refusal of the bottle

[houseelf]

Little miss (2.5 months) will NOT take the bottle for love or money. I need some serious help becaus I plan on going back to work in January. Please, please, please, tell me that we can solve this.

Kelly

Kelly, have you tried different bottles/nipples? My 13 mo. old was weaned from me to the bottle at age 6 months. (that is all I can take! Plus, she had teeth, OUCH!) so one day in a crying fit of desperation I sent my dh to Target to get at least 4 different types. This was after I had tried on and off since about 3 months of age (wasn't trying at that time to totally wean her, just get her used to it). She refused everytime until that day when she was about 6.5 months old and we tried again. DH came home with a few different types of nipples and HE tried to feed her, not me so that it wouldn't confuse her. She took right too it with the 2nd nipple we tried and he just fed her exclusively for a few more feedings and then I took over and she was weaned! It was a joyous day!!! LOL Sorry, BF is not my thing past that age.

***Note: I weaned her COLD turkey that moment and was in great pain for probably 3 days or so but it was worth it. DH loved how enormous I got. (With my older two, I weaned gradually so that was a bit hard to do so fast)

***The nipple that worked for us was the silicone ortho nuk nipple. Hope this helps and is not TMI Good luck!!!!

This may not be helpful depending on what you have tried....but my first would never take a bottle from me. She wanted the real thing. You might need to have someone else try giving it to her when you are out of sight. Also, you could try a faster flow nipple so she gets it quicker. (I know, I know this is exactly what the experts tell you not to do but it's worth a shot).

[mommax3]

Nathan wouldn't take a bottle from me either. I never tried bottles with the other two, but with Nathan I had that horrible recurrent mastitis, and I had to enlist DH over a weekend (he was off) to help me make the transition.....Nathan was about 7 months old. After he was used to the bottle, he would take it from me, but not if I held him in a cradling position, like I had held him when we nursed.

Sally

[PrincessFiona]

Kelly,

None of my children would take a bottle from me initially. Aidan is one year old and would have nothing to do with a bottle...or even a sippy cup if I'm attached to the other end. Both Thomas and Brenda now have no problem getting him to take one though.

I wouldn't stress out about it too much. I agree that you could try out the different nipples....and also I would start taking yourself out for a couple of hours on the weekends or in the evening when Sean is home so that he can feed her when you aren't around (great excuse to go to Barnes and Nobles for a couple of hours ). She will quickly adapt.

kris

[Flynn]

All good suggestions thus far. My daughter would not take a bottle until she was 7 months old but I don't work so it wasn't that important other than for my sanity!!!!

The only other thing I have heard is weaning entirely. Some kids won't go back and forth but they will get used to one and then the other. That's not ideal but it might be an ok last resort.

[houseelf]

Thanks for the great advice. I just need to know that she won't starve herself when I go back to work. I am really committed to nursing for at least the first full year. I hope that she will become able to go between both the botte and the breast eventually.

Wish me luck. This little lady has preferences!

Kelly

[HeartRN]

Kelly--I think all of the advice that's posted is great. I went back full time after Keelin was only 8 weeks old. Fortunately, she took the bottle from me the first time I tried, but she definitely preferred the real deal. Is there any way when you go back to work to stop by wherever she is on your lunch to nurse her? I'm lucky enough to have DH in the hospital daycare, so I could go over to see her when I had a moment. That also seemed to help our transition. I suppose for some kids, this might make it harder though....just something to think about. Best of luck, and she'll definitely get the hang of it.