HELP!! Can't Get 8 Week Old to Bottle Feed!!!

Just like a lot of other moms who responded, I say try other bottles. My daughter did just fine with what I had selected (Avent and Playtex I think), but my son didn't like any of the bottles I tried. I went for the "nicer" more expensive ones first but when I finally tried the cheaper, old school botle (Gerber, generic, etc.) with the longer niggple (again, old school), he did just fine. Keep trying and good luck.

Hello,
I don't have any other ideas than the ones already mentioned, but I know how you feel b/c I am having the same problem with my girl who's 3 months old. I've tried different brands of bottles, different nipples, etc, but she's still being stubborn. I hope she gets it soon, and please let me know what ends up working b/c I'm looking for a solution, too! Thanks!

You may have found a solution for this by now, but in case you haven't I hope that these resources might be helpful for you...

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t025000.asp

http://www.askdrsears.com/faq/fo2.asp

Best wishes,
J.

Hi,

Start by nursing some, but don't do a whole feeding then feed with a bottle the rest of the feeding. If that hasn't been suggested. Look at your nipple and find one similar to feed the baby, if that doesn't work. Try a different nipple. Both of my kids nursed and bottle fed, but preferred different nipples because of they way the sucked on the nipple. I would start with the nipples.

L.

When my now 10-year-old daughter was a baby and I had to return to work, my sis-in-law was watching her and my stubborn daughter refused any bottle period. That first day she would not eat, I had to leave work early to nurse after about 6 hours of her hunger strike! The second day with great trepidation I returned to my job. I got a call from my s-i-l around 10 a.m. saying great news; the first time the bottle was offered, she took it, the hunger strike is over. phew. (she's still stubborn like that lol)

My lactation consultants at the hospital had told me to wait to introduce a bottle and I think that was part of the problem, so with my little guy we were very careful to switch back & forth between breast & bottle asap. We never had a problem.

Also, I like the other moms' suggestions about switcihng bottles & nipples. I used the playtex drop ins and they were fantastic. They have different flows for different stages so your baby isn't sucking in more than one gulp at a time.

Good luck!
D.

To get the different bottles, I would ask friends to loan you some. Once you find what works, then you can go buy more. My kids all did/do well with Avent.

Good luck.

start nursing and after she gets a few good sucks then switch to the bottle. That is what worked the first few times for my girls.

Also you may want to try in for the middle of the night feeding, if it's always at say 2 a.m. then go in her room at 1:45 with the bottle and start feeding her. She should be half asleep and more willing to take the bottle, yet not famished enough that she rejects it.

I would try different nipples to see which she likes. My son would only use one type from one brand. Babies can be picky sometimes.

Try a different bottle. Also, watch out for the nipples that say they are for 0-6 month olds. Those nipples seem to be really tough for some babies. Use a nipple that is the next step up from that.

You need a bottle that is most likely like your breast (I know Dr. Brown's has wide mouth bottles and they claim it's the closest thing to the breast). If you alreayd have a bottle that is a wide mouth nipple, I wouldn't waste any more money trying to play the switching game. The problem is your baby knows (he can smell) the real things (your boobs) are just inches away so why would he want to drink from a bottle knowing he can have the real thing if he/she fusses enough.

What you have to do is you have to leave the house (not just go into another room) and have someone else feed your baby. It may take hours before he/she decides to take it, but it will happen. I had to leave both my kids with my mom overnight. My son refused to drink from the bottle the first 8 hours. He was so exhausted from crying so much that he passed out, but then woke upa at 1:00am and was so hungry that he took the bottle and drank the whole thing. He too, was 8 week old.

For my daughter, it took her only 4 hours to decided grandma wasn't going to give in.

Once I was reunited with the kids, they both refused to take the bottle from me (I was still nursing and pumping), but they had no problem taking it from my husband. It took several days before they both realized if they were hungry they needed to take the bottle.

~C.
p.s. check out www.kellymom.com for additional breastfeeding tips.

Have you tried other bottles? My breastfed baby took the Playtex nurser right from the start. She did fine with the silicone nipples, but some babies prefer latex because they are softer. Also, try offering when she is not real hungry. Also, for my daughter, she would only take the bottle if the caregiver held her facing out, not in a cradle hold. I guess the cradle hold reminded her too much like nursing. Keep trying--she's bound to get used to the idea soon enough.

Good luck to you on this one! My now 9 year old went from breast to cup. He never would take a bottle. I went back to work when he was 4 months old. I had to nurse him before we left the house, when we got to the sitter, come back on my lunch break, when I picked him up from the sitter and then had to go directly home. He had just started 1st stage foods by then so that would hold him over in between. At about 8-9 months he would drink water and juice from a sippy but never milk until we were off the breast completely.

I would suggest to try different type of nipple for the Adiri stage or try Play-tex drop in bottles. There are so many different brands of bottles out there so it will be some trial and errors to see which one she will like. My DD did not like bottles either but did like drinking play-tex with drop in liners and silicone nipples. My hubby and Babysitter both gave it to her either facing out or just prop her on a pillow and give the bottle. It will take a few tries and you will have to be away from her when it is feeding time because the babies can SMELL the "Fresh Breastmilk" no matter where you are in the house. Hopes this help.

I didn't read other people's responses, but try a bottle while you are bare breasted and hold the baby exactly how you do when you breastfeed. I never had that issue, but I have had issues with my daughter refusing certain bottles. I have literally tried about 10 different types of bottles. My daughter will only take the wide silicone nipples.

Try a different kind of bottle. When I first tried Aventi with my daughter the first time she was chocking and refused it. Switched to Dr. Brown and we had no issues. Same thing happened to a friend of mine - she made the switch too.

Hi,

I had the same problem with the bottle. My son would just scream and try to escape when my husband was trying to get him to take the bottle, and I was increasingly stressed about it as the countdown to daycare went on. I would be on the other side of the house and not saying a peep while he tried all sorts of things, the bouncy chair from behind, the football hold etc, but it didn't help. He tried everything. What ended up happening is that we took him to daycare and he still wouldn't take the bottle, but I had to start back at work. It's so different at daycare from at home with you on every level. Different people, different environment, babies all around, different stimili, that he just adjusted to the bottle there at daycare as part of what's normal in that completely different environment. It didn't go great the first day, but he took it a little bit (I was shocked!) and then, of course, he made up the difference nursing with me in the evening! But day 2 was better, day 3 even better. He was completely transitioned to the daycare bottle in just a few days.

After trying with three of four different brands, the one he eventually took to was the First Years Breastflow someone gave you a link on below. But I don't really think that made the difference for my son. I think it was just that he had to eat at daycare, so he did, with the bottle we happened to be trying at the time.

Good luck! My heart goes out to you because it's so frustrating! It's hard enough putting them in daycare let alone thinking she might not eat. Hang in there, Mom!

My daughter is breastfed as well. I've had great luck with The First Years Breastflow bottle. I've only seen it at Babies R us in the breastfeeding section. You may have to try many different bottles to find one she'll take. Make sure to only buy one bottle to try it out, then buy more once you know she'll take it.

http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Breastflow-Starter-Kit/...

We had lots of trouble with Adiri botles, too. My son couldn't get his mouth around the nipple. I would try something with a softer nipple. We had really good luck with First Years Breastflow when my son was going back and forth between breast and bottle.

you need to wait. till your baby feels better. change the time,that your mother just to feed her, till see feels a little hunger. changes are hard for a baby, I´m sure she will be happy very soon with her grand ma