My baby won't take a bottle...

[ttcomom]

help! my 8 mo old has never had a bottle and never had reason to as she's never been away from me aside from a quick grocery shop while she's napping...
i live in maine and the indigo girls are coming to play a free concert at llbean. i'd love to go with some old college friends of mine, but as the show does'nt even start until 8ish it will be too late to bring my kiddos. my supportive hubby desperately wants to give me a night out and a break, but we can't get the baby to take a bottle! i've been pumping a few oz. daily so that at bedtime he can disappear to the nursery w/her and try putting her down. she loves the daddy time and will coo away at him while they sit there and she CHEWS ON THE NIPPLE OF THE BOTTLE! he then will go to put her down (mind you, she has not eaten a drop) and she screams bloody murder until i come up and nurse ger to sleep. i've also tried having him or another adult she's comfortable with give her a bottle during the day so that i'm certain it's not just the comfort of the night routine that makes her reject it, but she does the same thing! being the happy baby she is, she snuggles, smiles, coos and CHEWS ON THAT NIPPLE! i have never once seen her suck the bottle.
am i too late? is she too old and we've missed the boat on this bottle thing?
any suggestions would be helpful... I don't want to begin bottle feeding or making a habit of going out at night, i just want to be able to know that she'll be okay if the need arises for me to leave.
thanks

[aussiemum]

This is going to be a horribly unpopular opinion.

But I don't think that you have missed the boat. And if your darling DD is very, very hungry she will take bm from a bottle. You should be able to get away for a few hours at 8 months of age, & I think it is fantastic that the Indigo Girls are going to be at a venue nearby your home.

You can always feed & cuddle your DD all night long after the concert, & I'm very sure she won't remember or care where you were the next day.

Your DH might have a bit of a hard time with your little DD refusing to take ebm, but if he can just hold out until you get home (NO cell phone calls, barring an emergency hospital situation!!!!) it will be just fine. Four to five hours separation does not disrupt a b'fing/mama relationship...... it just doesn't. imo.

Go to that concert, mama! GO!! You will have a good time, & your DD will be just fine with your DH. :

[silly_scout]

It's the Indigo Girls. You'd be crazy to NOT go. Since when should breastfeeding mean constant martyrdom? I catch that vibe on here sometimes...
8 months is old enough to drink from a cup. Skip the bottle and try to give the baby a cup of BM (maybe even a sippy, if you're desperate and it's occasional: )
Enjoy your concert!!

[onlyboys]

There were babies at the concert when I went several years ago (okay, a lifetime ago! ). Amy and Emily even mentioned how sweet it was. And, the concert was AMAZING!

But, I also vote, you'll be gone for only several hours, right? So, I think she'll be okay, you can nurse before you leave and after you get home. I think a cup might work better than a bottle, too. Hope this helps!

[RootSnort]

Isn't chewing on the nipple going to result in milk? Isn't that part of the problem with nipple confusion anyway? I think she'll do it! I think she's use that bottle! And you'll get to go to this concert - I am sooooo jealous! You go, girl!

[Decca]

At 8 months, you can try a sippy cup, or even one with a straw. Nuby makes one with a big soft straw that is very easy to handle (you might have to "prime" it for her).

Good luck! I think this is totally do-able and you'll be glad to have the freedom to go to the Indigo Girls.

[staceychev]

I vote that you go, too. I'd love to see the Indigo Girls. Anyway, Lucy wouldn't take a bottle either. She took a sippy cup first (and then took a bottle just for fun when her little cousin was born and she wanted to be like him--my sis gave up bf-ing at 3 months )

[~Megan~]

Perhaps leave the pumped milk even if she won't take it (have you tried a cup instead?).

But instead of having your dh lay her down you could nurse her to sleep before you leave. Then if she wakes he can hold and comfort her, give her a bath, etc until you get home.

I'd only feel comfortable doing this if I knew my dh was confident enough to comfort her (I think confidence is key to baby's comfort!) and that I knew he would call me if it got to the point that she was inconsolable.

[pitchfork]

Lots of babies are known to hold out for mom til she gets home, even late, and then a couple of sucks and she's asleep. Maybe dad should not try bedtime, just enjoy spending the evening with her, offer a cup or sippy of milk or water, and if she happens to fall aseep great and if not, you can nurse her to sleep as soon as you get home.

how's that sound to you?

[mrsc]

I would suggest a sippy. She's old enough for one. My DD wouldn't take a bottle either so we experimented with sippies and she prefers the ones with a straw or just a plain spouted lid. Good Luck momma! That concert sounds like fun.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I would suggest a soft top sippy.

[MamaPam]

Another vote for the soft top sippy. So far none of my children would have anything at all to do with a bottle after a few months of age no matter what was inside it.

[bdavis337]

Go for the sippy.

And to the PP who asked about chewing = milk from the bottle, not always. (I ff'ed and bottled fed my oldest two exclusively, so I'm talking from the experience of 3 years of feeding from at least 5 different types of bottles). Just as a baby can comfort nurse at the breast without getting any milk even when the breast has milk to offer, so too can they "chew" or comfort suck on the bottle nipple. They'll probably get a bit of milk dribblies, but nothing of substance to swallow.

If you're using a super slow flow nipple (like a #1 or infnat nip), she might just prefer a slighltly faster nipple size.

[ttcomom]

thanks for the advice...

thanks to everyone who's responded so positively! i've purchased one of the advent soft-spout sippies and we'll see how that goes... as for putting olive down before the show, i don't think that will bode well at 5ish in the afternoon!
i think i'll just bf, then my huband can backpack her while he feeds the other kiddos and then he can offer her the sippy at bedtime. worst case scenario she gets furious and has to wait until 10 to eat/go to bed...
thanks again,everyone!