Child Won't Take a Bottle Sometimes

He is still so young, just continue to offer it to him. Wait until too he is hungry not just wanting to breast feed for comfort. It will take some time but he is still really young.

My first would pretty much just take formula from a bottle. Sometimes his dad could get him to take breast milk, but mostly just babysitters when I wasn't around.

B.,

My 8th month old daughter was similar to that. She prefered the breast over a bottle any day but would take it if somebody else gave it to her. She takes a bottle just fine now that she has been in daycare for awhile but still prefers the breast from me. Is there anyone else that can give the bottle when you need to pump and keep working? The Breastfeeding clinic at the hospital might have some good ideas on how to handle this situation as well. They were my life saver for the first 3 months of my daughters life.

Good Luck!

Maggie

I have heard of a nipple called "breastflow" that is supposed to closely imitate the let down of breastmilk, so you might want to try that.

I've experienced what you're describing with both of my children. I just wasn't consistent enough in giving them a bottle (it's just easier to give them the boob instead of pumping) so they eventually wouldn't take the bottle any longer. So to fix it I had to become consistent again. What we did with my daughter was my husband (if it's me she would just want to nurse) would try to feed her an ounce of pumped milk in the morning when she would be the hungriest. She refused it, but he kept trying and we were consistent, which is key. It took a little over a week of him trying to give her the bottle every morning, and she gradually would start sucking a little, and now she'll take the bottle. I sometimes put juice in a bottle too, to make it yummy and motivating (but my daughter is a little older than your son). Now that she'll take a bottle I'll just continue to give her a bottle of water, juice, or milk a few times a week to keep her used to it. Try expressing a little milk from the bottle into her mouth so he realizes what's in it.

What worked for my son was we were on a road trip so he had to take the bottle. He refused it for several hours, but finally gave in and took the bottle after I first got him latched on to me, then slipped the bottle nipple in once he was already sucking. Everytime he realized and pulled away, I would repeat it until he just accepted the bottle. After that road trip I made sure to feed him a bottle a few times a week to keep him used to it. Consistency really pays off. It can be time consuming, but if you really want your baby to take a bottle, just keep trying on a regular basis. Only you can decide if it's worth the effort. I just got tired of feeling like I could never leave my children without completely coordinating around their feeding times and rushing back to nurse them.

Hi B.,

My daughter did the same thing. I was not consistent in giving her a bottle so she would not take one. Have you tried a different bottle all together or let someone else give him a bottle and you stay out of sight because if he sees mom he is going to want the breast.

I saw a bottle in the one step ahead magazine or you can look on line it is really shaped like a mothers breast and is called the "Adiri Natural Nurser". You could try something like that and if you can get him to start taking a bottle you should give him one at least once a day so that he will be used to taking one. Good Luck