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Help! My LO does not take a bottle!

post #1 of 20
7/14/10 at 3:56pm
Thread Starter 
First of all, I am very pro-breastfeeding. I nursed my 1st DD until she was 23 months old. She did not have any problems taking a bottle. My 2nd DD, 3.5 month old is a different story. She took the bottle when she was 4 weeks old while I was taking the exam. Then she took another bottle at 2 months old and then literally a day later when my DH and I went out for my birthday dinner and my DSS' play she refused and screamed for 6 hours according to my MIL. Now I HAVE to go back to work at the end of August. I don't have any choice in that respect.
We tried different bottles and nipples. She does not take any. What am I to do? Is my baby going to starve while I am at work?
Does anyone BTDT? Any advice?
Thank you!

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post #2 of 20
7/14/10 at 4:52pm
Of course your baby is not going to starve.

Mine never took the bottle either, and she started day care at the same age yours will.

I taught the daycare provider to feed dd with a tiny one ounce medicine cup. (Some people have used a syringe.) That worked for about 3 months, if I recall.

After a little while, they stopped using the teeny cups and had her chug directly from the big containers that I sent the milk in.

Then after a little while after that (maybe at 9-12 months of age), she refused to drink any milk in any form. She didn't scream at daycare, just smiled happily all day and then nursed at home at night. She reverse cycled. She was perfectly happy not getting any milk at all during the day at daycare. The daycare providers, on the other hand, required a lot of reassurance from me.

I suppose that if you wish, you could introduce some solids at daycare. I never had to, but every baby is different.

It will be just fine. Don't worry. I, too, tried every bottle/nipple combination under the sun to no avail, but in the end, it didn't really matter.
post #3 of 20
7/14/10 at 4:53pm
Can you possibly go a bit longer without working outside the home?
post #4 of 20
7/14/10 at 4:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pookietooth View Post
Can you possibly go a bit longer without working outside the home?
I wish I could. I am a teacher. They will fire me if I ask for leave of absence. We then will all starve!
post #5 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:03pm
Not sure exactly what the answer is, but I can assure you that your little one will not "starve". They may be willful and choosy, but will not starve themselves.
post #6 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:04pm
You've mentioned trying lots of different bottles, but maybe she'd do better with a cup (sippy or otherwise), a syringe, a "momsicle" , a finger-feeder, or a spoon.

She's much more likely to take ebm from somebody if you're completely not available- she may be holding out for "the real thing" if she knows you're nearby.

She may prefer freshly pumped milk over milk that's been frozen and thawed.

She might like it better chilled, or warmed, or any temperature in between.

I hate to bring this up, but she may take formula better than ebm. I've heard of babies who would only take breastmilk "straight from the tap" but didn't mind other beverages from containers. I'd only suggest having the DCP offer formula as an absolute last resort, if there's no way to get her to take the ebm.

The absolute, worst case scenario is having a reverse cycler- a baby who has her long stretch of "not eating" during the workday, and then nurses extra in the afternoon, evening, overnight, and early morning to compensate. Your baby is NOT going to starve!

And by 6 weeks into school, she'll be 6mo and the DCP can offer solids in your absence if she's still refusing milk by then. You may even choose to offer solids a bit younger if she's absolutely miserable during the workday.
post #7 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:19pm
My DD didn't take a bottle either - or a cup, syringe, or spoon, from her dad, her DCP, her grandma - cold, warm, room temp, freshly pumped - none of it mattered - she just didn't eat if I wasn't there. We tried every bottle we could find, and we even tried formula one time (which I did NOT want to do, and she refused that as well). She wanted it straight from the tap, no exceptions, ever.

I went back to work when she was 12 weeks old and sent milk every day that got returned to me, every day. She didn't starve (in fact, she gained quite nicely and has always been in the upper percentiles for weight).

What she did do, was reverse cycle. She ate from the time I got home until the time she woke up the next day (or so it felt!!). It was hard, but since we were co-sleeping it wasn't as hard. And honestly, once I accepted that this is how it is, that I had THAT baby that really truly wouldn't take a bottle, it became much less stressful for me, and the idea of nursing all night long wasn't as overwhelming.

It did get a bit easier when we introduced solids, but even then, she didn't take to that very well either (and now, at 4.5, she's still extremely particular about food LOL).
post #8 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:23pm
Subbing. My son absolutely would not take a bottle, no matter what, but I didn't have to work until he was a preschooler. This baby, unfortunately, I will be lucky if I can get 6 weeks off from work. I'm terrified that it won't take a bottle, like my son. Taking careful notes here...
post #9 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kblackstone444 View Post
Subbing. My son absolutely would not take a bottle, no matter what, but I didn't have to work until he was a preschooler. This baby, unfortunately, I will be lucky if I can get 6 weeks off from work. I'm terrified that it won't take a bottle, like my son. Taking careful notes here...
FWIW - My DS was the exact opposite of my bottle-refusing DD. He didn't care HOW you got food into his mouth, as long as you fed him when he was hungry. At 6, he's still that way - we joke that if you tell the boy it's food, he'll eat it and proclaim how much he loves it - but it's not really a joke.....there are about 2 things he truly doesn't like and won't eat (cucumber and mayo).
post #10 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:27pm
DD never took a bottle either, except a very few times when she was a few weeks old. My Mom resorted to feeding her by spoon when she babysat, which took awhile to get through, but worked.

DD LOVES her sippy cup, though, and she'll even drink out of a regular glass, if we hold it for her. Maybe give that a try?
post #11 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:43pm
My DS would never take a bottle either. The few times I had to leave him with DH or my mom, they had to use a syringe to get BM into him, when he got a bit bigger it was easier bc he started drinking out of a cup at around 5 months.

GL. You'll get something worked out!
post #12 of 20
7/14/10 at 5:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruthla View Post
The absolute, worst case scenario is having a reverse cycler- a baby who has her long stretch of "not eating" during the workday, and then nurses extra in the afternoon, evening, overnight, and early morning to compensate. Your baby is NOT going to starve!
Having a reverce cycler was wonderful for me when I went back to work with DS#1. I loved having that time with him in the evening and cosleeping during the night.

DD#2 refuses to take a bottle but will sip from an open bottle (nipple and ring removed).

Just keep trying. s
post #13 of 20
7/14/10 at 8:01pm
DS became a reverse cycler after starting daycare, which is great - because he helps to keep my supply up and I get away with only pumping once during the day. The downside though, he poops twice during the night and DH has to get up and change him.
post #14 of 20
7/14/10 at 8:43pm
We had the same problem with my DS, 7 months, and it delayed my going back to work until a month ago. I was only able to get him to take a bottle when I realized I had a lipase issue. All of the milk I was storing was going bad before I could give it to him! Have you tasted or really smelled the milk you are giving? If it smells or tastes off, try heating the (new) pumped milk to scalding (not boiling) before storing. It worked for me. Unfortunately, if that is your issue, too, there's nothing that can be done with the milk you've already stored (I had to throw away a bunch). Also, my son is still not great with the bottle, but drinks enough to get through til I get home. Good luck!
post #15 of 20
7/15/10 at 1:12am
I actually enjoyed reverse cycling. We co-slept, and I nursed in bed. I got plenty of sleep, because I slept all while nursing, except to change sides. Oh, and my dd weaned herself at age 3 years old, so she was a strong nurser and, with the help of our breastpump, she was able to keep up my supply.
post #16 of 20
7/15/10 at 12:15pm
I just want to chime in that my DD also will not take milk from anything but me except for a half to one ounce on occasion to take the edge off. She is not on solids yet because of allergies. But she just waits, though I am never gone for more than 6 hours at a time. When I get home, I put my feet up, have DH bring me water and food and nurse for hours. It only sucks when I have to get up and pee because she gets mad if she's not done.

But it's really annoying when people don't accept that the baby just won't take milk any other way - everyone keeps telling me to buy this or that thing. 5 types of bottles, sippy cup, regular cup, dropper, spoon, frozen, cold, hot, fresh milk later, the boob is the only thing she's interested in.

I think it's good to have who ever is taking care of her offer the milk though because my DD does have a little to take the edge off before losing interest.
post #17 of 20
7/15/10 at 1:02pm
This was the ONLY cup that both my son and my daughter would drink any milk from. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...LAID=298649834
post #18 of 20
7/15/10 at 1:26pm
I'm just curious if you tried the Breast Flow bottles. I thought my son wouldn't take bottles because we tried a few different kinds...but then I came on this forum and a few people suggested these bottles. It was like magic. He instantly took to it.

I get mine here:

http://www.diapers.com/product/searc...eryfrom=search


They also have them on Amazon.
post #19 of 20
7/15/10 at 8:19pm
We went through something very similar when I went back to work when DS was 3 months. He was taking a little breastmilk in a bottle every day just fine and then we got lazy and skipped a few days and from then on he totally refused. My husband was home with him and for the first few days he wouldn't take any bottles (and we tried every kind). He started feeding him with a large eyedropper and then after a week noticed he was sucking on it. He tried the bottle after that and he's been a pro ever since. He also reverse cycled, which made for a zombie like Mommy but we made it work. It was a rough couple of months but we're all doing just fine now. I was convinced DS was going to starve but we were all fine and you and your babe will be fine too.
post #20 of 20
7/15/10 at 8:23pm
Just as a bit of encouragement- my DD did just what your LO is doing. She took a bottle a couple of random times and then suddenly started refusing.

The first day or two of daycare she only ate a little bit. Now she downs whatever they give her.
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Parenting › Ages and Stages › Life With a Babe › Help! My LO does not take a bottle!