Suggestions for Getting My 10 Week Old to Take a Bottle.

Have you tried having someone else to feed her? My sons would not take a bottle from me, but they would take breast milk bottles from others. I breast fed both of my sons for 20 plus months.

I had to do the same thing. I just started getting him use to the bottle - I think I pumped a few times a day and gave him a before bed bottle and the middle of the night bottle. I still breast fed too, but they do get nipple confusion b/c they learn how to suck from the nipple and its different on the bottle. You just have to get her use to it, she will do fine. Good luck going back to work!

A lactation consultant recommended the Breastflow Bottle by The First Years. It mimics the let-down reflex and works the baby's jaws just like the breast. It seemed to work really well for my 5 week old! Good luck.

You may need to try different types of bottle nipples. There are so many to choose from. I had one son that preferred the playtex nursers and another who did well on Avent after nursing.

My son had to do bottles for awhile because he wasn't getting enough milk from the breast. When it was time to go back to the breast, he had nipple confusion. The doctor had me offer the breast first when switching back. He cried and cried but that's what the doctor told me to do no matter what.

Try the reverse. Always give her the bottle first for a few minutes even if she cries.

Hope this helps.

If possible, have someone else give her a bottle. I started trying to give my son a bottle at 3 weeks and he DID NOT like it. I had to go back to work at 6 weeks so his pedi suggested that I have someone try the bottle and to make sure it was breast milk. I also stayed in another room while my mother tried to give him the bottle ... after about 4 hours of crying, he finally took it. This was probably after 4-5 different attempts over a week. It was heart breaking but we finally made it!

Also consider trying a few different bottles/nipples. I bought 3 different bottles and tried one at a time (so I could return if necessary)

Good luck!

Try having your husband give her the bottle. Sometimes my daughter still doesn't like taking a bottle from me (even at 9 months old) because she knows she can get milk elsewhere.

I breastfed my children and the way did it was the platex bottles because the niple is breast niple. Your baby will play with it for a while but will start to drink from the bottle. Your baby will start off drinking a little bit at a time but it will be enough to satisfy and you also have us the bottle too. What you do is give her a bottle of breast milk first, do the approach like if you were breast feeding. The trick is to alternate from breast to bottle breakfast breast, lunch bottle, dinner breast and really all depends on your schedule that how you work she will get us to it and then when you are ready to wing her off the breast it will be alot easier.

Hey there,
I've had two babies in the same situation. What I normally do is let her cry long enought to work up an appetite and then hold the bottle in her mouth with in the curve between you thumb and pointer finger and wrap the remaining part of your palm under and around her chin. It gave my girls the warmth of skin, but food from a bottle. Also, my daughters were VERY picky about the nipple we used. They both took the Playtex brown nipples. Good luck and don't give up. It took quite a few tries before they adjusted.

I used Advent and Playtex and I nursed at night. Goodluck!

Hi G.,

A friend of mine placed the bottle nipple against her own nipple. The baby could feel her warm and smell her. He latched on the artificial nipple after a couple tries. The true nipple will fill the bottle nipple and still let down. She was told to do this by her lactation nurse.

Bev S.

Make sure the baby is truly hungry before you attempt to give her a bottle. Don't nurse for at least 1.5 to 2 hours and then try it out. Good luck!

Hi G.,
I did the same thing and several things come to mind. First, my children would not take a bottle from me. It had to be from either their father or someone else and I could not be in the room. Second, my pedi told me they would not starve themselves. My son actually ate very little during the day at first and made up for it in the evenings. It took a couple of weeks for him to get used to taking a bottle during the day. Third, we had to try several different bottles before we found the right one for each of them. My daughter liked the cheap wal-mart generic bottles, we had started with Avent and tried them all. My son only liked the Avent bottles. So you may have to experiment a little. I know how stressful this can be, but what kept me going was focusing on what my pedi told me-they won't starve themselves-and they are both healthy kiddos now.
Good luck!
A.

Please try having someone else give her the bottles, with you in another room if possible. They can try holding her in a position that does not mimic nursing, such as facing away from them or even walking around. You need to make sure that you are pumping every time she is given a bottle in order to maintain your milk supply.
La Leche League of Dallas, www.lllofdallas.org, has meetings specifically for pumping moms on the 3rd Thursday of each month. They can give lots of suggestions and offer support as you transition back to work.
Good luck & hang in there! I'm sure she'll adjust to the bottle very soon!

What kind of bottles are you using? That may be a reason why she will not take to the bottle. I use Avent bottles and I breastfeed when I am at home and my daughter does not have any problems going between the two. I would try to find bottles that have nipples similar to the shape of yours so that she will realize the bottle has milk in it. Good luck!

G.,

i had the same issue. i returned to work when my little girl was 2 months old. she would not take a bottle with out a fight! i was so stressed out. i tried 5 different bottle brands. I never thought of positioning when i was feeding her and all of a sudden usng dr. brown's bottles, at three months, she decided to take it. i was holding her upright and facing her outward. i am not sure what the actual thing was that finally made her take it but she did! i had trouble with her not wanting to breastfeed for a few days after she was successfully taking the bottle, but i did not give up. i tried nursing her before every bottle feed and hse would just cry. and once again, one day a few days after she started the bottle she decied to nurse as well. SOOOO... she bottles during the day and if i am not home and nurses at night and when i am home. just remember that it will be a bit stessful but if you are determined to keep nursing just keep trying. oh, and don't force the botle. she will eat when she get's hungry. sometimes it would take 15 minutes before she would drink the bottle. hope this helps!

Since you are bottle feeding and breastfeeding, try to bottle feed when you are home. This may give you time to adjust her to a bottle if it comes from you. Remember that breastfeeding gives a baby the warmth of your skin and that relaxes them to eat better. So if you need, unbutton your shirt and mislead her to think she is being breastfed.
Our pediatrician said that a child (even a baby) will eat when he/she gets hungry enough. Just keep an eye on her intake to be sure she is not becoming dehydrated.
Good Luck

hello G. when u are at home u have to give her the pumped milk more often than breast. out of the bottle so your baby can get use to taking a bottle.

1. Make sure that YOU aren't the one giving her these first bottles. Let hubby or anyone else give them to her so that she will try it.
2. Try different types of nipples. If she takes a pacifier, try a nipple that looks like her pacifier. My first 2 kids had no problem going from breast to bottle, but my 3rd dribbled out all of his milk the 1st time he took a bottle. By the 3rd time, (and 3rd nipple), he took it like a champ.
3. 2 things to try...don't wait until she's starving and frustrated to try the bottle b/c she may be so upset that she can't do the bottle. OR, wait until she's really hungry to try it so that she will really want to try. I'd start with making sure she's not starving (maybe nurse on 1 side and then let hubby do a bottle for the rest of the feeding.) However, if she really won't take it, my next thing would be to try when she's nice and hungry to see if that works.
4. Finally, make sure you are using slow flow nipples. Breast milk takes work, but some of the nipples don't take as much work, so they get more milk than they are used to when they use a bottle.

I hope these tips help! It's hard to think they may not eat when you are away, but I'm sure if you keep trying she'll take the bottle like a pro!

Congratulations on the decision to pump while you are at work.

Is the bottle warmed before you give it to her? My son would only take a warm bottle. I guess because breastmilk is warm when it comes out. I also tried some fancy bottle types, but he ended up preferring a simple Avent bottle with a Stage 3 nipple.

Good luck!

I had a similar problem years ago with my daughters. Try different nipples in the bottle. Your daughter might not like the shape of the one you have chosen. Even if you dont think you want to use a certain type of bottle but it has a differnt shape nipple get just one of that style and try it out if she likes it you may have to change what you use. My girls both only wanted a certain kind and I had to get that one and stick with it. Sometimes it was hard to find the nipple due to them getting worn out over time but, I did what any mother would do for there child, I found them no matter what. So buy different ones, shapes, size, brands, whatever that may be all it takes. Dont give up.

Good luck

M. B

Try putting a drop of Caro Syrup in the formula when you feed her for the first couple of times. The sweetness draws them in. After that she should have no problem taking the bottle. The Caro Syrup won't hurt her either.

It could be the type of bottle. Try using the playtex nurser system, also have someone else feed her. If you are trying to give her the bottle, it might be confusing her. Both of my children are breastfed, and I tried different bottles with my older child, he would only take the Playtex Nurser, it is designed to mimic the breast.

I didn't read the other responses. I just went through this recently. My daughter is 8m old. i just went back to work a month ago.

You just need to keep trying. Actually it's easier when you are not around. My daughter took the bottle the second day I went back to work. But i did try to give her bottles everyday before i went back to work. She wouldn't take them. Don't switch formula. Let her get used to one. Try a different bottle if you have difficulty with the current one. Try Dr. Brown. That's the one my daughter finally took. Don't worry. They won't hunger themselves to death.

Good luck!!!

I was in the same situation, I actually start work back today, my daughter would not take a bottle. I found one that closly resembles the breast, and she took it right away with no problems.
It is The First Years Breast Flow. I got mine at Babies R Us.
Good Luck to the both of you.

Have your tried warming the nipple to the bottle with warm water? I hear that works great for some little ones.

G.,

She KNOWS she can get milk easily from you. You need to have someone else (dad, grandma, the new sitter) give her the bottle at her normal feeding time. She will eat when she is done being mad. I breastfed all 4 of my girls for betweeb 18 months and 3 years. It might be easier if you completely left, not just the room. SHe KNOWS your scent.

To keep her from getting nipple confusion once she is on the bottle, I suggest you "prime the pump" if you know what I mean. It is easier to get milk from a bottle so some (not all) babies suck really hard on the breast when they do not get instant gratification. So if you massage your nipple and get the milk coming it will be less confusing for her. Also I suggest you find a La Leche League in your area. It is a support group of breastfeeding moms.

Stacey had some great tips....we used the playtex nursers, which were also easy b/c you could freeze your milk in (I Used) lansinoh milk bags and then pop them right in the nurser when making new bottles. If you have to be the one to give the bottle, try turning her away from you so her back is against her belly. It usually works best for you to not be the one to try to give the bottle at first though. Call the breastfeeding support cetner at HEB hospital ###-###-####). They are so willing to help with things of this nature. You can ask your question over the phone, free of charge. If you have to visit the center, they file with your insurance (and, if our insurance covered the visit, most insurances should).

Adiri Natural Nurse Bottles were the *only* thing that would work for my friend's son..
http://www.adiri.com/

I had the same issues with my youngest son! This may not be what you want to hear, but he just had a few very sad hungry days where he refused to eat unless he was nursing! I bought every kind of bottle and nipple available at the store and my sitter tried a different one at every feeding until FINALLY on the third day, she found one that worked. He sucked down the milk so fast and had no problem after that! It was hard on him and the sitter, but once we found the right match for them, it was fine after that. Good luck with the process. It is well worth it! I continued to pump and nurse for over a year. Whew!

You might try giving her milk some other way than a bottle. You can use a syringe, a medicine dropper, a spoon, or a small cup.

More information here:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/alternative-feeding.html

My breastfed daughter never took a bottle, and it was a real problem until she could use a sippy cup. Have someone else snuggle her up close and try giving her a bottle and see if that might work.

hi G.!
this was a problem for my daughter when she was little as well--the best advice i got was from my great-grandma...she said to give her the bottle sitting up-right in my lap with her back to my chest. it feels kind of strange at first...and certainly takes the 'bonding' time away, but gram reassured me that the bond would still be there when she nursed! i honestly can't tell you why feeding her in that position made a difference, but it DID and it worked like a charm!!
good luck to you!
have a great day!! =]

My daughter was the same way. She would not take the bottle from me. If I was out of the picture and out of sight she would take the bottle from others. Maybe try dad or a neighbor with you out of sight and just watching. If she is hungry enough she will eat. It may just take a while for her to get used to the nipples.

Sometimes they will not take a bottle from Mom. Maybe try letting someone else give her the bottle. Good Luck!

If you yourself are trying to give her the bottle, she will hold out because she'd rather have you! You should leave the room & have someone else feed her. If you're gone, I believe she will eat when she's hungry. She's just showing her preference. Good luck :)

It takes some practice, but she'll take the bottle. I did the same with all three of my children when I returned to work, and each one was initially unsure of the bottle. The #1 thing is that you should not be giving her the bottle right now. She expects breast from mommy and will reject the bottle from you. So during this training time, have someone else give her the bottle . . . your husband, grandma, etc. Once she gets used to it, she'll be more willing to accept it from you, too. She may also not like the type of bottle you are using (although I don't put much stock in that . . . I think it is a matter of getting them used to drinking from a bottle). I used the Playtex nursers will all three, with no problems. Good luck!