gain weight because she was tiny. But I didn't because when I tasted the formula, it's like sugar milk and I refused to give her such thing. And she is fine up to this day (She is 13 now.) If you're healthy and your baby is healthy, don't worry. Or is there any reason to wean her besides monitoring her breast milk intake? Trust the nature. When old days, we didn't have bottle. Usually breastfed babies don't like bottles once they are breastfed. It's a precious time to nurse your baby. I think it's just better. I had to switch to bottle for my first son when he was 7month because I got pregnant and my milk stop coming. I really felt different when I had to bottle-feed my son. I think breastfeeding help you bind with your baby much closer than bottle-feeding. And I'm glad I did that for all my children.

S.,
Awesome that you are nursing her! I'm no expert, but here are a few ideas to check:

It may be the plastic in the nipples or bottle, too? Are you breastfeeding exclusively or supplementing with formula?

I don't know that La Leche League would help with the bottle issues - but they might.

I would say, if she is nursing 9-10 minutes, she has probably become a more efficient nurser - but then, how much weight has she lost? I remember when my son started nursing less, and it was scary. (He's not overweight either - the pediatrician wanted us to come back because his weight had dipped again. Dr had us scared he wasn't getting enough, and when we walked into the office with a different ped'n, she did a double-take - she was expecting a child that was unhappy and thin, not our little happy boy :) Be careful of what chart your pediatrician is judging your child by, too. There are new charts for breastfed babies out there, too, that are different from formula-fed babies.

Are you comparing her to other infants? Are you going with the pediatrician's recommendation of putting more weight on her?

Is she happy in general?

My son would not take a pacifier except under duress, and as soon as we weren't holding it in his mouth, ploop, out it came. (I didn't even try bottles, mostly for this reason and PBA issues.)

She may not be in a place where she wants more food - not in a growth spurt mode.

The only other idea I have is a baby scale - you can tell how many ounces she got during a feeding by weighing her before and after. It's actually pretty accurate, unless you change her diaper - then you'll record minus! :) (BTDT!)

Good Luck! You're doing fine!
M.

My baby girl was the same way. Putting a bottle in her mouth was like killing her. I tried a hundred times with 4 different types of bottles. Once, due to some medication I had to take, she even went 48 hours with no fluids. She finally took a bottle at 9 months. And even then it was a few days on hunger strike. If you are with her all the time and she is growing well, I'd just nurse her until she's around a year and don't stress over the bottle. I know it's a drag to never be able to be away from her and to have to be responsable for every feeding, but it's only a year and maybe it's what she needs. I just got tired of worrying about getting her to take the bottle and let it go. It felt better. She'll give up nursing someday. Good luck and try not to stress too much.

Hi S.,

Congratulations on the new baby! Has she actually been diagnosed as failure to thrive or low weight gain? Is her growth being measured by the WHO's growth charts for BREASTFED BABIES?
Some babies do not nurse for 20 or 25 minutes at a time. My son was one of them, never more than 10 minutes. It's not the length of time at the breast that really matters. A newborn should nurse 8 to 12 times in 24 hours. When she's at the breast, is she alert and vigorously eating? Is she producing the appropriate amount of wet and soiled diapers a day, and experiencing some weight gain?
I know that some parents get anxious and want to see how much the baby is eating, but knowing how much the baby is eating won't make her any healthier. The beauty of breastfeeding is that the baby controls how much they eat. While we tend to think of babies as helpless and without knowledge, they know their own bodies and she knows how much she needs to eat. The baby gives feeding cues when she is hungry and stops eating when she has had enough. A specific amount of weight gain is not the key to baby's health and trying to force more into her won't make her healthy.
Good luck !

Hi S.! I don't have any advice on how to get her to take the bottle but just wanted to tell you that your daughter's 9 or 10 minutes of nursing may equal another childs 20 minutes of nursing in terms of how much milk she is getting. My daughter was a very efficient nurser, only taking 5-7 minutes most times but she gained the same weight as her cousin who took 20-30 minutes to nurse. We never did do the bottle and it was a pain to always have to be home with her in time for her feedings. Good luck!

What does your pediatrician say about this? Does she comfortably nurse on the breast? Or does she fuss then too? She might have a problem in her mouth. Does she look normal or too thin? Babies gain weight differently and have different appetites too. In my opinion there is too much emphasis on feeding. Babies usually know when they are hungry and when they are full. If your little girl is nursing for 10 minutes, content, and looks good, then dont worry. She's probably petite, and will be much healthier than a fat baby. There is nothing cute about a fat baby.

My son only ate for 10 minutes total from day 1 and my daughter only nursed for 10 minutes total, and then 4 minutes total by the time she was 1 years-old. (she was born 4 weeks early at 5 lbs 13oz) My boobs ached more than anything else. She gained weight slowly and steadily and is a healthy 39 lb, 41.5 inch, 4 year old. As long as your daughter continues to steadily gain weight, I really wouldn't worry about monitoring how much milk she is getting. Just love her and continue nursing her and enjoying her slow and steady growth. She's nursing much calmer and getting more from you than any bottle feeding anyway.
Good work mom!!!

Don't give in to the idea that your daughter is not getting enough or needs to gain more weight unless there is a true medical need for it. Just because she only eats for 10 minutes at a time does not mean she is not getting enough. She could be a very efficient eater who latches well and gets all she needs quickly. Babies know when they are full and will not overeat, unlike adults who will keep eating even if they are stuffed. Bottle feeding often cause babies to take in more than they need because of the nipple design. In breastfed babies, they have a built-in system for controlling hunger and fullness cues: breast milk comes out watery in the first few minutes and then toward the end of the feeding it is fattier and thicker to signal to the baby's brain that he/she is full so they stop when they need to. Since she is exclusively breastfed, the weight gain charts at the doctor's office do not apply to her. Breastfed babies are often smaller than formula-fed babies. My son was the same way. According to the doctor, he is in the 15% but I am not worried because his weight gain has been consistent. He is small according to the charts but he is by no means skinny and he is very healthy. As long as your daughter is hitting her milestones and is gaining weight consistently, don't worry so much about the bottle. We tried to get my son to take a bottle but he would scream and cry too so we just gave up. We did not want his meal times to be stressful. As long as you don't have to go back to work right away, why worry about it?

Hi S.,
Congrats on your new baby girl! I agree with most of the other mom's who have responded but I figured I'd repsond too. I really doesn't matter how much she is eating, just how often. You are lucky if she only nurses for 10 minutes a time. As long as she is happy and growing sufficiently, she is fine. From your post, it seems like the only real reason you want ther to take a bottle is so that you can monitor the amount she is getting. When I was nursing my daughter the Dr. wanted me to give her a bottle of formula a day (she was 3 weeks old and went a week without gaining weight). My instincts told me not to do it (backed up by my lactation consultant) and she was fine. The next week she had gained weight and was fine ever since. But after that I was obsessed with making sure she ate enough so I could be sure I was right in my decision. I thought it would be a good idea to see just how much she was eating. Sometimes I would pump and feed her the breastmilk by bottle (she had no trouble withe the bottle, I used the playtex drop-in ones with the silocone nipple). But apparently, you can't know how much they are eating when they nurse based on how much they take in a bottle. With a bottle, they tend to eat more than the need because it comes out so much faster and easier. So they don't realize they are full until too late. Then they end up spitting up and burping.
Then I bought a special scale so I could monitor how much she ate. Waste of money really. It did help me feel better initally but I only ended up using it for a week.
Sorry this was so long winded. My point is, unless there is a real medical reason, don't worry. She will be fine. She knows what she needs and she will find a way to get it! You will enjoy this time so much more if you relax.
Good luck and enjoy your summer! How great is it not having to tote around bottles and formula and coolers all the time!

We had the same issue at first... We used Avent nipples and born free bottles. Avent nipples worked best for us... warming the milk to a perfect temperature helped...warming the nipple under warm water helped... me not being anywhere near helped... and persistance was what really worked. we set up a routine where my husband would do the night bottle everyday, which was doubly nice cause that would be his bonding time.

Good luck!

Breast is best. What does your pediatrician say? Does she show any interest in eating? Every how many hours do you feed her, People have been breast feeding since the beginning of time and we all are OK. Too much weight is no good. Are you in good health? Is the baby healthy? Did you know that breast milk chenges in composition and content to the needs of your baby as she growths. It does not stay the same as fomula. Perhaps you can get in touch with La Leche League to help you.

Hi S.-

I too suffered through a "battle of the bottle". My daughter was about 4 months old! I was returning back to work full time and it was horrible, but she did not starve... She is now 1 years old.

We tried a little bit of everything, especially the multiple different bottles. What worked best (bottle-wise) was called First Years Breastflow. It is available at Target. Once we got her onto a bottle, she transitioned easily to the Avent (which we liked better).

As for getting her on the bottle, it was a battle of will. After spending three days at work and having to rush home to feed a child who had starved herself for six hours, hubby took her to the doctor. There was nothing wrong with her physically and the doctor said that as long as she was peeing that she was fine. She then said we needed to remove the breast from the equation. She went 14 hours! She was stubborn then and I fear her teen years!! LOL. I pumped every two hours and finally she took about 2 ounces right before bed.

She was then up every hour throughout the night and we offered the bottle consistently each time. It was a tag team effort because each time she woke, I pumped. She fought her Daddy none stop and then I would rescue him when I was done. She typically cried herself back to sleep, but she slowly started taking more. After 5 days of denial, she was drinking from the bottle like a pro. Then I reintroduced nursing and made sure we changed up the timing so that neither the bottle or the breast became routine.

Most folks here have commented on this method as cruel, but since we had no other option and the doctor cleared her physically, it was all we had to go on. It worked but it took a lot of patience. It helped to send one parent out to get an hour or two break since she cried and wailed non-stop until she started eating and realize the bottle was all she was getting - from Mom and Dad.

Also, the other key (IMO) to this craziness was that we used breastmilk to avoid having her have to get used to yet another/different food source.

As for how much your child is eating, my little E is a nursing champ and never nursed for more then 10 minutes at a time. She was always was more efficient then pumping too. So much so that I could pump and feed her 5 minutes later and she would be happy and content. She often would suck down too much with a bottle and then burp up a bit. Initially, we had to break a bottle session up into 4 ounce shots to make sure she didn't eat too much too fast. Nipples are generally easier to eat from and you should keep her on a level one as long as possible. My advise is if she is happy and triving, follow your gut. She is fine.

Lots of luck.
~C.

Question...you would like her to gain more weight or the doctors would like her to gain more weight? and...She only nurses 10 minutes but how often? My second son nursed for a couple of minutes every 30 minutes to an hour for months!!! I tried everything...holding him off to get him to eat more...nothing worked now he is 7 years old still eats every hour(if I let him, he'd eat all day :) he's half an inch shorter than my nine year old son and 12 pounds lighter...my point being if the doctors aren't behind the need for weight gain...don't worry...if they are the reason for this then talk to them about the trouble you're having...also do the research and find out how big you and your husband were as babies and how fast you gained....my best friend is 90lbs soaking wet and the peditrician's kept weight checking her daughter(to be safe) and even though she was growing slowly she was still hitting milestones at the right time...finally they figured it out...this kid's just tiny! If your daughter is hitting milestones...RELAX...the rest will come in time...I would also relax and not stress because she can sense your tension and that could be part of the problem...take a deep breath, give it up to God, and try again...and congrats on your new baby!
C.

Could she have reflux?

im confused about the reasoning. nursing on demand will provide your daughter with the proper amount of nutrition. pumping is not as efficient as her, therefore will actually lessen your milk supply where she would increase it. are you keeping track of her wet diapers? that is how to monitor her intake. if you want to be super technical, you get a very good scale, and weigh the wet diaper and subtract the wieght of an empty diaper. that is how they monitor BF babies intake in the hospital.

why do you want her to gain more weight? is this the doctors recommendation? is you doctor an advocate of breastfeeding? if she is low in her percents, thats perfectly fine. its only of a concern if she dramatically and consistantly is going down on her charts. if she has always been in the 3%, and still is in the 3%, its fine.

my daughter has always just eaten 10 minutes. actually when she was 3 months, she ate 5 or 10 and thats it. the amount of time she nurses is NOT an indicator of whether she is eating enough or not.

get a nursing necklace to keep her attention. continue with the white noise while feeding her. in the middle of the night, try to feed her in her sleepyness. feed her more often. please do NOT feed her formula. do NOT feed her solids. do NOT stop breastfeeding. do NOT get caught up in how much she eats. that is what bottle fed babies do, not breastfed. the wet diapers and how often they eat are the indicators. do your research on breastfeeding. dont let anyone confuse with the whole "are you sure the baby is getting enough". your breastmilk is more digestable and nutritious than anything else.

please forgive me if she has some medical issue. these thoughts are based on my assumption she is medically ok, and you are just worried about the "how much is she getting". if you talk to the wrong doctor, they give incorrect advice and i just wouldnt want anyone misinforming you. here is the american academy of family pediatrics position on breastfeeding and how important it is.

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/b/brea...

here are some great articals including a section on baby weight gain concerns http://www.kellymom.com/bf/index.html

lalecheleague FAQs http://www.llli.org/FAQ/FAQSubject.html?m=0,0,3

there are tons more but maybe some of your concerns will be answered on these sites. fyi, my aunt had 3 kids, all EBF. the first 2 were average size children, not small but not super big, average to a little bigger. her 3rd was so tiny, 1% on the growth chart. she was just the tinyest little thing. now at 4, she is the size of my daughter who is 10 months younger. but she is completely healthy, just petite. on the other hand my niece who was a pretty chubby baby, is now 9 and measures the size of a 6 yr old. now that is concern. at 3 months old as long as she is gaining, i wouldnt worry so much.

again, i assume there is nothing medically wrong.