8 WK OLD breast fed, was feeding occasional bottle. now refusing it in favour of boob. any advice?

Answer 1

My daughter did the exact same thing... Early on, she would take a bottle now and again (if I wasn't around) but as soon as I went back to work, she started refusing it.

First of all, if you don't have to work or be gone otherwise, I wouldn't worry about trying to get her to take one. Just nurse your baby... if you need to get a break sometime, your baby will be fine without eating for an hour or two while you get your hair cut or see a movie.

If you really need to be gone longer, then this is what I tried:

-make sure that someone else is offering the bottle, and that you aren't around. Your babe is not going to be interested in this plastic thing if she knows she can get it from the tap!

-try different bottles and different nipples- although, try to stick to nipples that are touted as being more like the breast.

-try alternate feeding methods- cup feeding, dropper feeding etc. My husband even tried letting her suck milk out of a clean washcloth once. But she might be more amenable to taking the milk if it's not in bottle form.

Also, if you are going back to work, there's a chance your babe may reverse cycle- not eat much (if at all) during the day, and nurse all night. If that starts happening, I would strongly suggest sleeping with your babe- otherwise you'll be a zombie. :) Just make sure that babe is wetting diapers regularly and seems okay... reverse cycling is actually better for your supply.

Anyway, good luck! Check the links for more info about what I've mentioned.

Answer 2

The baby likes the boob; it's best for her. Hopefully you've been offering the baby breastmilk in the bottle. If this isn't the case, try pumping breastmilk and offering it to her. If this was already the case, then maybe trying a supplementary nursing system (a Yahoo search should provide plenty of information about that) or feeding the baby with a medicine dropper. If you're a working parent who has to provide the baby with a bottle while at work, the best thing to do would probably be to get an SNS for the baby's caregiver or to try a different type of bottle. Otherwise, why bother with a bottle at all?

Answer 3

Uhhhh.... a baby will grow out of being clingy, that is normal for a baby. Babies and young children will go through dozens and dozens of stages - but you wouldn't consider drastically changing a 3 year old's diet just because they have tantrums....? You're going to stop breastfeeding (which is by far superior to formula) just to change a developmental issue? That doesn't make any sense. If you give her formula she is still going to prefer you... for goodness sakes you are her mother. I think rather you could pump your milk and let daddy or anybody else feed the baby. Or you just enjoy the clingyness while you have it... by age 1 or 2 she'll be too busy and she won't want to sit with you... she won't want your attention the same way. You'll miss it as soon as it is gone. I guess this is a lesson that I learned as a new mother - there are certain times and certain things that babys do that make you grit your teeth but they change so quickly... enjoy every moment - even the ones that you can't imagine you'll ever miss. As for daddy - his turn will come. That doesn't make him feel better now but patience is a virtue. Good luck!

Answer 4

I'd suggest keep trying to offer the occasional bottle because I hear it gets harder and harder to introduce the longer you wait. Didnt have that problem with my girl, she was given bottles at the maternity ward (I didnt know until after) and took right to them. Luckily I didnt have the opposite thing happen where she refused me! Anyways, is the milk being offered breastmilk at body temperature? Try that if you havent already, make sure you hide your breasts well if you are the one who gives it but I guess it's better if someone else does it so she's not tempted by you.
Apparently it is just at the beg. where babies can get nipple confusion, and I've read 5 weeks old is the ideal time to introduce the bottle for breastfeeders as the routine and mommy's supply has been well established. You might need to try different nipples for the bottles though to get one your child likes. There are a million kinds out there, hopefully they will take to one right? I personally was using Avent, and I found them great as the flow wasnt too fast. My girl could gobble the whole bottle down in 2 minutes if she didnt have the right kind of nipple and someone who made her take breaks. Not good for little tummies to eat fast like that, but it was hard to stop her! Still does it, silly thing...
P.S. Still nursing my girl at 11mths so I'm def pro-breastfeeding, but if you cant get her to take the occasional bottle you are limited to being away from her for under 2 to 3 hrs... its an important thing to have her accept one in my book. Especially if you are going to work... Keep trying!!

Answer 5

You don't mention whether you were feeding the baby a bottle of breast milk or a bottle of formula milk. If you're feeding formula milk in a bottle, try using expressed breast milk instead.

If you were using expressed breast milk, it could be the bottle you're using. Traditional bottle teats force the baby to use a different sucking action ot breas milk, which some of them just don't like adapting to. Try the Tommy Tippee 'Closer to Nature' bottle. The teats are a completely different shape, and look more like nipples. The baby then uses a very similar sucking action to breast feeding. This may work better for you.

Good luck !

Answer 6

If you're not having any problems breast-feeding, then you're probably as well to carry on doing that. When they're this little they get a problem called nipple confusion, so I was advised to stick with the one feeding method until it was very well established.

With regards to the refusal, there could be a number of reasons:
- he could like the comfort factor of breast-feeding (ie he's closer to you and he likes it)
- the formula might be too cold by comparison with breast milk
- the formula probably tastes quite different
- the formula might make him collicky (it did with my boy because he's allergic to the lactose in it)
- the bottle might be too different a shape for him to get used to.

You could try expressing your own milk and see if he'll take that, or you could swap to another shape of bottle - there are some new ones that are allegedly breast-shaped (!) that I saw in Boots last week.

It's probably not a good idea to swap brands of formula because that can also make them collicky (and trust me, you don't want that).

Congratulations, by the way, and good luck.

Answer 7

all i can say is good luck. My daughter had the occasional bottle then at 4 months refused to ever have one again. Just go with it and be thankful you CAN breastfeed, many people would love to have your problem. Enjoy it now, they grow up quickly

Answer 8

I had the same problem...my son would refuse to eat if he was given a bottle...even if it had breast milk in it...after I weaned him he didn't go to a bottle...he went straight to a sippy cup.

Answer 9

The Boob is the best way to go because most of the antibodies are stored in the women's breasts and not in store bought baby food:)

Answer 10

Is the bottle breast milk or formula? if its formula try adding some expressed breast milk to it to remind of the taste and get round it that way. if its breast milk all i would suggest is persevere! I did that with my daughter and then when she was 6 mo's old the transition to bottle full time was very easy.

good luck!