Won't Take Bottle

I had a lot of feeding problems when my son was young. Try Dr. Brown bottles...they were the best ones I found!!!

Have you tried the Haberman feeders? Also known as the Special Needs Feeder by Medela? They were originally made for babies with sucking problems, and found that fussy babies take to them very well. Mine did! It is the ONLY bottle that she would take, and that did not make her gassy/sick. You can order them at a discount at:
http://www.babywhisperer.com/babywhisperer.html
But try one first to see if it works for you as they are expensive ($28 a bottle). I got mine at Johnson Drug in Waltham, and LOVED it, then ordered more.
Good luck!

I used playtex drop in bottles and nipples. BUT I had a friend whose daughter was similar to yours, she was very stubborn! My friend's daycare ended up giving her milk from a sippy cup (I believe it was an advent one - it was a mixture between a sippy and a bottle, easier to get milk out of), and that was the only way they could get her to drink during the day. She has turned out to be a beautiful 10 year old now, but still just as stubborn!

Good Luck!

Try pumping and mixing the milk with formula. Eventually, she will take it if she is hungry enough. My 11 month old was breast fed, now formula and will ONLY take a bottle from me, no matter what. If I am not home, he just won't have a bottle...Boy, babies can be so stubborn!

Hi A.,
Racing home to nurse must be a pain! My sons switched back and forth from bottle to breast when they were infants, and the Playtex Ventaire worked really well. The bottles are also pretty inexpensive. Good luck!

Meghan

I had a similar situation, I had to take my lunch break at work to go to my daughters daycare to breastfeed her becuase she wasnt drinking enough throughout the day. It took about 10 - 15 different bottle types til I finally found one called the Gerber Comfort Latch Nipple and Comfort Bottle, it is the only one she would accept (occaisonly would take a playtex ventaire). I have found that breastfed babies dont really care for avent plus they are so messy, enfamil is a formula company so they are probably designed to fail and I personally never tried breastflow.

You have to be thankful that she is atleast taking 2 ounces at a time. Breastfed babies feed as they need, they dont suck it down like formula babies do. Maybe who ever is taking care of her while you are at work should always have a bottle ready at hand for those short feedings. Store your breast milk in bags of 2 oz, that way it wont go bad if she doesnt drink it all at once. As she gets bigger she might accept it more but for now, as long as she remains healthy and drinks a little bit at a time, I think she will be ok.

Maybe try some rice cereal as well. Its early but atleast she will have something substantial in her belly and you wont be as worried. She will have a source of nutrition other than a bottle that will fill her up.

Sometimes simple things like a temperature difference ( my girl liked it extremely warm the best) or the way someone is holding her could effect her when she eats. My daughter would only take a bottle if you held her on your hip standing up. Weird, huh? She also didnt like certain people to feed her or change her, etc. The are full of persoanlity - we just have to figure out their codes. It always works out and I am sure your baby is perfectly healthy & growing properly anyways.

You are a great mom for taking the time out of your day to run home and make sure she is getting what she needs. Keep it up and she will be ok.

Is she burping well after the 2 oz? She can get much more air with her milk from the bottle than she would from the breast, so maybe she is feeling full too soon?

If she is burping well after the 2 oz, can she have a bottle more frequently for awhile so that she still gets offered her 4-5 oz, just not all at once?

Awesome and smart of you to nurse her through her illness, BTW :)

i use playtex silicone slow flow nipple, which was recommended by the lactade consultant for my newborn. He goes from breast to bottle just fine with that! Good luck!

Hi- I had something similar with my daughter, I had other family members, my husband and the grammy give her a bottle (pumped-breast milk). If I remember correctly I took a walk and removed myself completely from the feeding times I wanted her to take a bottle. WIth a little fussing she figured it out and she took the bottle.
A.

Hi A., Lucky you with two little ones. Mine have all grown up and gone away, even the grandchildren. I'm not a medical person so I don't know all the stuff like anti-bodies and nutritional elements, but I do know your milk is custom-made for your baby. It contains the exact ingredients she needs and she knows it. She's a very particular little woman! I don't have any answers for you. By the time my second daughter was born, I was a single mother and I chose to live on welfare until both girls were in elementary school. That was very tough, but I didn't want someone else raising them so young. In those days mothers could stay on welfare. I think these days in Massachusetts anyway, mothers are compelled to leave the home and work as soon as the child is a year or two. Financially some mothers have to work to help support the family. When I was working, several of my co-workers worked full-time to pay for the health insurance and the day-care, and the husband worked to pay for the rest of the expenses. Well, I don't know if this is helpful or not, but it's from my heart. It must be difficult. I hope you can cherish every moment with both your girls because they grow up so quickly. Yours sincerely, A.