How do i get my 3 month old to take a bottle? Please help if you have suggestions.

[blueeyedmedee]

Does anyone have some magical solutions for getting a baby to drink a bottle?
We have been almost completely breast fed for almost 3 months now. We have given her bottles here and there, but she's stopped taking them. I am gone for 3 hours a day three times a week for college courses and occasionally my husband and I will catch a movie and leave her with my parents, so it is really stressing me out. I've been thinking of weaning her and just pumping and supplementing with formula. Either way I am stressing badly and feel like I can never leave the house because she won't take a bottle.
She just pushes the nipple around with her tongue and fusses and gags eventually from the milk that has dripped in. Sometimes she'll latch for a couple minutes and drink maybe 1/2 an ounce, but more often than not she'll drink nothing. I've tried Dr.Brown (size 1 nipple, I can't seem to find 0s anywhere except online, and I don't want to order online unless a last resort), Playtex Vent Air, and Nuk Simply Natural. My husband and parents have tried when I'm not even in the house. We've tried feeding in a completely different position than I nurse. We've tried in a position similar. We've tried getting the nipple warm first as well as the milk. We've tried nursing a little first so she isn't super hungry and fussy. We've tried waiting her out for a little bit hoping if she'll get hungry enough she'll take it (worked for my first, but Zoey just fusses a little then will be like whatever and go to sleep.) I am starting to feel desperate and trapped like I can't even go out or go to classes.

 

[autumnal]

Could you try cup or syringe feeding? Mine won't take a bottle either, never had any luck..

 

[_dreamer_]

Not much help here but lots of symathy. I could never get dd1 to take a bottle and gave up as foumd it so stressful. Didnt give me much freedom however. With ds2 i swore i was going to give bottles much earlier and every day so he was used to it. Here we sit at 3 month's and its a battle. I waited until about 3 or 4 weeks and he took a few ok then. It was too hard pumping every day back then with tiredness and not knowing when he would feed so gave very occasionally. And now we are trying to do one every other day.as we want him used to it - with a battle. Contrary to what everyone says he takes it best from me (which doesnt really help haha but hoping if he gets used to it more then oh and others will.be able.to give it to him. We use a nuk latex teat with the most success, ia that the nuk you've tried? and I find getting him distracted watching tv or by my partner shaking a toy helps him to take it.

I feel you, i really do. My partner also gets really stressed when he just cries and refuses because he'd like to take care of him and the crying gets to him too. I wish i had a miracle solution for you but im afraid i dont. Just know youre not alone x

 

[mommytobe11]

My second was a bottle refuser. The bottles he took the best (but still difficult) were Playtex Drop Ins with a latex nipple. But I've heard they discontinued the latex nipple which is so sad, they helped so much.
Even though he would take those bottles, it would still take someone 1-2 hours to get him to drink the entire thing.

It's so stressful having a baby that won't take a bottle.

 

[button05]

I have little advice as I bottlefed from birth, but what I would say is that my daughter went on to Size 2 dr browns teats at 9 weeks as Size 1 are very slow. Maybe try a Size 2 year with a quicker flow?

 

[almosthere]

I've heard great things about using preme nipples and tilting bottle lower down to prevent flow from being too fast and brand MAM has gotten great reviews from breast fed mom's. I am in the same boat as you with my 3mo old but I just try to feed her before she gets too hungry and only use a couple ounces per bottle to prevent waste of that liquid gold! I noticed if I keep it positive so only feeding when she is happy and calm it helps even let your baby hold and play with the bottle even empty or when not hungry to familiarize with it just be persistent do a bottle every other day and you should notice improvement babies love mommies milk from mommy haha so bottle is tough for these picky little ones! Just don't push it if baby cries and refuses also you can transition by doing breast then sneak in bottle then back to breast if baby gets upset that's all worked for me but she still hasn't taken a good 3 ounces bottle for me yet....best of luck!

 

[autumnal]

I've heard great things about using preme nipples and tilting bottle lower down to prevent flow from being too fast and brand MAM has gotten great reviews from breast fed mom's. I am in the same boat as you with my 3mo old but I just try to feed her before she gets too hungry and only use a couple ounces per bottle to prevent waste of that liquid gold! I noticed if I keep it positive so only feeding when she is happy and calm it helps even let your baby hold and play with the bottle even empty or when not hungry to familiarize with it just be persistent do a bottle every other day and you should notice improvement babies love mommies milk from mommy haha so bottle is tough for these picky little ones! Just don't push it if baby cries and refuses also you can transition by doing breast then sneak in bottle then back to breast if baby gets upset that's all worked for me but she still hasn't taken a good 3 ounces bottle for me yet....best of luck!

Yeah try MAM, they are the only pacifiers my breastfed baby will suck on, so maybe the bottles will work too!

 

[babyjan]

Mam!!! I started to try bottle on my breastfed baby at 3 months too! I did originally give him a nuk teat when he was just two weeks which he took with no problems but I didn't bother again till he was 3 months at which point he forgot about bottles and was ebf. I had to leave him when he was 4 months to attend a family wedding which was in the evening.

I tried, nuk, tommee tippee and nuby he refused all and only sucked a bit from tommee tippee. It became stressful especially wasting my breast milk. After googling I read good reviews on mam bottles and how a lot of breast fed babies take to them well so I bought one bottle to try from toys r us and figured why not. Well he took it!! He sucked a bit of breast milk from it after a few sucks I continued every day to offer him that bottle with just breast milk till he got the hang of it completely. I pumped loads of milk to leave him with his daddy for that night and he was fine and happy to drink from it. Eventually I began introducing the occasional bottle of formula which he still takes from the bottle right now. I love these bottles especially as it's self sterilising and you can just pop it into the microwave.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAM-Anti-C...&sr=1-5&keywords=mam+self+sterilising+bottles

Good luck x