Won't take bottle, advice needed

Here's what worked for us, but you should take this with a grain of
salt because DD is one of those babies who goes between breast and
bottle without complaint.

The first couple of times that I got DD to take a bottle, I had to
"trick" her into doing it. I would start her nursing on my breast and
once she got going, I popped my nipple out and quickly substituted the
bottle. We only did this a couple times before she got the hang of
eating from a bottle.

Susan and "Lentil"

My DD wouldn't take a bottle either. I tried a few different teats, but no
success. I was ready to give up, but then I was recomended a Haberman
Feeder (http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/speci....html#haberman). I
didn't think it would work, but it did! I think it worked because she can
chew/work/suckle the teat to get the milk out, and the teat is also quite
long. She was 3 months old before I discovered it, but I'm glad I did.

Suzanne


"Shell" wrote in message
...
My DD is now 6.5 weeks old and absolutely refuses a bottle. (she won't
take a pacifier either)

I'm starting back to work on Dec 26th. Ideally I would love for her to
take a bottle while I'm at work and nurse when I'm at home but she just
won't accept it. We've tried warming the nipple up, putting it in my bra,
me leaving the room, sitting her up, trying it when she's not that hungry,
etc.. She opens her mouth so wide (thinking it's me) and has no idea how
to put her mouth around the nipple of the bottle. Once the nipple hits
her mouth she *gags* as if she's throwing up.

I know there's other options than a bottle, but she'll be going to daycare
soon and I'm not sure if she'll have the time to give her a sippy cup.
I'm assuming it takes a lot more effort?

Any other suggestions?
~Shell

Leave not just the room, leave the house. Try a different nipple.

"Shell" wrote in message
...
My DD is now 6.5 weeks old and absolutely refuses a bottle. (she won't
take a pacifier either)

I'm starting back to work on Dec 26th. Ideally I would love for her to
take a bottle while I'm at work and nurse when I'm at home but she just
won't accept it. We've tried warming the nipple up, putting it in my bra,
me leaving the room, sitting her up, trying it when she's not that hungry,
etc.. She opens her mouth so wide (thinking it's me) and has no idea how
to put her mouth around the nipple of the bottle. Once the nipple hits
her mouth she *gags* as if she's throwing up.

I know there's other options than a bottle, but she'll be going to daycare
soon and I'm not sure if she'll have the time to give her a sippy cup.
I'm assuming it takes a lot more effort?

Any other suggestions?
~Shell

With DS, he took a bottle fine until 4 months when he decided he wanted
nothing to do with artificial nipples. We wound up teaching him to use a
sippy and a straw bottle at 4 months.

DD took bottles okay for a while, and then she had thrush so I stopped
bottles (not wanting to have to keep boiling them) and then when we tried
again, she wanted nothing to do with them. We tried various bottles and
nipples until we found one that she didn't scream at - she laughed at it and
thought it was funny. But didn't know what to do with it - so DH would
squeeze the milk into her mouth - by the 2nd or 3rd feed this way, she
finally realized she could suck on it and get milk, and after another couple
of feeds, she was taking it like a pro!

So keep trying - I wish you luck in this - I know how frustrating and how
anxiety-provoking this can be when you have to leave your baby and don't
want her to be crying because of hunger (or any other reason).

Thanks, I'll give those a shot.

~Shell

"CY" wrote in message
news:B_8lf.605482$_o.185308@attbi_s71...
Sorry, but neither of my kids took/take a bottle either. I wasn't going
back to work so I didn't press the issue but there are quite a few things
you can try.

1) Warm the nipple and put a few drops of milk on the nipple before
offering it.

2) Leave the house, not just the room.

3) Have someone else offer the bottle, never you.

4) Try warming the milk at lots of different temps. Some babies will take
the bottle only if the milk os warmer than you think they'd want.

5) Try several different nipples. My DD would sometimes take the Playtex
ones with the short stubby nipples. She'd never go for the Avents. DS
has NO idea what to do with it, but I didn't even try till he was much
older than your little one.

6) Try a syringe if the daycare is willing. Takes way longer but they'd
probably prefer that over screaming baby

7) I've heard mixed feelings about the Breast bottle nurser
(http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp...686&change=117)
but might be worth a try??

Good luck...

CY


"Shell" wrote in message
. ..

"toypup" wrote in message
. com...

"Shell" wrote in message
...
My DD is now 6.5 weeks old and absolutely refuses a bottle. (she won't
take a pacifier either)

So sorry. My DD was the same way. I had a sympathetic boss who let me
do a split shift so I could go home and feed her. She never took a
bottle, just cried out of hunger until I got there. Eventually, she
learned to wait for me. Then, she started baby food and just ate solids
during the day and BF'd at night.

Oh no.. I didn't want to hear that :-(

I'm so nervous she never will.

~Shell

"Nikki" wrote in message
news:wJSdnegCg8R7dgjenZ2dnUVZ_sidnZ2d@prairiewave. com...
CY wrote:
Sorry, but neither of my kids took/take a bottle either. I wasn't
going back to work so I didn't press the issue but there are quite a
few things you can try.

1) Warm the nipple and put a few drops of milk on the nipple before
offering it.

2) Leave the house, not just the room.

3) Have someone else offer the bottle, never you.

4) Try warming the milk at lots of different temps. Some babies will
take the bottle only if the milk os warmer than you think they'd want.

5) Try several different nipples. My DD would sometimes take the
Playtex ones with the short stubby nipples. She'd never go for the
Avents. DS has NO idea what to do with it, but I didn't even try
till he was much older than your little one.

6) Try a syringe if the daycare is willing. Takes way longer but
they'd probably prefer that over screaming baby

7) I've heard mixed feelings about the Breast bottle nurser
(http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp...686&change=117)
but might be worth a try??


Hunter never took a bottle either. We tried all this stuff and one other
idea is to try and have the bottle giver hold the baby in different
positions. Cradle hold, facing in, facing out, in a carseat/bouncy seat,
etc. My provider had some luck with the Playtex bottles with the sippy
cup nipple. She would squeeze the bag and milk would go in his mouth.
He'd chew on the nipple a little bit. The regular nipples pop out if you
squeeze the bag. He'd get a couple ounces that way, or with a syringe.
One thing I did not try was formula to see if he would have taken a
non-breastmilk alternative. I never thought of it and wish I'd have
tried.

I didn't know about this soft feeder either but would have probably given
it a shot as well. It looks a little easier to manage then an open cup.
http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/pdfs/SoftFeeder_Ins.pdf

The bad news is that it is hard on a little baby to not eat for long
periods of time. He didn't nap either. He reverse cycled and at all
night which was a doubled edged blessing. On one hand - I had to feed him
all night long :-) On the other hand he continued to be healthy, grow,
and gain like gangbusters so that was a relief.

--
Nikki
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Thing One and Thing Two :-) EDD 4/06

Oh weird... I may have to go that route.

See.. I knew you guys would give me ideas!

Thanks!

~Shell

"Jen" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:45:58 -0700, mcmahan wrote:

Shell writes:
: My DD is now 6.5 weeks old and absolutely refuses a bottle. (she won't
take
: a pacifier either)

: I'm starting back to work on Dec 26th. Ideally I would love for her to
take
: a bottle while I'm at work and nurse when I'm at home but she just
won't
: accept it. We've tried warming the nipple up, putting it in my bra, me
: leaving the room, sitting her up, trying it when she's not that hungry,
: etc.. She opens her mouth so wide (thinking it's me) and has no idea
how
: to put her mouth around the nipple of the bottle. Once the nipple hits
her
: mouth she *gags* as if she's throwing up.

OK. I don't know if this will work but... Don't try to actually put it
in her mouth. Instead, rub the bottle nipple on her lower lip. continue
to do so until some of the milk drips out onto her lip. She will likely
lick the milk off her lip, then start licking the nipple. continue and
let HER latch onto the bottle if she wants. I think if you let her
"play"
with it in this manner, she will eventually put it in her mouth. It is
worth a try anyway.

It seems so long ago but I do recall doing this too and it seemed to work
pretty quickly.

We'll give it a shot.

*crossing fingers*

~Shell

"Benevolent Prof" wrote in message
oups.com...
Here's what worked for us, but you should take this with a grain of
salt because DD is one of those babies who goes between breast and
bottle without complaint.

The first couple of times that I got DD to take a bottle, I had to
"trick" her into doing it. I would start her nursing on my breast and
once she got going, I popped my nipple out and quickly substituted the
bottle. We only did this a couple times before she got the hang of
eating from a bottle.

Susan and "Lentil"

Ooo.. I'll try that too!

~Shell

"Patagonia" wrote in message
news:_PHlf.32405$_k3.698@dukeread01...

"Shell" wrote in message
...
My DD is now 6.5 weeks old and absolutely refuses a bottle. (she won't
take a pacifier either)

I'm starting back to work on Dec 26th. Ideally I would love for her to
take a bottle while I'm at work and nurse when I'm at home but she just
won't accept it. We've tried warming the nipple up, putting it in my
bra, me leaving the room, sitting her up, trying it when she's not that
hungry, etc.. She opens her mouth so wide (thinking it's me) and has no
idea how to put her mouth around the nipple of the bottle. Once the
nipple hits her mouth she *gags* as if she's throwing up.

I know there's other options than a bottle, but she'll be going to
daycare soon and I'm not sure if she'll have the time to give her a sippy
cup. I'm assuming it takes a lot more effort?

Any other suggestions?
~Shell

With DS, he took a bottle fine until 4 months when he decided he wanted
nothing to do with artificial nipples. We wound up teaching him to use a
sippy and a straw bottle at 4 months.

DD took bottles okay for a while, and then she had thrush so I stopped
bottles (not wanting to have to keep boiling them) and then when we tried
again, she wanted nothing to do with them. We tried various bottles and
nipples until we found one that she didn't scream at - she laughed at it
and thought it was funny. But didn't know what to do with it - so DH
would squeeze the milk into her mouth - by the 2nd or 3rd feed this way,
she finally realized she could suck on it and get milk, and after another
couple of feeds, she was taking it like a pro!

So keep trying - I wish you luck in this - I know how frustrating and how
anxiety-provoking this can be when you have to leave your baby and don't
want her to be crying because of hunger (or any other reason).

Yeah. I'm terrified she'll be screaming and not get enough food. :-(

Thanks for all your advice. I'll try them out and let you know.

~Shell

"Shell" wrote in message
. ..

"Patagonia" wrote in message
news:_PHlf.32405$_k3.698@dukeread01...

"Shell" wrote in message
...
My DD is now 6.5 weeks old and absolutely refuses a bottle. (she won't
take a pacifier either)

I'm starting back to work on Dec 26th. Ideally I would love for her to
take a bottle while I'm at work and nurse when I'm at home but she just
won't accept it. We've tried warming the nipple up, putting it in my
bra, me leaving the room, sitting her up, trying it when she's not that
hungry, etc.. She opens her mouth so wide (thinking it's me) and has
no idea how to put her mouth around the nipple of the bottle. Once the
nipple hits her mouth she *gags* as if she's throwing up.

I know there's other options than a bottle, but she'll be going to
daycare soon and I'm not sure if she'll have the time to give her a
sippy cup. I'm assuming it takes a lot more effort?

Any other suggestions?
~Shell

With DS, he took a bottle fine until 4 months when he decided he wanted
nothing to do with artificial nipples. We wound up teaching him to use a
sippy and a straw bottle at 4 months.

DD took bottles okay for a while, and then she had thrush so I stopped
bottles (not wanting to have to keep boiling them) and then when we tried
again, she wanted nothing to do with them. We tried various bottles and
nipples until we found one that she didn't scream at - she laughed at it
and thought it was funny. But didn't know what to do with it - so DH
would squeeze the milk into her mouth - by the 2nd or 3rd feed this way,
she finally realized she could suck on it and get milk, and after another
couple of feeds, she was taking it like a pro!

So keep trying - I wish you luck in this - I know how frustrating and how
anxiety-provoking this can be when you have to leave your baby and don't
want her to be crying because of hunger (or any other reason).

Yeah. I'm terrified she'll be screaming and not get enough food. :-(

Thanks for all your advice. I'll try them out and let you know.

~Shell

Oh - one other thing - can't remember if someone else said this or not, but
you can also try having her face away from the person giving the bottle.
That has also helped with my dd.