First off, thanks to the moms who responded to my original request. My SIL is now pumping and scalding her milk using an ingenious mama-recommended system, and it no longer tastes like soap after a few hours. However, now her not-quite four month son wants nothing to do with a bottle in ANY form (understandable - he had milk that had turned offered to him for almost 2 weeks - so he developed a STRONG aversion). She has tried a variety of different bottles, including the natural nurser, and her son has refused all but 1 bottle in the last 5 days of trying. She can't come home and breastfeed every day, or cut back on her hours / change her somewhat crazy schedule (she's a full-time OB, so you can appreciate the schedule constraints), so she is really anxious about successfully re-training on the bottle as soon as possible.
Regardless the reason why your baby refused a bottle, have any of you had experience successfully re-introducing one to a baby who has been strongly conditioned against it (icky milk, too hot, etc...)?. What approaches have worked, and how long did it take? She can help with offering bottles when she is home, and both her husband and their childcare provider are trying when she is not. Since her son is not quite 4 months they really want to make the bottle work rather than trying early solids.
She has asked her pediatrician and lactation consultants about this - they haven't been particularly helpful.
Thanks much!
Try a sippy cup. It is different than a bottle, but still gets the milk into them. All of my kids went straight from breast to cup some with breastmilk. Good luck.
I haven't had experience with it personally, but maybe try offering him a regular cup or a straw? In lots of lactation books, they also talk about using a spoon. Maybe even try letting him drink the milk out of the bottle without the nipple? Then he would see where it's coming from, but might help transition him back to using the nipple? Wish her luck for us!!
Hi M.,
Sometimes different nipples have different flows, so the baby may prefer one nipple to another. I used the Dr. Brown's bottles, because they have a vent system to prevent gas. And the nipples have e nice flow. It is possible that the baby gets gas and associated the bottle with discomfort.
When someone else is feeding the baby, you SIL cannot be in the house at all. She should take a walk or something and have papa feed the baby.
And to reiterate the what others have said, try feeding from a cup. And don't give up, just keep trying everything, and eventually she will realize that she has to take it.
Hope this helps, seems that I have had every problem in the book with my baby!
J
<laughing> just read you update, 3 months is a little young for as much cognition as what we did (@6mo, with ours, and again @apx 1 year). And you may laugh, but still DO try being open and above board with the entire process, Takes longer then just grabbing one already made up...but seeing/tasting/touching at each stage can help.
Other options:
- Spoons (if starting solids is an option, even an unwanted one, why not skip the solid and use the silverware? I'd try chinese spoons along with our smaller western ones.)
- Oldfashioned "Milk Bladders". Otherwise known as what great-granny used. It's essentially a canteen/soda bottle (something with a large reservoir but a narrow mouth) with a clean cloth tied around the spout. This was before rubber nipples were around. The cloth is twisted or folded to create a kins of "nipple", tied gently to keep the shape, and then tied again to the lip of the bladder/canteen/bottle. The cloth wicks the milk to the baby, who is sucking on it. I would think a thicker cloth would work better. And again, would deal better with being boiled.
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Here's what we did when we had that problem:
Letting them taste/smell and and help pour into!
That and telling them, "I KNOW it was yucky before. That's why we're going to make sure it's yummy AND YOU get to help..." etc etc.
I don't know how young your friends baby is...but almost at any age, even preverbal, this has worked well. Even when they don't understand the words...the tone is well listened to.
We are going through this right now as well and trying a little formula mixed with apple juice (so it is sweet) got my daughter interested and then my husband gradually started mixing in my breastmilk (she would never take my breastmilk from a bottle).
We also used a small sippy cup and removed the no spill feature so we could pour a small amount into the mouth.
Just keep trying different nipples, different stuff in the bottle until you find something that works.
First of all, she shouldn't be the one offering any bottle. This baby wants to nurse, it's what he's most comfortable with, especially when Mom's available. I would try pumping milk right into the bottle to be used and then having Dad give the bottle. Don't scald the milk, it's still warm, not refrigerated. Do this in the morning or in the evening, take her pick, but this might help with the bottle conversion. Is she not wanting to breast feed any longer? 4 months is pretty young to be switching back and forth and having her provide the bottle instead of the breast. I can understand the work schedule, but as Mom I never gave the bottle of expressed breast milk, that was Dad's job (we worked opposite shifts of one another) and when I was home, I nursed exclusively. Pumping at work during the day (breaks and lunches). You can over heat breast milk, so setting it a bowl of hot water, not on the stove and not in the microwave. I wish her and the baby well.
