Why Won't My 4 Month Old Breastfed Baby Take a Bottle Anymore?

Same thing happened to my daughter at about 4 mos as well. When I spoke with my Lactation Consultant, she said that at this age, sucking is a "choice" for the baby, so the baby may choose not to suck on the bottle (preferring, and holding out for, the breast). We tried different bottles and nipples to no avail. Finally, I just had to give her the bottle myself (my husband gave the bottles) until she started taking it again. My husband also started giving her the bottle while she was in the high chair vs holding her in an "arm cradle," which is closer to what her position is when breastfeeding. I think it took a few weeks before she stopped refusing it. She started daycare at 6mos and has had no issues with who give her the bottle since (or breastfeeding when it's me). I noticed at daycare, that the providers hold the babies "facing out" as well, which may have made a difference.

www.askdrsears.com might have some information for you

otherwise, www.llli.org - find a local or nearby la leche league consultant/group. they will have TONS of information for you to find a solution to your problem, AND they might have other mothers who have been through the EXACT same thing! :D

i think what happens is that breastfed babies suck harder, it takes more work to suck from the breast than from the bottle. so then when she takes the bottle, she sucks as hard as she would normally, but she gets too much because the bottle is easier... you know what i mean? as for what to do about it? im not sure... see above :P

good luck

we didn't change the nipple flow until just recently...he's almost 7 months. i didn't want him to have such an easy flow on the bottle and not latch onto me anymore since he'd have to work for it.i would say if shes still taking you and not the bottle its not the nipple flow. we stayed at level 1 way longer than the package says! our ped. had us start a bottle of bmilk around 6-7 weeks and told us....no matter what, one bottle a day! even if he seems to go back and forth fine, just keep at the bottle so its normal. we never had an issue going back and forth. i would just start the bottle more consistently for her. good luck!

I have a 4 mo. old too....same thing happened. Try the level 2 or 3 nipple. You might think that they are choking...BUT you have several milk ducts and it comes out faster than you think....so your baby might want instant gratification and a nipple in which the milk comes out faster. I use Dr. Brown's level 3 and he now will down 3-4 oz in about 15 min. Good luck!

Could be that she needs the next size nipple. It might not suppling her with enough milk and it's frustrating her. Worth a try.

My son and 2 other babies I know did the same thing at that age--we all ended up switching nipple/bottle brands (but not going to the next stage nipples)I switched from BreastFlow to Nuk....I would get anothe brand of bottle to try

I had the same problem (sort of - my as of today 4-month-old seemed to have a harder time than before with the bottle and would stop drinking before having much milk). I just switched to the level 2 nipple, and that seems to help. I'm pretty sure my breastmilk flows at least as fast as the bottle (actually faster), although I've also had a problem with too much/too rapid milk, so maybe I'm not typical :-).