How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

DH has been slowly introducing a bottle to DS of pumped millk. I use the Playtex drop ins He gives him a bottle every other night or so since DS was about 3 wks old. The past few days he won't take it. How do I know if it's the bottle or nipple or another problem? DS gets so upset and worked up that I end up just giving him the breast b/c it's upsetting for me to watch. Where do I start? I need to resolve this before I go back to work soon. TIA

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

I wouldn't do it every other night, I'd do it every night. We went through a couple of different bottles until dd finally accepted the adiri. She is 6 months today and will only take a bottle before bed. Be persistent. Maybe start out with the breast and do the old bait and switch and stick the bottle in his mouth. I did this a few weeks ago with her and it worked. She seems to take the bottle when she is sleepy. I think she just doesn't have it in her to put up a fight.

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

I never figured out why my DS refused the bottle but when I went back to work, he was still refusing. My AWESOME babysitter found a sippy cup that he will take (he started using it at 3 months). It's made my nuk and has a latex soft "spout".

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Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

UGH! My baby refused the bottle. When he was about 7 weeks i stopped giving him one. he had been a little fussy with it for a while and then we went three weeks without giving him a bottle. Well, what a nightmare. I went into the city when he was about 10 weeks old and i was gone for about 6 hours. he didnt take the bottle once. everyone said if he's hungry enough he'll take it. Nope - he was very hungry and would NOT take it.

I ended up trying every kind of bottle out there. Eventually we ended up back where we started with Dr. Brown's which has the same nipple as Medela. It took two weeks of trying almost every day. Lots and lots of crying by both my son and myself. it was what i would call a nightmare. BUT - eventually he did take the bottle.

Here is what I would suggest - evenings are usually their fussiest time so try to give the bottle a little earlier in the day, when your baby isnt as hungry and tired. When I finally got my son to take it he was in a really good mood, and not starving but definitely hungry. try every day if you can. their were days i just couldn't go thru it but it really does take a lot of persistance. Also, if you havent already, introduce a pacifier. it will get your baby used to sucking something other than you.

I have heard really good things about the playtex nurser for this problem, but like i said, dr. browns eventually ended up working for me. I have also heard good things about the Adiri bottle as well as the breast flow bottle. I tried the breast flow and i had a little bit of progress but not enough.

FM me if you have any questions or if you just need support. this can be a very frustrating time if you aren't willing to nurse exclusively for the next few months - which i was not!

good luck!

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

Caroline, have you tried wide neck bottles? Nina will scream and refuse bottles unless they are wideneck

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

Try changing the nipple flow to something higher. You may have noticed your flow has increased by now and DC may have to work harder with a bottle and reject it since it is not as fast.

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

I agree with trying the bottle at least once a day---we tried Soothie, Born Free & Avent bottles....my DS will only take the most basic Gerber bottle or the Adiri bottle, but every baby is different. I asked my LC which bottle she recommends and she said its really more trial & error.....I was actually discussing this with a mom at BRU and she was telling me her DC would only take a bottle from her DH if she left the room! Good luck!

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

I don't give him the bottle - DH does when I'm resting or out (although he tried in front of me last night to prove a point )

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

Posted by SweetCaroline

I don't give him the bottle - DH does when I'm resting or out (although he tried in front of me last night to prove a point )

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

i am glad you posted this; i have been wondering the same.

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

My DS had trouble until we started using Avent drop ins. The wider nipple seems to be better for him. We tried the Adiri nurser and evenflow glass bottles also but the Avent was best for us.

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

I did and it worked. My flow increased so dramatically if I didn't get DS latched quick enough I could spray DH (night feedings, too many funny stories). He used Avent at first and had no problems after 2 weeks he completely rejected it. I tried EVERYTHING and started freaking out because I was going back to work soon too. I changed the nipple to medium flow (Avent has 3 flows) he took to it only for awhile. He ended up liking Gerber with the rubber nipples and that was the fast flow.

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

some babies just don't take one. My first Daughter never took any bottle andI tried all different types of bottles/nipples/sizes you name it. she never took one along with never wanting a pacifier. Now my second daughter loves the bottle more than me. It's just the child. I agree it has to be every night all the time for them to get used to it... sorry

Re: How do you know why a baby refuses a bottle?

Thank you all! Who knows if it will last but DH gave Ryan a pumped bottle around midnight last night (he couldn't do it earlier) with a Dr. Brown's and he took it without too much fussing.

This morning around 11AM he gave him another and he fussed a bit but ended up taking it.

I don't know if it's the bottle change or what but so far so good - we will continue with a bottle at least once a day. This morning I literally pumped and poured it directly into the bottle so it would be the exact temperature as he is used to.