Help Please - Rego Park,NY

Does she still nurse just fine, and only won't take the bottles? Or is she refusing both?

If she is refusing both, it might just be a "nursing strike" that includes the bottles too. My son went through periods where he didn't want to eat for a few days. They are frustrating and nerve wracking, but if you just keep offering, they pass.

If she is nursing but no bottle, try doing the switch. Start her on the breast then switch to a bottle part way through. Sometimes that works to get babies to take a bottle who haven't been introduced before and are refusing it.

Good luck, I wish I had more advice.

Hi worried Mommy,

I have a 6 month old and he does not take a bottle. I tried at 6 weeks and he took it no problem, but was not consistent and by 10 weeks, he refused the bottle.
So....I stressed for a few weeks and tried many times to get Judah to take a bottle, but it was torture for me and my husband.
Now I am training him to use a cup. Both a sippy cup and a regular cup.
If you do not have to go back to work and can handle being the only one to feed your baby for a few more months, then you can try a cup.

It's best if moms dont' give their own babies bottles of EBM. If you need to leave a bottle for someone to feed because you are out, that's one thing, but yes, it is confusing to her if you are trying to give her a bottle when she knows that you breastfeed her. Babies will typically prefer breastfeeding. Keep in mind if you're giving formula on a daily basis to such a young baby, your milk supply will be affected.
Some babies can switch easily back and forth between breast and bottle, some not so. Obviously if you must be away from baby, she must have a bottle, but if you are giving bottles yourself because you think it's more convenient, I'd stop doing that. Don't give the breastfed baby a bottle unless it's her only option for feeding.

This is common with babies that have been exclusively breastfed. My lactation consultant recommended the Playtex Naturalatch Drop-In system of bottles and going to bottles-only for 24 hours (stay at home so she is not otherwise distracted or over stimulated). Have someone else feed her during these 24 hours, and you need to pump to keep up your supply during this period. You can feed her the pumped milk in the bottles. Most slow-flow nipples on bottles are too fast for newborns who are used to controlling the flow themselves from breasts. Basically, you need to train your baby to accept that she needs to occasionally drink from a bottle, because, being the smart baby that she is, she knows that getting her milk directly from a loving warm breast is much more preferable than from a plastic bottle. The first few feedings in the 24 hours will be miserable for everyone, but if you continue to refuse to offer the breast, then no baby will starve herself and she will eventually accept the bottle. Then continue to offer one bottle per day to make sure she doesn't regress. Also, she may not like the taste of formula, so stick with your pumped milk (at least for now). Good luck! The good news is that she will probably accept a sippy cup or straw cup much earlier than most babies!

does she not get 100% of the b-milk straight from you? like you work and have to pump it? You'll have to try different bottle-types because the nipples come in a wide variety, GOOD LUCK, and KEEP UP THE BREASTMILK! ;)

Are you giving her the bottle or is someone else? I feel like if its you, your baby may be refusing because she wants the real thing! I had to leave the room when my husband would give her a bottle (to give me a break) because if she saw me, she wouldn't take it. Also, I used "Drop-in's"-these bottles were recommended to me by a lactation consultant-they are most like the breast-and they worked well for us. I don't believe in the nipple confusion thing but I may be wrong on that! I exclusively breastfeed-never did the formula. Good Luck!!