8 week old won't take EM from bottle!

[Shaunie]

My 8 week old DS won't take the 1 EBM bottle that we offer him each night.  We have tried 3 different bottle types, all with newborn teats but still no luck.  I would really like him to so that I have a little more flexibility but am concerned that he won't.  Anyone else experienced this?  Any suggestions?  Is it likely to change?

[Tobysmum]

Yes, I experienced this and unfortunately he never did take a bottle - I tried every bottle I could get my hands on.  At 7.5 months I offered him a cup (or my sitter did) and he took it - yay - finally I can leave the house for more than a couple of hours! 
I did have some success with a Nuk bottle (it's German) using the latex nipple, he took the odd half ounce here or there but never more than that.   I think it's only available in Europe but I'm not sure.
I did a great deal of research on babies who won't take bottles, and it seemed to be very common (not what you want to hear I'm sure!) 
What age did you first offer the bottle?  I waited until about 6-7 weeks, I feel I waited too long (I am not a great believer in nipple confusion - as long as you aren't switching back and forth all the time when they are still struggling with the breast).  We had used a nipple shield for the first 5 weeks so I wanted to make sure he'd got the hang of BFing before I introduced a bottle - in hindsight I think this was a mistake.

All I can suggest is that you try EVERYDAY and make sure it's someone else giving the bottle and that you are nowhere to be seen!  Try different positions, try sleepy, not sleepy, hungry, not hungry.  Give him the bottle to play with at times other than feed time so he gets used to it.  It really depends on your baby as to what method or bottle will work for you.  I spent so much money on bottles when mothers had told me "it was the only one that worked for me" - but none of them every did (except that Nuk one which he took a dribble from occasionally!)

I can't remember where but there are quite a few sites which have "tips for baby taking bottle" or "introducing bottle to breastfed baby" that have some good information (none of which worked for me, but I'm sure it does for others!)

Oh yes, I tried some formula (which I never have used)  in the bottle but he wouldn't take that either.

Good luck!

[LeeLeeMelis]

My son is the same way. He'll take a bottle once in a while and usually it's only when I give it to him which is usually the opposite of what happens.  When he first started taking it I had to make sure the milk was really warm (I warm up water in a coffee mug and swirl the bottle in that) I also had to turn off the tv and really encourage him verbally.  Check out the FAQ's, that helped me. I agree with Tobysmum, offering it every day helped us. 

I wish I had more suggestions for you, Good luck. Keep us posted!

[Jocasta]

Who's tried giving the bottle?  I know that with some babies, they won't even consider a bottle from their mum because they can smell the tap close by   Has DH tried without you in the room?

This is a stab in the dark here but have you tasted your milk?  (please don't think me insane ), The reason I ask is that a very small percentage of women (myself included) have a lipase issue.  Lipase is a certain enzyme that is present in breast milk.  When there is "too much" of this enzyme, EBM sours exceptionally quickly.  Lipase itself is really, really good for baby so if you do have a high level of it in your milk, it's actually a positive thing when baby is feeding direct from you, but your EBM will need scalding before storing.  I have to scald mine - I put it in a pan and heat until I start seeing bubbles form around the edges.  Try not to over doing the heating as this can in turn kill off some other great properties of breast milk.

Have you tried a latex teat?  I know you don't get them very often these days but they do feel more like skin than silicone.

That's all I can think of right now but I'll pop back if anything else springs to mind!

HTH

[Shaunie]

Hi all, I tried him with 1 bottle every day from around 1 week old or so. He did used to take small amounts quite well.  It didn't appear to affect his breast feeding.  Thinking back, he had a heavy cold where he was struggling to feed & has not taken the bottle since.

Nuk bottles are available here so maybe I'll give those a try!  DH used to give bottle in early days when I was in bed & DS was downstairs but now DS is in bed earlier, I offer it to him so maybe that's part of the problem?  I'm at Mum's tonight so she will offer it to him so will be interesting to see if he takes it.  Maybe I should warm it through because currently, I don't.

I have tasted my milk!  I didn't think it tasted as sweet as it did last time when feeding DS1 so maybe it could be turning sour quickly.  Is it still ok to freeze after scalding?  Worth a try I guess.  I'll definitely try a latex teat to see if that helps - no christmas party outing for me if nothing works in the next 5 weeks!!!

[Jocasta]

Yep, it's still ok to freeze once scalded, although not being as sweet isn't really a true indicator of a lipase problem - it would taste like soured cows milk (or mine does anway ). 

And I'd say to definitely warm it through!!!  That could DEFINITELY be the problem - I almost put in my post to make sure it was as close to body temperature as possible but forgot lol.  Definitely try heating it before scalding it as you don't really want to scald milk unless you have to - those enzymes are one of the many things that make breast milk so amazing so killing them unecessarily would be a real shame.  And you know you mustn't heat EBM in the microwave right?  The microwaves irritate the friendly bacteria in breastmilk and also interfere with the enzymes too - only ever use hot water to heat the milk!   You also mustn't shake it either - swirl it instead - shaking EBM can cause the long chain fatty acids to break up which can make the milk taste different and give it a strange texture...

I knew there were things I was forgetting in that first post

Good luck with your mum giving him the bottle - you definitely deserve that Christmas party!!!! 

[Shaunie]

Wow, lots of stuff I didn't know there!  I have heated BM in the microwave & have shaken it too - won't do that again now though.  Thinking about the taste, I'll try some that I have in my pump to see as I just remember it wasn't very nice whereas before, it was ok!  Will get Mum to heat it in hot water tonight then.   Thanks.

[Shaunie]

Yay, we are having some success!  DS took 3/4 of bottle from Mum on Thurs night, 1/2 from me on Fri then all of it last night.  I was using the Nuk bottle with the latex teat & warmed it through so am not sure wether it's the teat or the heat but who cares!  Will keep giving the 1 bottle each evening so that he doesn't forget how to do it!  Many thanks guys x

[Jocasta]

YAY!!!  So chuffed for you

[TristansMom]

My son is very fussy when he takes a bottle, my mother is battling with him during the day and only after much persuasion does he take the bottle of EBM. I have tried Avent, Nuk, Dr Browns, Pigeon and an array of breastfeeding teats and he does not like the bottle, period! i have also tried a starter Nuk sippy cup, which he doesn't like either. He will still take a bottle from my mom but refuses to take one from me... cause he knows and can smell the real deal so close by.

My advise would be patience and keep trying. I personally believe that all breastfed babies should be able to ''tolerate'' a bottle, should a mommy be delayed out on errands, stuck in traffic or not around for other reasons... that they could still feed with out too many hassles and distress.

good luck and well done.

[Tobysmum]

Yay - that's great - glad the Nuk bottle with the latex teat is working (glad I answered your post!!!)
All I can say, is make sure you continue to offer it everyday - sometimes even if you go a couple of days, they can refuse it all over again.

[katrina637]

i have a 3 week old son and am finding breastfeeding really hard as i have a toddler too and find it almost impossible to look after both at same time! i need to sit on the couch for 40mins to breastfed and its really tough on my toddler!!!! i know that they warn you of nipple confusion but id love to be able to give my baby a bottle a day just so i could have time with my toddler ! is 3 weeks to early to start expressing?

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Hi Katrina - welcome and congratulations!

Many breastfeeding professionals will recommend waiting until closer to 6 weeks to start a bottle.  I personally (being no expert!) think that if the latch is good (no nipple soreness), weight gain is good, with lots of wet and dirty diapers, then 3 weeks would be okay to start pumping.  Look for a bottle with a very slow flow and something that resembles your breast as much as possible.  Be prepared for some changes in his latch (it will very likely change once you use the bottle - it's just not the same as a breast!) and keep watching to adjust it if you need to.  This may also give some suggestions: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67026.0

[Shaunie]

Hi Katrina, know what you mean about having a toddler & a baby!  Jonah often climbs over me when I'm feeding & he always decided to do something naughty when I'm feeding too!!I started to express with both of mine from day 1.  I never had a problem with DS1 but DS2 didn't like the bottle.  We use the NUK latex teat which is better but he's still resistant.

Personally, I don't think it's too early to express as long as your not offering the bottle constantly if you wish to continue breast feeding.  Good luck!