Won't take bottle, advice needed

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

"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.

"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

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

On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 22:38:42 -0600, "Shell"
wrote:

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

Try as many kinds of nipples you can find. My oldest daughter would
only take one kind. My youngest would not take a bottle at all. That
is the only thing I can think of, besides having someone else give her
the bottle. I hope it works out for you.
Marie

So sorry to hear it!

DS1 never liked bottles, but did take them grudgingly.
Things that helped for him were his magic music (the
Sesame Street All-Time Platinum Hits CD), and um, eventually
sippy cups (around 4mo, I think). My undestanding was
that he didn't want something that was trying to be me.

But from your description, it sounds like DD doesn't
realize there's milk in there? Have you tried different
nipples?

Other kids I know have done well with distraction, like
being next to a fountain while being given the bottle.

--
Emily
DS1 5/02
DS2 9/05 --- who happily takes bottles, whew

On Tue, 06 Dec 2005 05:05:37 +0000, 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.

Putting milk on the nipple helped with ds when I had to use nipple shields
for a couple of days. I rubbed a bit of bm on his lips and on the shield
and put the two together.

Jeni

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.

: 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

Larry

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.

Jeni

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