3 Month Old BF Baby Refusing a Bottle

My son did this for awhile too. I know this is really stressful. When you are home, try breast feeding him for a few minutes then have a bottle ready and switch. It make take a few times, but it is just to get him used to the bottle.
I know it is not the most expedient method, but it worked for me.

My second daughter was the same way. She never did take a bottle, and I think it was because I waited too long to introduce it. We had to use a medicine dropper (when she was very young) when absolutely necessary until she was able to use a cup--and she took to the sippy cup without any problems.

S.,

I had the same problem with my last child. All the basics which I'm sure you know, and make sure you are nowhere in sight or scent. The one thing that seemed to help was making sure that the breast milk was VERY warm...if you think about it, it's coming out of you at 98.6 degrees. I used a cheap bottle warmer, made by playtex I think, but it worked great. Hope that helps and good luck.

My daughter refused to take a bottle at 3 months when I was prepping her for me going back to work. Before that, she was exclusively breast fed. My daughter refused to take a bottle from either myself or my husband at my house. It's like she knew where she was and that I was around. Once my husband almost got her to take it and then she saw me walk by and started crying and screaming, at 3 months I was amazed.
What we tried was actually the opposite of what most suggested, I saw a lactation consultant. First, she said not to try and give her a bottle when she is hungry. So if she was drinking 3 oz of milk in a sitting, she said maybe give her 1 1/2 oz of breast milk, hard to judge, I know. And then try the bottle right after that. Baby will be less hungry and cranky and more likely to remain calm.
Next we ended up dropping her off ay my mom's house for a couple of hours. Told my mom to not hold her in the expected nursing position. She actually put her in her car seat propped up and fed her the bottle. You could also put the baby on their lap and make them face out. With me not around and nothing that reminded her of me, I think she realized, this was the way at Grandma's house. It took only an hour for her to warm up to the bottle. And she didn't cry or scream at my mom's house during this hour.
For my next child, we introduced the bottle at 3 weeks, after my son had successfully mastered breast feeding (I would be going back to work again). First we used breast milk and then slowly introduced formula. He was different child, however, I don't think he cared where it came from, he was such a good eater. Just some food for thought for the next child.
Also, check with your Pediatrician on how long it's ok to go without feeding. My daughter was so chunky as a baby that my doctor said she could live through it. If my daughter was thin, however her answer would have been different.
Good Luck, I know it's hard and frustrating, but get someone, like a grandma to partner with you to try and help.

Are you sure there is not something else going on like thrush?? Maybe the bottle is hurting his mouth if he did have it because my son had that a little older and anything in his mouth hurt him. AM

My baby who is now 5 months old previous refused the bottle at 7 weeks. So I didn’t rush her and continue breastfeeding. A few weeks later I tried again, she still refused the bottle. I even went through different brands and nipples (waste of $). I even did the “leave the room” or “leave the house” so that my baby would be alone with her dad or relatives for feeding. That failed. There were times that I needed to go to an event and while I was gone she refuse to take the bottle from anyone and opt to starve. I felt bad and stop pushing the bottle issue on her. I even stop attending to any events. Then one day daddy was outside at an outdoor shopping center while I was getting my hair done and he decided to feed the baby with the bottle. Well, she took the bottle and she was 4 ½ months. We don’t know if she was distracted by being out door but it seemed to work. Since then, it appears to be easier to feed her while she is distracted by something else. Anyway, I learned to breastfeed her everywhere! (even though I didn’t intend to, I was hoping to use the bottle while in public but oh well, I am so use to it now). While my baby took the bottle recently, I started giving her the sipping cup. I know it’s for 6 month and up. I figure I would let her play with it and get use to the sipping cup. Believe it or not, she can sip out of the sipping cup with me holding the cup for her. Odd baby….bottom line, maybe keep exploring but I am convince that when the baby gets really hungry, she/he will take the food! Even if it’s been 9 hours (my baby can go 8 to 10 hours without food….these are counted from sleep hours, yes I am lucky that she sleeps this long) Your doing a good job though…

Maybe try syringe feeding

Bless your heart... spoon feeding breastmilk. I breastfeed too and at about 4 mos. we tried a sippy cup (with a valve and soft tip). Although it takes DS a long time to get it out, he loves it. I also read a tip from a guy once that said he held the baby like you would to breastfeed and then stuck the bottle in his armpit! That and maybe the previous suggestion to add something that smells like you, would be worth a shot.

Try Dr Browns bottles

Hi, S..

My 10-month-old, Zoe, was exclusive breastfed for the first 3 months, so when it came to switching over to bottles to allow someone else to watch her, it was difficult.

The only things I can suggest are you try stcking to one type of bottle and nipple, ensuring you have the right flow for his age, and that you try dropping one of his nursings with you and you attempt feed him with the bottle. Also, be diligent.

This seemed to work the best for me. When I got my daughter used to the fact that I was feeding her with a bottle, it was much easier to have someone else feed her. Realize, it took about three weeks before we made any progress. Keep trying. Some babies are easier to ease into bottle feedings and some will fight it.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

All the best,

E.

Hi S.! My daughter did the exact same thing one week before I had to return to work. After a couple of days of panicing, her pediatrician recommended two things - have someone else besides mom try feeding with the bottle and do not give in with breastfeeding unless the baby skips more than two meals. It worked. Once they get hungry enough they'll eat from a bottle, though it is definitely not the prefered choice. I never could feed my daughter with a bottle but anyone else could without a problem. Sounds like you'll just have to wait him out.

Try feeding her while she is asleep. A lot of babies who wont eat while awake, will eat happily while sleeping. It worked for my SIL and niece, who were in your same predicament. Good luck, and remember, giving her formula doesn't make you a failure as a parent.

It could be more than issues with the bottle. I know for my own daughter it was "scent orientation" that was the issue. Try taking a blouse or other article of clothing that you have worn and having your mother-in-law hold that next to herself and next to your son when trying to feed him. For some babies, they have to smell the scent of their mother in order to eat.

Just a suggestion. Good luck with this,
A.

I feel for you! I know how frustrating this can be. We dealt with this with our now 5 month old daughter for nearly a month. It was so hard...and for us we needed her to take the bottle so we could both heal from a nasty thrush infection. What ended up working in the end was the "breastflow" bottle. I have to say, I hated that bottle (too gassy and cumbersome) and quickly switched her to Avent after she took a bottle well. Also, I would say a slower nipple mimics the flow of breastmilk better. The faster nipples would freak my daughter out at first.

We found that walking with her while we fed her helped too....we would walk slowly up and down our hall way...maybe because it wasn't the normal "feeding" position where she expected the breast. Also I know they say that dad or another person should feed her...but the only thing that worked for us was me taking one entire day to focus on the bottle. It took me about 8 hours...but I would give her a little here...and then a little there and when she refused, I would stop for a bit...then try again an hour or so later. It was really hard, but at the end of that day, she took an entire bottle and we haven't had the problem since.

I think we may have strong minded children! I used to look at my friends feeding their 4 week olds the bottle without resistence in awe!

Good luck!

Hi S.,

I had the same problem with my son when I had to go back to work. He was 4 mos old at the time (now a great big husky 18 yr old!) A Nursing Mother's Council lactation consultant came up with a great solution. She attached realy thin-diameter flexible tubing to the end of a syringe. We had the caregiver fill the syringe with my milk, and slip the tubing into my son's mouth along with a natural shaped nursing nipple (it had a wide surface, similar to an areola). When his lips touched the nipple, the caregiver squirted a gentle stream of milk onto his tongue. He immediately got the taste of the milk and swallowed by reflex, after which he realized he could get milk from someone other than mommy! It only took a couple of feedings before he was happily taking a bottle. I always supplied expressed milk, never formula.

Good luck, and congratulations on your new little one!

R.

I had the exact same problem with my son at that age...it took a month to finally get him on a bottle. He was just like your son...he would starve before he would drink from a bottle. I tried a million bottles and then finally I tried the BreastFlow bottle and he started taking it. I don't know if it was the actual bottle that did it or if he just finally gave in. Everyone told me to be persistent and keep trying and they were right. It took weeks but it was worth it, he's been exclusively on a bottle for 3 months now. So don't give up! I never thought my son would take a bottle and I was so frustrated. After a few days on the BreastFlow bottle, I switched to Dr. Brown's (since I had already purchased the whole set) and he had no problem at all.
Here is the link to the BreastFlow bottle in case you want to try it:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2449561
Good luck!

Have you tried switching to stage 2 or stage 3 nipples? I swear by Dr. Brown's bottles. We daughter started refusing the bottle around the same time (or even a little earlier) all of a sudden and it got better by switching to faster flow nipples.

My kids are almost the same age difference as yours - my daughter is now 9 months and my son is 3!

Hi S.!

I hear your frustration! My breastfed daughter is now six months old and she started refusing a bottle at the same age (or maybe a little younger). She started drinking from a cup at that age- but refused breastmilk from a cup. I tried all the different bottles and nipples too. Have you seen the First Years Breast Flow bottle? I go it at Babys R Us. After I gave up for a while- I tried that one and she took to it. Then she was willing to try the other ones.
What I found with my girl was that it was not really the bottle- it was the breastmilk in the bottle. She, for some reason, would take water, juice, or formula from a bottle just fine. So, I got her used to drinking out of the bottle again with different liquid- then I reintroduced breastmilk in the bottle. Obviously your baby is too young for juice- but you could try a little formula and try it at the same time everyday-- then do the switch when he is more comfortable?
I hope this helps! Good Luck!
R.

We had the same problem with our first, though since I was working at home it was just an occasional bottle. She never took it, not with breastmilk, or formula which we eventually tried also.
When I started working again part time at 7 months she would just wait 5 hours until i got home... she also would never drink milk until 18 months (only breastmilk or rice milk).
With our second (now 3 months) I started pumping and giving her a little (2-3 ounces) every night at 2 weeks for the first 2 months. Some nights she would take it, some not, but now if I go out for a meeting she will usually take the bottle.
Sometimes it takes a couple tries and she cries for a while, but eventually she will take it.
I would say try every day at the same time for a while, at least a month, before giving up. If you have a regular work schedule she will probably eventually start taking it, but i know how frustrating it can be for that person trying to feed when the baby wont stop crying (it was my husband with the first). We have had the best luck with the drop-ins system. Supposedly they get less air that way.
Also we warm the milk up, a fast way to do it is get one of those instant water boilers and pour it around the bottle in a larger container. It heats the milk up in about 10 seconds.

S.,

Congratulations on your new bundle of joy. I used Dr.Browns bottles and they worked really well. I was thinking about your situation and maybe you should try giving him the bottle for a few days in place of your mother-n-law. He is most likely missing two things; both you and the closeness of nursing. If you gave him the bottle with breastmilk a few times he may tansition over to her with the bottle a little easier. Make sure she warms the milk too with the bottle in a bowl of warm water. I think 6 hours is too long to wait between feedings during the day personally. Their little stomachs empty out in 2-3 hours. Make sure to talk with your pediatrician. He/she may have some really good advice. If you need a good recommendation, Dr. Vadapalli with Santa Clarita Pediatrics in Santa Clarita is the best. She is awesome! BEST OF LUCK!

I used the "MAM" brand baby bottles. It is really great... my son had no transition problems to a bottle using these. Also, the plastic is BPA free... which is very important. Also, the bottle does not accumulate air bubbles in it as they drink. I really love this brand!

You can get them at Amazon. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Da...

I have not seen it in stores, thus I got them from Amazon.

If she is refusing the bottle, I know it's hard...main thing she does not get dehydrated, being she is only 3 months old, and is gaining weight appropriately still.
Take care and good luck,
~Susan

He may have an ear infection or a throat infection??

My son was also breast-fed. I went back to work part-time when he was 4 months old. He also refused to take a bottle of breast milk from our sitter. One thing that helped was for the sitter hold one of my t-shirts close to my son (or something else that smelled like me) while she gave him a bottle. Three months seems a little young for a cup.

Another suggestion would be to give him a bottle for his first feeding of the day, when he's at his hungriest. That also worked for me.

My baby just turned one and has consistently refused a bottle, sippy cup, pacifier ... ANYTHING that isn't human skin ... since he was born. At one year old he is still refusing to drink from a bottle or sippy cup or regular cup other than a few drops. Our doctor has prescribed occupational therapy for him because he clearly has some aversion to drinking from anything that isn't skin. I am a working mom too and I would go to work for 8 or 10 hours at a time and leave the baby with my husband, and I would come home to find him quite dehyrdated. Very stressful for all of us. At one year old, we can manage to get enough liquids into his food, but I still worry about him not drinking. I have stopped nursing now and even that hasn't made a difference.

When he was 3 months old, the only thing that would work for us was a "finger feeder" -- they gave this to us at the hospital when he was born and Medela makes something kind of like it, although I never actually used the Medela one. The finger feeder has a skinny little tube attached to a syringe so that you can put formula or breast milk in the syringe and then run the tube along your finger. If your baby will suck on a finger, you can slowly get fluid into him by letting him suck on the finger with the tube alongside it, and you have to squire the syringe with the other hand slowly into his mouth. We did this for a number of months and it was the only way that my husband or anyone other than me could get any fluid into him.

Good luck. I know how stressful it is. Wish you the best!