Help!!!!!!!!!!!!! BF Baby Not Taking Bottle!!

[momofboys]

I just began watching a 2 month od, mom said he took bottles from her. he's hungry but will not take the bottle from me. sorry he's shrieking as i hold him. what 2 do??:confused:

[SilverSabre25]

Sadly, I think you're just going to have to keep trying. Is the bottle warm enough? Try warming it (in a bowl of hot water) until it's really pretty darn warm--not hot, but definitely warm-- to the touch. He might take it then. Other than that, you'll probably just have to wait it out. BF babies tend to be rather put out by having their milk come from something other than a nice warm breast, at least at first. Now, not only are you a stranger, but you are most DEFINITELY not mommy; you don't smell right and you don't sound right and gosh darn it he's not happy about it. Warm the bottle even more than you would a formula bottle and keep trying. He'll figure it out eventually--maybe not today, but certainly in a couple days. And ask Mom to try having people other than her give bottles at home and over the weekend.

[momofboys]

Sadly, I think you're just going to have to keep trying. Is the bottle warm enough? Try warming it (in a bowl of hot water) until it's really pretty darn warm--not hot, but definitely warm-- to the touch. He might take it then. Other than that, you'll probably just have to wait it out. BF babies tend to be rather put out by having their milk come from something other than a nice warm breast, at least at first. Now, not only are you a stranger, but you are most DEFINITELY not mommy; you don't smell right and you don't sound right and gosh darn it he's not happy about it. Warm the bottle even more than you would a formula bottle and keep trying. He'll figure it out eventually--maybe not today, but certainly in a couple days. And ask Mom to try having people other than her give bottles at home and over the weekend.

i do know all these things but thanks for lending a listening ear. gonna try again, the milk is only lukewarm (it is BM). not crying b/c i am rocking him but about to try to feed him again-tks i will try your suggestions

[Crystal]

awwwww.....poor little guy. He's just not used to being fed by you yet.
I have had this happen before. For today, I would just keep offering it every few minutes or so. At pick up today, I would ask Mom to bring a baby blanket that she has used while feeding him.....try to get her scent on it. Then use it when you feed him. Put it across your front, leaving enough to bring up over him, near his face. Have her bring a new one daily, that she has used that AM or the evening before. This way, he still smells Mom while you are feeding him. It MIGHT help.

[SilverSabre25]

no problem. Good luck! Don't be afraid to warm the milk quite a bit--it's 98 degrees or more when it comes out of the breast, after all! And having it really warm might help him forget that it's not coming direct from the manufacturer!

Oh--and another thought--wait until he's getting drowsy and half-asleep. He might not notice as much then.

[Unregistered]

im surprised he takes the bottle from Mom usually breastfed babies dont and are easier with taking the bottle from someone else. What kind of bottle is it? I have found that BF babies like the breastflow bottles more as they are more like the breast. Try holding him like you would hold a baby while breast feeding then try giving him the bottle like that also try to squirt a little into his mouth so he sees what it is and he should start sucking.

[momofboys]

tks ladies!!!!!!! he is eating now. yay!!!! i will suggest mom bring a blanket w/her scent. thanks for lending your support!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[melskids]

awwwww.....poor little guy. He's just not used to being fed by you yet.
I have had this happen before. For today, I would just keep offering it every few minutes or so. At pick up today, I would ask Mom to bring a baby blanket that she has used while feeding him.....try to get her scent on it. Then use it when you feed him. Put it across your front, leaving enough to bring up over him, near his face. Have her bring a new one daily, that she has used that AM or the evening before. This way, he still smells Mom while you are feeding him. It MIGHT help.

i was gonna suggest the same thing! i had a brand new 6 week old who had never had anyone other then momma hold him, let alone feed him. i had mom bring me a tshirt she slept in. i held it if front of me whenever i held or fed baby. mom was a little grossed out i was walking around w/ her dirty tshirt, but it did the trick. after two weeks of "Wearing" her shirt, he settled right in. he just turned one, and he's the best baby ever!!!!

[DaycareMama]

I was going to suggest the blanket idea myself. I had this problem with my daughter and it was very hard. I also found that switching to the playtex bottles with the brown nipples(the oversized ones) helped. They are super soft and natural looking. They also colapse when baby is drinking (more like mom). It was the only one that worked for us. Good luck

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

I get mom to sleep for several nights with a recieving blanket, and tent him from me. Then sneak the bottle in,.. but barring that if I lay them in my lap.
sometimes he will accept the bottle,.. if not just wait until he has fussed himself to almost sleep and sneak the bottle in. It helps to lay it on their top lip, barely touching and when they nudge their head towards, make them reach for it,.. sometimes that helps.

I just began watching a 2 month od, mom said he took bottles from her. he's hungry but will not take the bottle from me. sorry he's shrieking as i hold him. what 2 do??:confused:

[DancingQueen]

sounds silly but warm the nipple too! I used to soak it in hot water while the bottle was warming. Moms nipples are warm - not cold rubber. It really made a difference for me in the past.

but then there was my dd who would go 8 hours (at 3 months) without eating. She'd take a binky and would not take a bottle - no matter what her sitter did. She just waited for me.
She is 14 now and still just as stubborn!!!

[SandeeAR]

Glad to hear baby is taking the bottle. I'm on my third BF baby. I agree with getting the bottle real warm and warming the nipple. One thing I learned, was NOT to cuddle them up close like Mom does. Mine did better in the beginning, if I propped them on my lap and put thier head on my knee. I didn't try to imitate Mom nursing.

When they weren't suggled up, they weren't busy looking for a breast, but just took the milk.

After a few bottles, I could then suggle them up and they were fine.

[Former Teacher]

I just began watching a 2 month od, mom said he took bottles from her. he's hungry but will not take the bottle from me. sorry he's shrieking as i hold him. what 2 do??:confused:

BF ...I thought you meant Best Friend's baby is not taking the bottle...until I read the thread...

I am online WAY to much :: :: ::

[QualiTcare]

they make special nipples for babies who are breastfed too - is that the kind he has? they are brown with more of a flat nipple than the rounded one?

he/she might be having to work harder to get milk than what he's used to. you could try cutting the hole to make it a little easier to come out.

[GretasLittleFriends]

I too was going to suggest a blanket or something with mom's scent on it.

i was gonna suggest the same thing! i had a brand new 6 week old who had never had anyone other then momma hold him, let alone feed him. i had mom bring me a tshirt she slept in. i held it if front of me whenever i held or fed baby. mom was a little grossed out i was walking around w/ her dirty tshirt, but it did the trick. after two weeks of "Wearing" her shirt, he settled right in. he just turned one, and he's the best baby ever!!!!

When my son was a newborn and I started back to work my dc provider had asked me to do the same thing - bring one of my shirts on his first day. I thought she was crazy, but I did. She ended up not needing it at all. He never really cared who fed him or how he was fed, as long as he was fed. Now, 6 years later, he's not much different. He's a great eater.