My girl hates the bottle...help!

[candiC]

I was so excited to start pumping so my husband could feed our 7 week old daughter once in a while.

I have tried offering her a bottle for a week now and she will cry and scream everytime! I'm using the Advent bottle with the newborn nipple.

She just LOVES nursing off of me which I love too but it would be nice if my husband could feed her once in a while too.

ANy suggesions or help would be appreciated!

Thanks :)

[nycmama]

Someone needs to provide me with some insight on this also... I use MAM Anti-Colic bottle with a #1 flow...

[ima062002]

CandiC - as a mom of three who are all 21 mo and older I'd like to say two things: six months pass sooooo quickly and dad could be the one to give the first "real" meal and "there is a reason why the mommies have the boobies". Meaning, pumping and bottles, this is all new stuff. Good stuff for the mom who needs to/wants to work and is separated from baby, but other than that... Plus, any pumping is sort of disrupting the flow of things - you are creating additional feeds or increase certain feeds, and if you use the nursing free time during the night hours to get more sleep (when moms usually produce most milk) it can potentially cause supply issues.

That said, if you are up for pumping when dad feeds a bottle etc. then I'd suggest to try other bottles/nipples and/or different devices, such as shot glasses or finger feeders. This link provides a lot of info: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/alternative-feeding.html

[Shaunsmom]

Try different feeding methods. My breastfed baby flat out refused a bottle and howled if you came near her with one after she decided she wasn't going to drink any of mama's milk from a bottle.

Our son took to the Avent bottles just fine and transitioned back and forth from the breast to the Avent bottle. Our daughter was the complete opposite. We spent lots of money on all different styles of bottles and nipples. What a waste of money that was (as she never took to a bottle)!

Wow! That was a mission to accomplish, getting her to drink some milk with something other than a traditional bottle. I still don't think it's fully accomplished but we have come to a compromise.

I work outside of the home, full time. I began training her on a sippy cup at 3 months. But the sippy cup is not the only thing that you can try.

She'll drink up to about 4 ounces of breast milk while at daycare. I nurse her every lunch hour. Are you preparing to return to work full time?

If you don't have to return to work full time, keep on giving her milk straight from the tap. Babies are supersmart and sometimes determine themselves at a young age that they only want the real thing.

[PeacefulMom]

Your baby will probably never take a bottle from you directly. Why would she you have it straight from the tap! You'll need to leave the room and let her daddy try it alone. And don't wait until she's super hungry.

but I agree that unless there is a job to go to, there is no need for a bottle. Let her get the good stuff the good way. The first year passes so quickly and you never get those moments back.

[colleen0419]

I was so excited to start pumping so my husband could feed our 7 week old daughter once in a while.

I have tried offering her a bottle for a week now and she will cry and scream everytime! I'm using the Advent bottle with the newborn nipple.

She just LOVES nursing off of me which I love too but it would be nice if my husband could feed her once in a while too.

ANy suggesions or help would be appreciated!

Thanks :)
Congrats, mommy! You're doing a great job! We started my DD on the bottle once every other day or so at one month. I have been lucky as she has had no problems going back and forth, although she loves her boobies! We use the playtex ventair wide and she seems to do fine, although lately she has been very distractable (nursing and bottle) and is a bit slobbery.
Try to feed her from the bottle after you have nursed her on one side. this way she may still be hungry but is not famished. Also, maybe your DH could try holding something with your scent on it so she senses your presence.

[Brianna]

My son never took a bottle. He was a very picky boy. When babe is a little older (around 3-4 months) you could try using a sippy cup. My sun took the Platex soft spout sippy cup at 4 months old. Another favorite of young babies is the Avent started cup. I've heard that a person other than mom often has more sucess getting baby to take bottle. My dh also really wanted to feed to ds. He felt like he was missing out. After trying to give a screaming a baby a bottle (that baby clearly didn't want) a time or two, he found other ways to bond with baby. Hope you are able to figure out something that works well for you and your family.

[nycmama]

... I began training her on a sippy cup at 3 months ...

Explain the training process, please :D

My other DS transtioned fine between the breast and bottle. We had then the BreastFlow bottles. Although 2 yrs ago it was breastfeeding and formula for bottle. This time around its BF and BM for bottles.

[StElmosFire]

My DD wouldn't ever take a bottle from me, only my MIL.
You got some good advice above, good luck!