Baby Refusing the Bottle

My daughter would only take formula out of a bottle, not breastmilk. Like she knew better, te good stuff doesn't come out of rubber! I hated it but I only worked part time and it was all she would eat for two months until she could have regular food too.

Hi. I had the same problem with my son. At the time my doctor said no child has ever starved itself to death refusing to take a bottle. Your only course of action is to continue to offer her the bottle. Whatever you do, do not breastfeed her again. 11 hours is nothing, my son held out for 26 hours. He happily took the bottle then (formula, not breastmilk) and I had no issues whatsoever after that.

Hang in there!
N.

I feel your pain!!! My daughter did the exact same thing. I do not recommend having another day like today. If you're home, feed her. Don't put her through it if you don't have to.

When it came time for me to go back to work, my little one would go nine hours every day. I called a lactation consultant, la leche league member, the pediatrician's office, and everyone else I ever knew had a problem. Like you, we had introduced bottles, but it had been about two months since she had last had one. I also brought her to the pediatrician my first day back at work so I knew what she weighed. I wanted to be sure she wasn't losing any weight.

What finally worked for us? She needed to be sitting completely upright while eating. Someone gave me this suggestions because even the slightest bit of lying down would make her think she would nurse.

Here are some articles that may help:

http://theleakyboob.com/2012/03/bottle-feeding-breastfed-...
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/breastfeeding/faqs/getti...

Good luck!!!

EDIT: Regarding the advice that the baby will eventually get hungry enough and eat - this is not always true. Like I posted, my daughter went three weeks without taking the bottle during the day. The hardest part? She then wanted to nurse every hour until bedtime, so she'd eat at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00. She'd then wake up every two hours at night! And, you clearly introduced the bottle early enough (like I did). Some babies just refuse even though they've had it already. So, you can't blame yourself! You did everything right.

And, the bottle type didn't make a bit of difference!!! We tried seven different bottles and my husband even attempted to feed her from a syringe. The stinker would SPIT it back out!!!

Feed her the bottle. I can't believe you let the nanny give her the first bottle, bad idea, very bad idea.

You smell like dinner the nanny does not.

If you are saying she took the occasional bottle then ask what is different now. She is working on instincts right now so you had to have changed something.

Don't give in at hour 11 - she will learn that eventually that your will give in and give her the breast. I had the same problem; when I came home after working 9 hours, I would breast feed her, because no one had been able to give her a bottle. So, I had to be the one to give her the bottle when I came home. She quickly learned to take the bottle, and weaned herself a month later! Try a bottle of water; if that doesn't work, try sugar water - the sweetness is attractive. Also, talk to your pediatrician to assure yourelf that she can go the long time until she learns.

Our twin grandsons would only take certain bottles. One took the Nuk nipple and one took another one, can't remember which one right now, but it was just the regular older kind. It was a lot of work getting them to even take those since they were not used to them. They only got them when I was watching them sometimes though but I can tell you they would starve before drink a bottle if they don't like it. It would have been better if you'd given a bottle once in awhile or have someone else do it before you were so close to going back to work. I hope you get a nipple/bottle she will take.

Both my girls hated the clear silicone nipples in the beggining (they were/are breastfed too). So I tried the latex nipples...the ugly brownish ones...they have more texture to them so they feel more like the "real thing" per say : ) Also temperature...my girls liked it HOT....like almost hotter than you think is safe. If you think aboutit...ur breastmilk comes out at 98.6 degrees...pretty warm! Keep at it...she will be fine and it might be completly different when you arent there. Good job momma!

I think she will do much better on the bottle when you are not around. If the nanny is currently with you, let her feed your daughter while you are out of the room. If the nanny isn't coming until Monday, have someone else feed her for you.
My guess is that you may be wanting to get in all the breast feeding you can before going back to work, and that's understandable, but you need to think first of what will be best for your child.

When I planned to go back to work I gave my daughter a bottle occasionally per her pediatrician's advice so there wouldn't be a problem, she was used to it. When I returned to work when she was 3 months old she did fine (I pumped breast milk so she always had it.)

I would suggest you keep a blanket with you to pick up your scent. I did this so my mother could place it near my daughter as she nursed and it may be another reason why there were no problems. Have the nanny try this ASAP to see if it helps. And you should leave so she can adjust to the nanny and her feeding her. If you wait until Monday it may wreck havoc on your baby. Leave a few hours each day and give them time to work it out. Honestly, your daughter will adjust but it will take some time since she hasn't been receiving the bottle.

And, 11 hours isn't too long. My daughter would occasionally sleep ALL day while I was gone, then not want to eat immediately when I returned. There were a days she didn't eat for 12-13 hours! I was terrified that she would get dehydrated but her ped reassured me that she would eat when hungry or thirsty, to let her work it out. She did fine as I'm sure your daughter will as well.

{{HUGS}}

Try a different bottle-- it's not unusual for them to prefer a different one at that age. We started out with BreastFlow bottles and then switched to Nuk when he quit taking them at 3 or 4 months (and at a La Leche League meeting I met someone who had started out with Nuk and then switched to BreastFlow when their baby quit taking them aroun 3-4 months!) no matter which bottle you go to be sure and stick with the slow flow nipples

Have someone ELSE give her the bottle (Ideally you shouldn't even be in the house. Babies seem to fall into two camps-- the ones who want the bottle to be as much like the breast as possible-- same positions etc and the ones who get mad if you try to "fool" them but are ok if it's something COMPLETELY different......

And I personally suggest reverse cycling at least a little bit--- I found that if I woke my sone up every 2 hours to eat when I was home and AWAKE he nursed more and NEEDED less bottles, PLUS I got to see/bond more (I was starting to feel very jealous of the sitter-- she got to see him awake and cute and I got to see him sleep, not to mention he was sucking down bottles and I was struggling with the pump and keeping up-- SO much better to adjust his schedule so he was awake more for me and slept more for her!)

If I read your post right you are going back to work on Monday so you are being at home with the nanny to get her accustomed to your home and the baby.

I would say you may need to change the bottle style. One of the kids would only take Browns, which I think are the most disgusting things ever invented. Another only wanted the Playtex nurser with the very soft natural style nipple.

I understand you are doing this and you must get her to eat. I think if she gets hungry enough she will eventually drink a bottle but I would also say as soon as offered the breast you would have the same battle on hand each time the nanny comes back on Monday. I don't know exactly how to fix this issue if you are going to continue to nurse her when you are off work. I say stop and just pump for a while to make her want the bottle.

They say it's easier if mom is not around. If baby knows you are there, they will hold out.

Try leaving for a while while the nanny is there and see if she has any better luck.

Have you considered other methods of getting the milk into your daughter? Her caregivers, depending on the situation (daycare vs family), could use a spoon or cup. She's old enough to use a cup with assistance, or she could use a soft-spout sippy cup.

In order to ease her into the transition, you should've started the whole process about 4 weeks ago, but that's moot now :) Be patient with her, breastfeed her while you're with her, and trust that things will equalize.

Don't necessarily look at the clock either. Yes, 11 hours is a long time, but did she cry the whole 11 hours? Or did she seem comfortable for some of that time? Babies have a way of asserting themselves in various ways, but it's not that they are being manipulative, even though it may feel that way.

Take the weekend to take some time to yourself. Make sure you're nowhere in sight while someone else tries to feed her via bottle, cup, spoon,... whatever they choose. Knowing you're home could be hindering her from accepting the non-breast feeds.

Also, keep in mind that some women don't respond as well to a pump as they do to their baby, so don't get frustrated if you experience an initial dip in your supply. Once things settle down, the stress lessens, and the new routine starts feeling familiar, your supply should return. And be careful about birth control, as all methods excluding abstinence cause a dip in supply.

Good luck with the bottle, and try to enjoy the time you do breastfeed your daughter :)