My friend's little girl was originally breastfed and when she tried her on the bottle she took it quite happily along with also being breastfed for 6 weeks, however she now refuses to take it and so has to be solely breastfed again. My friend is soon to return to work and so is quite worried about this, did this happen to anyone else and if so how did you deal with it please?
2006-09-07 10:21:01 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Try lots of different types of bottles... but even that might not work. Maybe sippy cups? Avent makes a soft spout for little babies. Or even straw cups might work okay.
I'm in the same boat. I start work on Wednesday and babygirl will not take a bottle.
First babygirl slept all day and ate all night-- didn't take a bottle for 2 months after I went back to work! What she did is called "reverse cycling." She would just as soon starve than take a bottle. So contrary to popular opinion, some babies will NOT take a bottle, and some babies don't the whole time their mommmies are working!
2006-09-07 10:23:36 · answer #1 · answered by I ♥ EC 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like others say, try different teats and bottles, especially different flow rates. Mine just refused to take a bottle for a while and I use a range of cups. The best one was a 'doidy cup' - absolutely brilliant and recommended by health professionals too - this is open, not a sippy cup, and lets them see what they are drinking. It's a bit messy at first but they learn very quickly, although I would recommend a bib! Make sure that you take the valve's out of sippy cups if they have one. Little baby's can't suck hard enough for these.
Mine then went back to taking some from a bottle, so it's worth persevering because a bottle is easier when they are tiny and for other people. I do bottle first, then pour into a clean cup if she's not playing the game.
2006-09-11 04:23:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This happened to my son but I did not have to go back to work so it was not a big problem. Things I tried: holding baby in a different position so that he doesn't think she is being nursed, start nursing her then switch to bottle about half way through, let someone different feed her and mom leaves the house. The best thing I did though was go straight to a soft top sippy cup. Very young babies can learn to use these. I like the avent kind because they require suction. This is what I have done with my second child. She has never even seen a real bottle and does just fine.
2006-09-07 10:29:00 · answer #3 · answered by Tetsi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was told to try different nipples (Dr. Brown's was the most recommended). I don't know for sure if it works. I'm a SAHM so I just decided to live with the fact that he wouldn't take the bottle. Also she should have someone besides herself give her the bottle or she will just constantly search for mommy's nipples instead. Am I interpreting correctly? Is the baby 6 weeks old? When she can sit up she can try a sippy cup.
2006-09-07 10:29:21 · answer #4 · answered by AlongthePemi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your friend expresses her milk and starts using a bottle if they baby has never had a bottle then one of the problems could be they baby not used to having a teat in her mouth but as your said she already took a bottle so she could try a nipple shield to get the baby used to that
As your friend already knows when a baby is breast feed it takes perseverance so tell your friend to keep on trying
2006-09-10 09:32:17 · answer #5 · answered by miakaz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe she could try cup-feeding instead?
Here are some articles about alternatives to bottle-feeding
http://www.breastfeeding.org/articles/cup.html
http://www.leron-line.com/Alternative_Methods.htm
Putting flavors or choclate on the nipples of the bottle is not a good idea, because it can trigger a food allergy. The baby is too young for chocolate which should NEVER be given to a baby under a year old.
2006-09-07 10:26:26 · answer #6 · answered by Kathryn A 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps baby just doesn't like the bottle brand. Has your friend tried different teats on the bottles?
Or, she could just put the milk into bottles and keep offering it to her, when baby is hungry enough, she will have no choice but to take it from a bottle.
2006-09-07 10:29:06 · answer #7 · answered by ♥Pamela♥ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It has been a while, but I expressed and went through several different types of bottle and teat combinations until the right one was achieved-mine liked the clear silicon type with the large holes, in a small 4oz bottle-but only if boiled/steamed sterilized-by the way he almost grown up now and still as fussy!
2006-09-07 10:27:12 · answer #8 · answered by what? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with most of the others , try different nipples , the best bottle is the avent or playtex nursers , the nipples are a mimic of the breast/nipple . Also if she is trying to do the bottle DO NOT give the baby the breast , if she feels like she has that option she will continue to want it and the bottle will be a waste of time . Hope this helps .
2006-09-07 10:48:40 · answer #9 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tell her to rub a little bit of chocolate on the end of the nipple! just enough for flavor! trust me this will work! do it a couple of times and she will forget about the taste and concentrate on the milk inside. She probably doesnt like the taste of the rubber, and the texure is not the same! So, try putting some flavor on it and it wont be long before she falls asleep with the bottle in her mouth.
Good luck and God bless!
P.S, try an aero bar. Take a piece the size of half a dime on your finger and let it melt, then just rub it on the nipple!
2006-09-07 10:34:56 · answer #10 · answered by Pest 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋