Help needed fast babe won't take bottle and I have to go back to work on Tues!

[mrsdocmartin]

That's the gist of it. It is ebm. She cannot figure out the bottle and I don't know what to do. She just pushes the nipple out of her mouth with her tongue and cries.

[rhiOrion]

Have you tried different bottles? A lot of babies do well with either the breastflow bottles or the playtex drop ins. There are lots of others, too.

Try heating the milk up warmer or keeping it cooler.

One thing that worked well for me was to run the nipple under warm water.

Are you using frozen milk? If so, taste it and make sure it tastes good and not soapy.

Get someone else to give her the bottle. You might even want to leave the house. Or go somewhere else and have someone else give the bottle.

Worse comes to worse you can try a syringe with milk to give it to her slowly. She may also reverse cycle some and nurse way more at night and hardly at all in the day.

Are you leaving her with a daycare or someone else with lots of experience? If so, I promise they've seen this before and have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves.

DH can get DD to take a bottle, but it takes a lot of work. She takes it just fine at day care.

I hope that helps!!! Good luck... it will be fine!

[prone_to_wander]

If the PP's suggestions don't work, you could cup feed her.
I'd try some fof Kelly Mom's suggestions: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/a...e-feeding.html

[mrsdocmartin]

Thanks mamas. I got her to take about an ounce last night with the avent bottle. She didn't like the playtex drop in, and I don't have a breastflow or a store near me that carries them. DH will be with her, and he isn't as patient as me, but I guess he will have to be when I'm not here. I'll check the milk today to see if it tastes soapy.

[rhiOrion]

Originally Posted by mrsdocmartin

Thanks mamas. I got her to take about an ounce last night with the avent bottle. She didn't like the playtex drop in, and I don't have a breastflow or a store near me that carries them. DH will be with her, and he isn't as patient as me, but I guess he will have to be when I'm not here. I'll check the milk today to see if it tastes soapy.

My dh tends to panic when she won't take the bottle, and it becomes a downward spiral. I think his panic makes her more stressed which makes him panic more, etc.

The MAM nipples will fit in the avent bottles. They're a different shape, so they may be worth a try since that won't involve buying new bottles.

At first my dd liked the evenflo bottles that are angled. They have a shorter nipple than most others. Eventually she started to hate them, but at first they were what she took best.

[MamaPhD]

My DD NEVER took a bottle from me or DH during the few months I went back to work (ended up quitting, ha!). She was OK taking it from my parents who were staying with us, except one Fri afternoon. Over the weekend, I left the house most of the day to get my parents to give her a bottle and she refused & oh, man, I had such a panic attack!!! So following Mon morning, I go to work prepared to come home to feed her and she was totally OK taking the bottle as if nothing happened. Go figure.

She liked gerber orthodontic nipples (round on one side, flat on the other) but didn't care if different bottles. If she doesn't suck at the bottle at all, maybe you can have her suck on your finger then quickly switch with bottle. Also wait until she is pretty hungry (plz don't starve her tho!!!) so she will be more motivated. Other than that, I think just go to work & then she will figure out very quickly you are not there and bottle has the yummy stuff. Good luck!