My daughter is now 3 months old and I'm having trouble getting her to take a bottle of expressed breastmilk from me or anyone else for that matter. I've tried different bottles and nipples with no luck. I've got a whole freezer full of milk that I've stored with the hopes that hubby & I can go out and take the kids to a sitter. Any advice or ideas?
I had the same problem too, and come to find out 5 months later that my son liked formula! keep trying new things
have you had someone try when you are out of the house? Often a breastfed baby will refuse if mom is in the house because they so prefer the warmth and comfort of mom. If you have tried and it doesn't work, try feeding with a different tool, like a sippy. I don't agree with the PP about doing a bottle so early. I think she is very lucky it worked for her, but it would cause serious issues for most women. Usually, 6 weeks is when you first want to introduce a bottle. they should be good enough at BFing that it shouldn't hinder that, but they are usually open enough to take to a bottle too. Good luck and hang in there!!) BTW - my son prefers the Avent Naturally ones.
I've been there... it's very frustrating. With my son (1st born), I followed all the standard advice about waiting 2-3 months to introduce bottles until breastfeeding was well established. It just backfired. He never did want a bottle. The best we did was when I was gone, my husband would offer a bottle and eventually he'd get hungry enough to take a few sips. Once he was 4 months, he started 'real' food so hubby could give him oatmeal when he got really hungry. But basically I didn't leave him for more than 1-2 hours until he was 4-5 months old. At 4 months, when he was sitting in the high chair for meals, we'd give him a sippy cup of water. If you remove the plastic valve thingy, the water just flows out and they get the hang of it real quick - although you do have to hold it for them for awhile. Around 5 months, we put breastmilk in the sippy cup and he just gulped it down. After a few weeks, we put the valve back in and that is how he drank breastmilk when I wasn't around until he was about 11 months old. He would never take formula, either... we tried several brands, too. By 8 months, he was 100% self-feeding. We'd just take whatever 'normal' food we had for meals/snacks, cut into small pea-size pieces (not a tooth until he was a year old so he couldn't bite off food himself) so I didn't have to worry about him being hungry when I was gone all day.
I learned with my 2nd... gave her a bottle at 1 week old and started giving formula at 1 month. Apparently it didn't interfere with breastfeeding because she's 18 months, still nursing and we never had any issues whatsoever.
Good luck!
-D.
Hi there! I know you've tried a lot of different bottles/nipples, but have you specifically tried the Playtex Natural Latch nipples? My daughter would only use those nipples in LATEX, not silicone. The latex wasnt' as slippery in her mouth and she actually took it.
Just keep trying. I was in the same situation and freaking out because I had to go back to work and was committed to breastfeeding and my daughter getting only breastmilk for at least the first 6 months of life. Just keep trying. Make sure she is hungry. I ended up using the Playtex Nurser Nipple. I'm not sure that is the specific name... I think the trick will be to make sure she is hungry enough to do anything to eat but not too hungry in that she will start freaking out.
I'm breastfeeding also. My daughter had trouble latching on at first, so she actually started out with a bottle supplied by the hospital that helped her learn to suck and open her mouth properly. After we established breastfeeding, we introduced a different bottle. Other than learning to control the flow (at first she would suck a lot into her mouth and started sputtering, and that was on the slow-flow nipple), she didn't have any problems taking the bottle. We use the Playtex VentAire, wide nipple bottles that are for breastfed babies. It's worked really well for us and seems to keep the air bubbles out. When I first gave it to her, I pinched the end to let some milk into her mouth, so she knew what she was getting.
Also, like another poster said, make sure the milk is good and fresh. Your milk changes as the baby grows, so the milk you're giving her in the bottle may not be the same as what she's taking from the breast.
Hi K.
My cousin had the same trouble with her son. Come to find out, her milk was bad. She had a freezer full of milk and everytime she tried it on the baby, he would refuse it. I also think a child knows if it is not his mothers milk he is drinking too. Maybe say something to your doc or your baby's doc. They may be able to do a test to check your milk..Also, if she has had a taste of like enfamil or similac she may just like that better...Mine did. I had that trouble for about a month. Hope that you find this useful and good luck to you and your family!
-T. W.
This may sound kinda mean. Try waiting till she's really hungry. Bout an hour longer than you'd normally feed her. Then try the bottle. And try squeezing some into her mouth so that she knows it's your milk. Good luck!
My daughter is the same way. I have heard to try a sippy cup from a few friends that had the same problem. We just bought a sippy cup to try with my four month old. With mine it does make a difference if I'm around also. If I'm home she refuses all plastic even her pacifier that she usually takes for dad and her sitter.
