I've been nursing my daughter exclusively for the past 3 months. For the first 2 months of her life she got breast milk from the bottle and breast. Recently, I tried giving her a bottle, but she rejects it, gags and will only take my breast. I need a break! Anyone go through this? Any suggestions on how to make her take a bottle?
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you may have to try a lot of different bottles and find the right one. playtex drop-ins seem to work for a lot of people (they did for my friend's baby who rejected the bottle). also have someone else other than you try to bottle feed the baby since she associates you with nursing.
some babies just absolutely refuse the bottle, and parents make it work by using a syringe or cup. hopefully it doesn't get to that but i think the longer you wait the harder it's going to be.
good luck!
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try letting someone else feed her. she can smell you a mile away.
my daughter was the same way. i introduced the bottle to her at 4 weeks and she took it, but then she got smart and realized she wanted the goods directly from mama.
however, every time i was out of the house, she somehow knew and would take the bottle from someone else. i was so worried during our first weekend away... but she took to the bottle just fine the entire 2-3 days i was gone!
we like the playtex ventaire bottles with the playtex naturalatch latex nipples (they're the brown-yellowish ones). the texture seems to resemble real nipples more.
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My daughter was almost EBF for the first 2 months. Whenever I had to go out and she had to take a bottle is was a MAJOR fight. She was miserable and made whomever was trying to feed her miserable too.
I knew she'd be starting daycare at 3 months old, and I wanted to know she could take the bottle with no problems, for my own piece of mind.
I had also heard it was easier to get babies to take a bottle from someone other than mom, so, my husband started trying to get her to take a bottle every night. It was an ordeal. She wouldn't take it.
Then I read somewhere online NOT to hold the baby- put them is a swing or bouncy seat and let them be distracted, then try slipping the bottle in.
So, my husband tried this. The first bottle my daughter took without a fight was when she was laying on her changing table! She was distracted by the door-knob, of all things, and took the bottle with no problem.
After a week of feeding her in her bouncy seat, she'd take the bottle from my husband with no problem, even in his arms.
She started daycare and it was just fine.
So, my advice would be to put your little one in her bouncy seat, swing, or on her playmat, let her get distracted, and then slip the bottle in there.
(We also tried at least 6 different bottle/nipples and she wound up taking the cheapo regular nipples on a cheapo regular bottle. So, don't waste your money- see if other moms will loan you some bottles to try before you buy a whole bunch, and try the distraction trick before you write-off a bottle).
Good luck! Wishing you patience!
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i just wanted to say that we are in almost the same exact boat you are! my baby is 2.5 months and was a champ at taking bottle and breast up until a few weeks ago too. friends and her pediatrician have suggested all of the above. so far, she's only taken 1 oz from a bottle twice in the past few weeks, but i guess it's something.
bottom line is, i think, to keep trying... i know it can be frustrating, but hopefully success is just around the corner! good luck!
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@NYCaliMama: Thanks for steering me here. Very helpful! I'm going to check out some new bottles. Or, actually, keep using the Playtex drop-ins that I have and try getting someone else to feed her when I'm out of the house.
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