Breast feeding -) bottle

16 years ago

I have been home with my daughter since her birth, she's so used to breastfeeding she will not for the life of me take anything else. She will not have anything to do with bottles or bottle nipples, although she drinks out of sippy cups but she will only drink water and watered down juices. I'm trying to go back to work but I can't get her to take formula at all, she hates it, yet I can only pump so much extra milk. I left her with my father while I got a root canal that only took 2 hours she gave him HELL... She was hungry but wouldn't take the formula. She's only 5 and a half months old I fear thats too young to be introducing her to cow's milk but she absolutely hates formula wouldn't even take it at the hospital after she was born. I feel like pulling my hair out lol she seems impossible I've tried not feeding her off the breast for at least 5 hours to see how she would handle it and she can't even make 2 I'm afraid daycare wont take her if I can't get her to drink breast/formula out of a bottle or sippy. She eats baby foods but it doesn't seem to fill her up or she turns it into play time with her foods and I feel she's not really getting much any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (7)

freezetag
16 years ago
I'm wondering how long ago the root canal was, and did your father try giving her breast milk, or only formula? From a sippy cup, or from a bottle?

I had the same issue with formula with one of my kids. Just didn't like it, and wouldn't take it. No advice here - sorry! If you had plenty of extra milk pumped, and she would drink it from a bottle or sippy, I would suggest gradually mixing breast milk with formula so she could get used to it gradually, but I know when I pumped, I hated for even a single drop to be wasted, because I normally didn't have any extra.

Also, had the same issue with bottles BUT it was only with me, not with others. So dh and/or babysitters could give a bottle of breast milk, but if I tried it, my babies would pull away and root around for a breast. Seems funny, but I guess they just learned that the "normal" way of being fed is different depending on whether it's mom or dad.

I noticed with one of my babies (the picky one, of course!) that he generally only took a couple of bottles during the day. He made up for it at night, though! so I figured he was probably consuming as much as a baby who ate normally during the day and slept through the night. Definitely no issues with gaining weight, so I didn't worry too much about it.

So, my suggestions:
1. Try having someone else feed your baby. Have them hold her in a different position than you do. If you haven't already, try breast milk in a sippy cup - at least it is encouraging that she will drink something out of them. Try it warm, try it cold - maybe one way will work better than another.
2. If someone else is feeding her, have them feed her before she is really hungry - it could be that she is mad / panicky when hungry and thus less receptive to something new.
3. Try cluster-feeding at night, and less during the day.
4. Try breast feeding for a few minutes, then slip in a bottle.
5. Can you leave work to feed her?

Just some things to try, in case you haven't already. Not sure what will help, but I do know that it's a lot harder at 5 months than 1 month (started my first one on a bottle at 1 month, because I knew I was going back to work. With the second, I didn't bother because I was staying home, but regretted it when we couldn't leave him with a sitter for a night out!) Hopefully you'll get some good ideas here - hang in there.
lindac
16 years ago
Try a different formula.....perhaps a soy formula and try adding some corn syrup to make it sweeter.....then you can gradually reduce the sugar after she learns to drink a bottle.
Linda C
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Jonesy
16 years ago
Mine didn't like the bottle at first, but I put some fruit juice that was very sweet in it and they got used to it.
newgardenelf
16 years ago
i would skip the formula and pump breast milk for the bottle
gellchom
16 years ago
Did you ask your pediatrician? They often know a lot of good tricks -- you won't be the first one to ask this question. They may even tell you to go ahead with cow's milk, or formula mixed with juice or a little cereal, or who knows what. I assume you trust your doctor (and if you don't, you should switch)! The day care may have some ideas, too.
amber_aurora
Original Author
16 years ago
I pump her milk and try giving it to her in lots of different bottles and tippy cups she will sip it here and there but then when it comes down to an actual feeding she won't take it from anyone, how ever there are a few suggestions some of you gave I have not tired. I will have to give those a try and let you know how it goes, shes a picky baby! :(
stir_fryi SE Mich
16 years ago
Oh the nightmare! My now 6 year old would never take a bottle well. I guess it was my fault for introducing it too late. She didn't care what was in it -- the feel of the fake nipple was too much for her.

I went back to work p/t and my mother watched her. My mother would call all upset because she could only get the baby to drink 1 or 2 oz (not nearly enough for a 5 month old baby).

My doctors were of no help -- "she'll take it when she is hungry enough." No go. Her weight actually suffered because I went back to work. My milk production also suffered.

It was a bad year.

Breast feeding -) bottle

Comments (7)

freezetag

lindac

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Breast feeding -) bottle

Comments (7)

freezetag

lindac

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Jonesy

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