Bottle/Breastfeeding

My doc suggested a sippy cup and it worked. Playtex makes a cup beginning for 4 months, but it's really just for a child that can hold his/her head up. She said if that didn't work to try the syringe. Good luck!

I pump my breast milk and feed it to my 2 month old son in a bottle. I tried a bunch of different bottles. But I recently started using the Platex bottles. They have drop in bags that you put the milk in. The nipples are most like the breast. If you haven't tried them already I would suggest maybe getting on and see how they work out. Good luck.

Hi~ I apologize because I don't have any advice. My son did the same thing at 3 months when I went back to work. We tried every bottle, nipple out there. We even over-nighted the bottle that looks like a breast thinking that would help. It didn't. I worked 12 hour night shifts and my husband would have to bring him to me around midnight and then by the time I got home he would have been up crying for at least 2 hours, waiting for me. Refusing any other form of food. It was miserable for all involved. This lasted from the time he was 3 months until 11 months when I had an appendectomy and became infected. I was forced to stop nursing him and my whole family was home with him while I was sick in the hospital, trying to get him to eat. He eventually took whole milk from a spoon, then an open cup, then a sippy cup. Never took a bottle again. All I can say is to have patience with her, try to get to her during the day to nurse her if you can and tough it out until she can take a cup. Good luck. That was a long year for us, but he is 8 now and doing great. Keep trying to introduce a cup...maybe by the time she is 8 or 9 months she can take that rather than a bottle. And who knows, maybe she'll decide the bottle isn't too bad afterall. :) Keep trying.

I had breastfeed both my boys and was doing the whole school and work thing. My boys were picky about their bottle as well. The only one they would take was the playtex bottles that you put the drop liners in--and it had to have the brown nipple, tried the clear nipple but they didn't like it. Hope this helps ^_^

You may have already heard this, so I apologize if it's redundant! You shouldn't be the one trying to give your baby a bottle. She can smell your milk! Try having someone else do it when you're not in the room--maybe Dad or Grandma. Also, it took me awhile to find the right nipple. The trial and error period seemed to take forever, but when I found the right flow, my son did much better. Finally, I realized after a few tries that we were heating the bottle too much one day when my own milk was spraying everywhere, and I felt that it wasn't hot, just barely warm! (I don't know if this is an epiphany for everyone, or just morons like me!) I admire your dedication to nursing and trying to find a workable solution while you're at work. Are you using formula too, or just pumping? It's a huge commitment, and sometimes frustrating. Google "busom buddies" a support network for breast-feeding moms. I found them to be very supportive and non-judgemental. (Some groups tend to give working moms a hard time for 1. going to work, and 2. using a bottle at all.) Anyway, you can do a phone consultation with a lactation specialist who can give you advice if nothing you're doing is working. They also have retail shops and sell really great nursing bras and other tools! Good luck--I'll be thinking about you!

Mine did that as well.... and I never figured out a way to get her to take breast milk. The idea of nursing at lunch is great--especially if you work close to your day care. I did have some luck with the tupperware kids cups with lids (not sippy cups) and also a straw.

Good luck!

I had the same problem with my baby. I didn't give him a bottle at all for the first 2 months, because I was breastfeeding and didn't want any nipple confusion. Then when I went back to work at 9 weeks, he wouldn't take a bottle. I was only working two 6-hour days, and I don't know how long you have been back to work, or how many days a week you work, so our situations could just be totally different, but it took us about a month (so 8 work days) to get him to start taking a bottle. I came home from work for so many days to a baby that was crying so hard he almost couldn't calm down even when I started nursing him. We went through several different bottles and the one that finally worked for us was the Nuk bottle that has a nipple like the pacifier (he never really took the pacifier, but he would suck on it if I held it in his mouth, so he was semi-used to the nipple). It wasn't perfect at first, but we could see a glimmer of hope, so we kept trying and he got better and better. The thing that made the biggest difference for us was that I started giving him a "practice" bottle every day, since I only work 2 days a week. I don't know how that applies to you if you are working every day. There are other bottles that match other pacifiers, so if your baby takes a pacifier, I would try finding a bottle made by the same company. Anyway, like I said, I don't know if my situation is similar enough to yours to be helpful. I guess I would say if it has only been a few days, then hang in there and keep trying. If you have been struggling with this for weeks already, then I hope someone else with more experience has a better answer for you. Good luck.

My little girl was the same way. She's 9 months now, and still won't take a bottle! In the freezer I have tons of milk I pumped that she wouldn't take! You will have to be creative with how to feed her. A lot will depend on how strong and alert she is...you'll have to judge what you think she's ready for. Here are some of the ways I was able to get my baby to take milk...from a dropper or oral syringe, from a water bottle cap, from a straw sippy cup, from a regular cup, from a spoon. Okay, so I know some of them are rather tedious forms of feeding, but if it's that or nothing, I think it might be worth it to do. You also might want to talk to your baby's dr. to see if you could get the okay to start her early on rice cereal. If it's mostly breast milk and just some cereal to thicken it a little, it might be easier for her to eat from a spoon than just breast milk. Don't worry too much...it might take some serious creativity and tons of trial and error, but you'll find a way. Good luck :)

Sleep with something, a blanket, a burp cloth anything to get it to smell like you, then have whoever is feeding her to put the blanket between them and your baby. It worked for my baby. also the playtex nipples that are tan in color and go with the bottled that the bags go in (sorry I don't know the names) are the only ones my baby would take from the sitter. Good luck

My youngest has decided to do the same thing. He decided that he would take it from a soft tipped tippy cup but not from any bottle. I also teach breastfeeding so I looked up some different ways to feed him before I tried the tippy cup. My baby is 5 1/2 months old so these might give you some more ideas.
Cup or Spoon feeding: Swaddle the baby and hold him in a semi-upright sitting position. Fill a 30 cc medicine cup or a spoon about half-full of expressed breast milk or formula. Place the cup or spoon up to the baby's mouth, touching the upper lip and tip, so the milk is just touching the baby's mouth. (Don't push down on the lower lip, though.) If necessary, you can drip a few drops in to the baby's mouth to begin. The baby will then either keep his tongue forward and drink little sips or lap from the cup or the spoon. (Remember to give the baby time to swallow, and don't just pour the milk into her mouth!) It is also important to keep the cup or the spoon in the same position, but refill as needed. Let the baby pace the feeding, and remember to pause for burping once in a while. Finally, keep in mind that you should not use this feeding method on an infant who isn't alert or is sleepy. Finger feeding: This method may help to remedy an incorrect-sucking pattern. Before beginning this feed, wash your hands. Hold the baby semi-upright. Attach a 10 or 20 cc syringe (fill after it's attached) to a 5 Fr feeding tube. Insert your finger into his mouth with the pad-side up, gently moving it back to the soft palate. Slide the feeding tube into the corner of the baby's mouth (it will be next to your finger). He will draw the plunger down as he takes in the milk from the syringe. So as the baby sucks, he will be rewarded for proper sucking movements with little amounts of milk. If the baby keeps her tongue behind her lower gums, put some light downward pressure on the back of the tongue. (This may help to bring the tongue forward over the lower gums, which is critical for correct breastfeeding.) If the baby stops sucking, lightly stroke the roof of his mouth. Be mindful of swallowing and whether or not he is getting too much or too little milk.
Periodontal syringe feeding: Fill the syringe with milk. Put your finger pad-side up in the baby's mouth, placing the periodontal syringe (resting on your finger) barely inside his lips. Reward the sucking movements with little amounts of milk. (If the baby does not suck, do not give him any milk.) Be mindful of swallowing and whether or not he is getting too much or too little milk.
Eye dropper: Fill the eye dropper with milk. Put your finger pad-side up in the baby's mouth, placing the eye dropper (resting on your finger) barely inside the corner of her mouth. Reward the sucking movements with little squeezes of milk. (If the baby does not suck, do not give her any
milk.) Be mindful of swallowing and whether or not she is getting too much or too little milk.
Supplemental Nursing System, although the word supplemental describes this system, it is actually a complementary feeding at the breast.

There are many advantages to using an alternative-feeding method. Since these techniques mimic breastfeeding, they avoid nipple confusion, and the baby can pace the speed and amount they receive during feeds. They also make the baby's tongue come forward rather than back, which must be done to breastfeed correctly, and it may remedy tongue-sucking motions. Alternative feeding methods can be taught to mothers, fathers or any other family members wishing to feed the baby.

Good luck! E.

I went through the same thing with my first child. I had a very persistent caregiver though--she finally got him using a NUK nipple using expressed breast milk. I also stopped by at lunchtime to breastfeed.

I'd try the Nuby soft trainer cups. It worked for our son, but he was also 11 months. GL!

one thing you may want to try is holding your baby like you are breastfeeding hold the bottle as close to your breast as possible and see if she will take it. It may take a few tries that is how I got my kids switched. Its a little like tricking them but if it works stick with it. best of luck

I'm sorry you are going through this. What I did for my son, who refused to suck, breast or bottle, is to cut the nipple holes bigger. That way she may get more in her mouth than a few drops. My son had a really bad thrush infection when he was a week old and refused to eat for twenty-one hours. It was horrible to hear him cry. He finally let the formula drip into his mouth and when it got full enough he'd swallow. Good luck! It's very frustrating, I know.

Maybe ask a lactation specialist about finding what nipples most resemble your own. The new feel, texture, or size of the nipple hole make a huge difference. If they have to really work to suck they it becomes hard and they don't want to deal with it. Also have her suck on your finger to find out what kind of grip she has, sounds nuts but if she sucks hard then you kind of can gauge what size hole.
Babies can get too hungry and it reverses what they are willing to do I agree completely with you! She is hungry, frustrated and should have to go that long. I am sure many others struggled with bottles too and can help on her or go to your local La Leche league and tell them your concerns.
I pumped for both of mine kind of early on and it worked out well but I had to adjust nipples per the child and what they wanted to suck. Make sense?
Babies cry by the way, for all sorts of reasons. I imagine she is hungry and if she is refusing a bottle for 9 hours that adds to it now but they will change from being seemingly quiet and peaceful then teething, hunger all sorts of things pop up! HUGS HUN, I hope you can find resolution!

My sister's kid would go all day at daycare without taking any liquids then nurse, nurse , nurse all night long to make up the difference.
I would say keep to only offering BM in bottles or sippy cup (no plug).
When I was dealing with nursing pain-yeast/ Mastitis and had to give a bottle, my LO would not take the bottle from me- however, if I nursed even for a few minutes (stopping her becasue of the pain)then she would happily take the bottle from me.

J. -I feel terrible for you and your baby. How frustrating & heartbreaking for you to know she's not eating all day. She must be starving by the time you see her after work! Any luck yet? Have you tried contacting LaLeche League and speaking with a local specialist? I just can't believe she doesn't get hungry enough while you're at work to drink from a bottle. Is she protesting you leaving her alone all day? Are you ever able to visit her during your work hours, say over your lunch break? S. S.

I had the same situation with my daughter, I went to back to work when she was 5 months old. Similarly, we tried every bottle/nipple out there. The one that worked the best for us is the Adiri bottle. It is a little bit cumbersome to work with at first, but once you get the hang of it, it works fine. You will read a lot about it leaking, but I never had the problem - again need to follow directions. It took almost 2 weeks for my daughter to finally give in to being bottle fed by our nanny. And like yours, she would not eat anything from 8-5...To this day, she still only drinks about 6-10 oz a day, and makes up the rest during the afternoon/nighttime when I am home. She is 75% percentile for weight/height, so she is growing and putting on weight! Good luck!

Hello! I'm running around so I haven't read the other moms request but I'm sure they are saying the same things. Try a different nipple. If she takes a pacifier match the nipple to pacifier. My first did the same thing. She took a bottle when she was younger but at about 2 months she refused everything we tried. She took a nuk pacifier so we went and found nuk nipple and she took it right away. Also try silicone versus the softer rubber. Neither of my girls liked the silicone ones at all. They preferred the rubber ones. If it keeps up however, I would take here to the pediatrician immediately cause babies that don't eat get dehydrated and dehydrated babies are a serious matter. Don't just wait it out. Its better to be safe than sorry. Good luck!

Can you leave work over your lunch hour and nurse your baby? Maybe if you explained the situation to your employer they would be flexable.

Will she take a pacifier? This happened to a girl at my work. Her baby would take a pacifier, so they ended up putting a hole in the end of the pacifer, hooking it up to a tube with a syringe and feeding her that way. I know sounds crazy but it worked. (they used a baby feeding tube)Maybe your peditrician can hook you up with the medical supplies. Hope it all works out!

When I worked in a day care center I took care of a baby who would not drink from a bottle either, so I fed her using a medicine syringe. It is a little more time consuming, but breastfed babies tend to do well with it. All that you need is a medicine syringe, a cup of expressed breastmilk, and a well-scrubbed pinkie finger, with a short-trimed fingernail. You suck up the milk into the syringe and hold it in one hand, you put the pinkie finger of your other hand into the baby's mouth and wait for her to start to suck, when she does you insert the tip of the syringe into her mouth and slowly squirt in the milk. Repeat the process until she is full. It is easier than it may sound, I had to use the same method for my second baby for a short time when I was not making enough milk for her, which, incedenally, I know many good remedies for. And please, STOP GIVING HER PEAR JUICE! It is bad for her, seh is far too young to have anything but breastmilk to eat. As for the formula, breastfed babies often do not like the taste of formula so it is even harder to get them to take a bottle of formula than a bottle of breastmilk. Good luck, and please give sryinge feeding a try, it could save your sanity!

J.:

My little guy (4 mos old tomorrow) had the same trouble. I have some flexibility in my job and can work from home for some hours, so that helped a little. Would your boss be a little flexible too? I worked from 10-4:30 MWF--regular hours T/Th.

Now, almost 4 weeks later, he is finally eating a bottle well. This is what we did:

My husband takes the breastmilk out of the fridge and he warms it really well in already heated water on the stove top. This makes it more like the milk my baby drinks directly from the breast (have you ever noticed how warm the bottles feel right when you finish pumping?).

I try to make sure that I'm pumping not only the foremilk, but also the hindmilk so that his bottles have both. This is supposed to help reduce gas in the baby, and help him feel satisfied.

We tried A LOT of different bottle nipples and discovered that he likes the Avent nipples best.

My husband burps him after about 2 oz. then gives him another 2 oz.

We tried to be patient and just kept offering the bottle at every normal feeding time, or whenever he was fussy.

My son still refuses to drink formula in the bottle, but he will drink breastmilk.

I hope things will improve. Another friend of mine had the same problem and she said her son wouldn't ever take a bottle, so their pediatrician suggested they start rice cereal (REALLY runny) early. I would advise you to call your doctor before you introduce solids, though.

Best wishes,
E.

I know you say you've tried every bottle out there, but have you tried the First Years "Breast Flow" blottle? I have had several friends whose breatfed babies would take only that bottle. Its available at Babies R Us and looks a little weird... it had a double nipple (one inside the other) and apparently it supposed to be the most breast feeding friendly bottle out there. For my partly breast fed baby we had the most success with Gerber bottles that aren't the Nuk bottles (they've got purple nipple collars and the actual bottles are kind of triangle shaped). Good luck in your serach for the solution

have you ever seen a nipple shild? it is used when babies do not take the boob. you can syringe the milk through it. a lot of work but the baby still feels like she is getting milk from a boob (kind of) and better than her not eating for 10 hours, how stressful!

ugh, I'm so sorry you are going through this.. you are not alone! my daughter (now 2) never would take a bottle... and oh, people never believe you... say things like "oh she will when she is hungry enough... blah, blah, blah".. but seriously, everyone in my family tried. friends tried... the nurses at the lactation center tried.. she just refused.

so here is what we did:

1. mixed breast milk with rice cereal & spoon fed her (check w/ peds about introducing cereal this early).
2. used a bulb syringe
3. sometimes she'd accept the milk from one of those medicine spoons
4. when she was old enough to sit up a little she drank from a sippy cup
5. have some one else feed her, the sitter will be less stressed than you or your husband.

otherwise, my dear baby would just wait for me to get home... or when I could I'd drive to the sitters house and breast-feed on my lunch hour. it was awful, awful, awful... she starting getting up more often at night to eat to make up for what she wasn't getting during the day... now that I'm on the other side of this, I still don't like to think about it. but as they say "this too shall pass", once she is older and can take a sippy cup, you won't have to worry... but I know that is small comfort right now.

good luck!

J.,

Try a sippy cup. That was the only thing my baby girl would take, granted she was a little older 5 months. Make sure you get a sippy cup for the youngest kids. Also I have heard of baby's taking milk from a regular cup or a spoon. Worth a try.

Good luck,
R.