Bottle refusal, going back to work

You note that you've tried many different bottles - have you tried different nipple sizes too? I had this exact same issue with my baby before I went back to work and I was also very stressed about it. It turns out that I was using a nipple size bigger than he liked. If I recall correctly, I switched from a size 2 nipple to a size 1 nipple and then he took to the bottle like a champ. If I were you, I would try to feed him one bottle a day when he is hungry, trying a different nipple size each day (0, 1, or 2). We used and are still using the Philips Avent Natural Bottles.  

I had the same thing happen to me and was so stressed! We eventually just found the right bottle.. which was the Lansinoh.  This was recommended by a lactation consultation, supposed to be very similar to a nipple.  Good luck!

Hi!

My 4-month-old had refused a bottle a ton for my mom and husband before starting daycare. He also doesn’t like pacifiers. I think it’s a texture thing. I started him at daycare part time for the first month to ease into it. They got him to take 2 oz! They tried different positions and mostly give him a bottle as he’s falling asleep since he would nurse continuously during naps so often. He just started full-time this week. I gave him baby oatmeal by spoon on Monday and he absolutely loved it so on his first full day I sent him with a box of it. Yesterday he wouldn’t take his last bottle so they gave him oatmeal instead and it was a hit. He took 4 oz of milk total for the day. In general, your baby may be unhappy about the bottle but they will not let themselves starve. The daycare teacher told me to offer a bottle every day. Don’t worry about trying a million different kinds, it’s more just trying to get them used to it. Our son eventually stopped crying when we tried and just chewed on it. They said that was great and it didn’t matter that he wasn’t drinking, but he’s becoming more familiar. We still have to offer on the weekends so there aren’t gaps until he’s totally adjusted. I’m going to try some more solids in the coming days and weeks so they always have another option as well. Good luck!

We had this problem at about the same age. The first day I went back to work he just did NOT eat the whole delay and was clearly very hungry when I got home. The next day was a bit better and then in less than a week he was fine with the bottle. YMMV but letting him figure it out on his own worked for us, even though it was SO HARD to know he was hungry all day. Good luck!!! 

You could try starting to nurse then switching it out when she’s sleepy. That worked for us! Worst case scenario a lactation consultant could help. 

I bet you will get a lot of different answers on this. 
 

1. I think if you’re getting a nanny there will be no problem. A pro can handle this. In our case my husband stayed at home with them and we were scared before I went back to work, but it turned out to be fine. 
 

2. It takes some effort to figure out what bottle nipple is right for the baby at different ages. The newborn ones are designed to require strong suction so that they don’t give up on the breast too soon, but that can be too frustrating. 
 

3.  All babies initially reject what they don’t know. And what they do know is so limited. This is true for solid food too. They will make a terrible face, cry, etc. You (actually not you, see #3) just have to stay confident that this new form of food is their only option, in the same way you are about other facts such as day vs night. Don’t force the bottle on them but just keep gently offering it when they cry. Eventually they will be hungry enough. 
 

4. The breastfeeding parent should not bottle feed. The baby needs to learn that only one person has the milk-producing boobs. From everyone else there is no other choice.

5.  When our girls were babies, our doctor advised my husband to be in charge of all night feedings (with the bottle). This also helped the transition to sleeping through the night. 

Hey there! I actually posted a question just like yours back in August 2017, and got lots of nice responses. It's this post: https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/questions/getting-baby-take-bott…

In short, try not to worry too much. He eventually took a bottle :). At first he survived by doing some "reverse cycling", which means he nursed a lot at night and in the morning before I went to work, and right away when I got home. He was older than your daughter is now though, so we could also supplement during the daytime hours with milky rice cereal off a spoon and other wet solids. 

For my older son, I got him to take a bottle (after he went on strike) by getting him to "nurse" (suck) on my finger, and then when he was really going for it, I'd slip in the bottle - the old bait and switch! After a few tries, it worked! He ended up loving the old-school no-frills Playtex bottle the best (the one with the drop-in liners). Picky babies also seem to love the Como Tomo. 

I'd be happy to come help - I'm not a Nanny, but I am a mom and I'm also a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with lots of nursery experience. Feel free to drop me a line if you like! 

So sorry you’re experiencing this. When I had my twins prematurely the nurses taught my husband how to set up my milk in a large syringe with an attached IV drip line that he’d tape to the part of his finger that wouldn’t enter the baby’s mouth and (finger-feed) mock-nursed them. He was a prince and would rise and feed the first twin that woke up at night for a feeding then rouse the other and finger fed her. The consequence was that I’d wake up completely engorged! But it worked beautifully perhaps because the finger subbed as a nipple. 
Best of luck. 

We encountered the same problem with our baby. The following steps worked for us:

1) Start by trying the bottle at a set time each day.  After the third day of doing the same thing at the same time, she will start to accept it more. Ideally, the person feeding with the bottle isn’t mom and mom isn’t home. Also, baby should be hungry, but not starving. Give her about 30 minutes to drink as much as she is willing to. The person feeding should keep their mood and attitude positive. Try to hold her in a position that resemble one she nurses in and even switch sides midway. Position matters, so it’s worth trying different positions. (One time when my son was rejecting the bottle, I tried standing up and suddenly he accepted it.) Once the one feeding with a bottle seems like it’s going well, add a second for 3-4 days and so on.

2) Keep trying different nipples. She is bound to prefer one. Our son ended up accepting the Avent natural nipple. (He also didn’t accept the pacifier, but the Avent brand was the only one he would take occasionally.)

3) Offering the milk warm (and not lukewarm) made a big difference for us.

Hang in there. It will take some work, but she will eventually get comfortable with the bottle.

We had tried 15 bottles over 7 weeks daily until we discovered that she would accept the MAM bottle. We later learned that she had a tongue tie and the flatter nipple on the MAM was easier for her to get a good latch. Also, Molly from East Bay Lactation Consultants was a huge help for us in diagnosing the problem and providing bottle feeding tips. Sending you warm thoughts! I know how tough this can be.

Check out the book Your Baby's Bottle Feeding Aversion by Rowena Bennett.  She lays out a specific action plan and rules that will ensure your baby accepts the bottle (warning: the rules are hard for parents to follow b/c it goes against some instincts that are counter-productive).  It worked wonders for our daughter.  There's also a very active facebook group dedicated to this book where parents provide support and tips.  

Hi! I'm sorry to hear about your bottle troubles. My baby wouldn't take the bottle for awhile too. A friend recommended the Talktools Honey Bear drinking cup. Sadly we are also letting go of our nanny because our nanny share family backed out and we can't afford a single family rate. She is so awesome though and is looking for a new family in Oakland. Let me know if you are interested and I can connect you.

All the best!

Josie