My 5 Month Old Doesn't like to Breastfeed

I give you kudos for pumping so much. That's a lot of work! One suggestion I have is to change the nipple on her bottles to as slow a flow as you can find. If she's got to work harder at the bottle, it might motivate her to go back to the breast. She might have just gotten lazy! =) Good luck!

Your daughter has gotten used to the easiness of the bottle, she doesn't have to wait for the milk to come down. You can make her take the breast by not giving in to letting her have the bottle. Of course there will come a time that you might have to give the bottle to her cuz you don't want to starve her but I would stick to your guns. She will take the breast if she gets hungry enough.

Or you can try getting a tube and connecting it to the bottle and your breast. So basically she is breastfeeding through a tube. If that makes sense. You lay the tube on your breast, across the niple, into the baby's mouth. That way she thinks she is nursing and eventually she will be really nursing.

Your baby "prefers" the bottle because it is SO SO much easier than the breast. Call a lactation consultant right away for help. What you spend on that is nothing compared to the cost of formula and the inconvenience of bottles, cleaning, storing and pumping milk. You should be commended on your preserverence. Keep it up!

When I had to switch back and forth from breast to bottle my lactation consultant told me to make sure I kept using the newborn bottle nipples no matter how old the baby got. They have very small holes (low flow) so the baby has to work hard to get milk from them (the same as your breast). I learned that if my son got to use the larger nipples (my sitter mixed them up once), it was easy for him and he would choose the bottle over breast.

I also had a son who wouldn't eat breast or bottle. The dr. told me to keep his night feedings. He would wake up sleepy and eat more because he wasn't aware enough to fight me. Sounds strange, I know, but it worked. Maybe you could get your child used to the breast again by re-introducing it when she is sleepy. Best of luck. It will take a lot of patience, and hard work, but it is worth it. The mommas on here always have great advice too :)

A lactation consultant at my sons NICU told me to try nursing in the tub with the water just below my breast, and to switch the nipple to a different shape and slower flow on his bottle, if he ever got nipple confustion or stopped nursing. I didn't have to try it but I thought I'd pass the advice along. Nursing at night worked for a long time for me when my son did decide he was done nursing much latter. If you want to go directly to the source for this lactation consultants are very helpfull. Good luck!

there is great advice on www.mothering.com
go to the "discuss" tab and then find the breastfeeding forums. there is a forum for younger breastfeeding babies like yours and for mamas who are having problems.

I agree with Wendy. Watch the niple size on the bottle. They will perfer it if it's easier. Don't throw in the towel. My son (10 months) went through a sort phase like that. He is back to prefering the breast over the bottle.

Unfortunately, it is less work to feed out of a bottle. Babies don't have to suck as hard to get the milk out of a bottle. If you stopped the bottle feedings it would help, but, it sounds like that isn't an option. Try different nipples with smaller holes, it will make her work harder to get the milk, and MAYBE she would be inclined to breast feed. Perhaps if you dont bottle feed on the trip (but take them just in case) she will get used to it again. Good luck!

Hi K.,
Good on you for trying so hard to keep breastfeeding! At least you've done it this long and that's fantastic! I don't have any advice for you other than to trust yourself...if you think she's able for it you could give her a little extra time to see if she'll switch back...maybe make it slightly harder for her to use the bottle? Best of luck & the main thing is to trust yourself! Shirl H.

My daughter did the same thing. Started preferring the bottle to the breast, and I wish that I could say that she went back to liking the breast, but she didn't. I too, did the air travel thing with her, and all I could do was keep asking the travel attendants for some ice to keep my supply cooled and pump when I could to give her fresh. It seems more awkward that it really is. I was fine, and mine was a full 24 hours of traveling time.

First most, congrtaulations on taking the step to breast feed. My son is 20 months old and I breastfeed him until his was 16 months old. I was once working and nursing at the same time. In the morning I would nurse him before I went to work, then pumped throughout the day at work. I then work pick him up from the sitter and nurse him throughout the night. At one point of time he didn't want to nurse because he was teeething, and that lasted for a few days. Please don't turn in the towel yet. Keep introducing your breast she'll take it soon. If you have any more questions please email me. ____@____.com

Please do not give up until you have contacted La Leche League for advice and support. They are amazing people with tons of experience helping moms just like you. The benefits of the skin-to-skin contact are worth the effort of seeking the support. The long-term health benefits of breastfeeding for both you and baby even by bottling the breastmilk are worth continuing to do so while you solve the breast contact problem. I wish you luck and hope you find a workable solution. Bless you. And don't forget...you are a good mom.

I breastfed all four of mine without a bottle except my fourth child I had to pump and use a bottle because I had surgery when he was 5 months old. I was able to get him used to the breast again but I never offered the bottle again. It was just a temporary thing. Just consistency helped. Good luck! Congrats on breastfeeding.

This is the age when breastfeeding can get a little frustrating even if they aren't getting a bottle. They are more alert and wanting to look around and frustrated by the time it takes to nurse. The nighttime idea is good. I still let my 8 month old wake me at night because she nurses well then and it's hard to get her to do so during the day (yes, we are on solids now too, but she refuses to take a bottle and only does minimally well with a sippy cup.) Also, be sure to allow plenty of time and not try to hurry her. Good luck and hang in there. I nursed my other three for a long time - it might take effort sometimes, but it's totally worth it.

Reading one of the other responses reminded me of something I used with my first 2 daughters. She made a reference to using a tube at the breast to make the baby think she is getting more faster. It's called a supplemental nurser. It has a little tube that goes up to a bottle with the formula or breastmilk in it. I got mine from the hospital but it was a mendela product so you may be able to get it direct or from a nursing store. It worked for my girls before my milk came in so it's worth a try. And good job with the diligent pumping. I know how hard that can be with my newest she was in the NICU for awhile and it was hard for me to pump regularly. Good luck and God bless.

my news is not good news, my daughter did the same thing at 5 months and her doctor told me that unless you completely stop all bottles and basically starve her into eating she is probably not going to warm up to the breast. And she was right nothing worked and we said good-bye to breast feeding.

I agree with the comments on the size of the bottle nipple. I was told to use the Dr. Brown's by "Baby, Mother, and More" in Mesa. They have a "Preemie" nipple which is very low flow. I was also told that formula is thicker than breastmilk so the age guidelines for nipples are confusing. For example your 5 month old daughter could still use a newborn or level 1 nipple, but nothing larger than a level 2. I started bottle feeding at 3 months when I went back to work and continued breastfeeding till 12 months on weekends and morning/evenings. Let me know if you have any questions.