4 1/2 Month Old Refusing Bottle (With Breastmilk)

Have someone else give the bottle, don't be around, experiment with nipples...what everyone else said... My daughter took it no problem. My son was problematic with the bottle by 4 1/2 months, which made the transition back to work that much more difficult after he was born.

Hi A.,

Many breastfed babies don't like to drink from bottles. I would suggest trying when you aren't home. Babies are smart and they can tell if you are home even if you are in another room. Go run some errands and have your hubby or caregiver try giving the bottles. Your baby may resist at first, but they will eventually take the bottle - or they may just decide to wait until you get home. Lots of babies do that too. They will skip a feeding and wait for mommy to get home rather than take a bottle. It is pretty normal.

Here is a link that may help you: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/alternative-feeding.html

J.

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Gee, and I recall my oldest refusing to nurse at 4 1/2 months. I think she had decided there were better things to do than nurse from mommy.
Kids do things like this. Keep trying and when she is hungry enough she will eat. She may just be an opinionated young lady and be testing you to see if you give in.
My daughter who refused, gave in, but started real food at 6 months, refused baby food at 7 1/2 months. Started drinking from a cup by 8 months.
Pick your battles. She will have to learn eventually that food comes from other people too. You must decide how/when she will learn it, not her.
good luck!
Grandma Dot
"Parents are not here to cater to their children. They are here to love them and teach them the rules of life...then encourage them to fly."

I've breastfed all of my kids and not one of them stopped breastfeeding after a bottle was introduced. They always preferred nursing, but if the bottle was the way their food was being offered then that was OK too.

Helping your baby to learn to take a bottle occasionally can give you a lot of peace of mind. There have been a couple of times that my son was with my husband & I've gotten stuck running an errand - in traffic or things just took longer - & it is nice to know that my baby can still be fed. I don't pump that often, but I try to make sure that I have several emergency bottles in the freezer.

My kids did all prefer different nipples when they had bottles - none of them used the same kind!

My son was like that,wouldn't take breastmilk from a bottle and my peditrican recommended using a sippy cup. My son took to the sippy cup and never used a bottle. I hope you find something that works well for you.

I agree with the suggestions to try a different nipple. My son rejected two before finding one he liked. (Advent; though it was a polycarbonate bottle, now known to contain BPA.)

The first time we got him to take a bottle, I held him and nursed him for a few minutes, then when he pulled off for a moment slipped the bottle in front of my breast, continuing to hold him as though he were nursing. He thought it was weird (precious expression of "WTF?") but he took it. Then I passed him to my husband, who cradled him the same way and held the bottle at his chest. It worked better when my son found a nipple he liked, but he did take it initially with the funky un-boob-like bottle (Playtex, i think).

Good luck!

I don't think the bottle itself really matters, but the nipple does. My son only likes the orthodontic (sp?) rubber (brown) nipples. He didn't like the orthodontic silicone (clear) nipples or any of the other shapes of rubber nipples. Each kid is different try a few. Also, you should not be in the house when someone else is giving her a bottle. Babies can sense when mommy is around & would much rather eat from you. They don't understand what the bottle is for. You may also want to put some breast milk on the nipple itself or get a faster flowing nipple, so the baby knows there is breast milk in there & she should suck.
Good luck.

Different babies like different bottles. So try different styles until you settle on something she'll accept. Each of my three exclusively breastfed babies liked different bottles - Avent, Evenflo Comfi and Nuk. Don't stock up on too many to start - just buy single packs if possible until you find one she likes. Actually if you only are using as occasionally as you mentioned, I only ever really needed 3 - and that was rare. Usually the 3 I had were more than I needed to have around. Unless I wasn't going to be there, it just was easier to nurse for me. OH, and I really didn't ever need the larger size ones. I found that mine would tend to take a max of 6 ounces at a time from a bottle even when older. (Of course I have no idea how much they normally drank.) But it is nice to have as an option for a longer break away. Good luck.

don't try giving the bottle to her your self have your dh do it when you are not around
V.

Try skipping the bottle and moving straight to a sippy cup. My cousins little boy never took a bottle no matter how she tried. But at about a month old, he would take the sippy cup. Just remember that at 4 1/2 months old she won't be able to do it herself so an adult will have to help. Also, it would help if an adult other than you was the first to try. Also, do not get the kind with the spill proof insert as she may not be ready to suck it out and may need a little time to work up to that concept with the cup. Try one of the cheap plastic ones that a little comes out of when you tip it. Gerber makes some as do first years.

Anyhow, I hope this helps. Good luck with your little one.

Since you've made it this far, you might want to just slowly transition to a sippy cup. You'd be surprised how smart babies are... I'm sure she could figure it out if you keep trying. They make sippy cups with very soft nipple like tops.

If in fact you do want to use a bottle.. my best suggestion is to have a supportive and very patient (usually a female) watch the baby for a couple of hours (right during a feeding time) and you, (mommy) go out for awhile. Go shopping, get your hair done, etc.

Your baby will not go hungry. She will eat when she is hungry enough... but you have to let her get to that stage. The person watching her should try every 15 minutes or so. Keep giving her the bottle and try. This will eventually work... but you really have to be away. If she sees you, she will refuse the bottle because she knows you're right there.

Be aware - once a baby converts to a bottle, they often prefer the bottle... then nursing actually becomes more difficult... because they only want a bottle.

Good luck!

Hi A.,

I breastfed all 4 of my children. We used the playtex nurser bottles. Or any of the bottles with the nipple being MOST LIKE MOM'S.

Keep trying her with the bottle eventually she will latch on.

I hope this helps?

A little about me:

I'm a stay at home Mom with my own home based business that my FAMILY likes to help me with. Mom of 4. Married to my best friend! www.trisharay.candlebizfromhome.com
I. B.

If you want to continue nursing her well into her first year or two, it may be a good thing that she is refusing the bottle. Sucking from a breast is work! It is good exercise that babies need for their physiological well being. I have heard of more than one case where a baby gets lazy from drinking from a bottle, and just doesn't get enough milk from the breast any more. The end result is not only frustration for baby and Mom, but also a decline of Mom's milk supply, and an inevitable end to breast feeding. While it may not always be convenient, why not schedule your day around those 3 hour intervals when you can be there to nurse your baby in that critical first year or two. I promise you, down the road, you won't be sorry :-)
N

my boys wouldent take a bottle from me either, if having some one else do it does not work try a sippy cup that is what i did because it was something completely diffrent than the breast they would take it.

Have you tried all different brands of bottles, nipples? Also, do you make sure you are not in the room when it is being given to her? Some babies take the bottle better when they are really hungry, but some take it better when they are not that hungry, so try both.
My son is about to turn a year, and, although he took a bottle for a short time (about a month), otherwise he never took it. I wondered how I would ever survive, but here we are at a year, and it has flown by! Sounds like you have made it 4.5 months without her taking a bottle, so the best advice I can give you is that this is only a short period in your lifetime, and if she never takes a bottle, you will still be glad you gave her the best!