How to Get a Nursing Baby to Take a Bottle

• Rachel O'Brien, IBCLC
• January xiii, 2019
• 8 Comments

Ah, bottle refusal.  Or every bit it'southward also known- "my baby won't take a bottle and I am losing my always-loving mind."

You'd think that once you got over the hurdle of those early fiddly tender confusing frustrating breastfeeding days, a bottle would be a slice of block… but if you're reading this blog mail in that location's a good chance your baby refuses to take a bottle.

Try not to panic- hopefully you've got at least a week or two until whatever consequence or life modify is coming upwardly that the bottles are required for.  This often FEELS like an emergency, but you have time.

If someone tells you to simply send baby to the sitter with a bottle and "if he/she is hungry enough, he/she will figure it out" or "daycare workers are really good at bottles then don't bother trying at home showtime", requite that person your sternest angry eyes and walk abroad from them.

Bottle refusal tin be incredibly stressful. It'southward going to be okay. Yous're non going to permit your babe starve.

(At present, if your baby actually does need to swallow from something other than you RIGHT Now and won't take a bottle, I suggest y'all put some pumped milk in a medicine cup or shot drinking glass every bit shown in this video.  It can be a bit messy, but baby volition be fed and give y'all a redundancy plan until you get this whole bottle SNAFU figured out.  Sometimes a sippy cup with a flexible straw works, as well.)

The goal hither is to make slow and steady progress while keeping bottle feeding HAPPY and CALM. Screaming, crying babies aren't going to consume no affair how many brands of bottles you try.

I'm hither to help!

Nosotros'll start with a dry out, clean, empty bottle.

1 Let your baby play with/suck/chew on the canteen nipple with NO food in it beginning. That's right, just the nipple and the bottle neckband. If your baby is old enough to put things in their rima oris, hand them the nipple and permit them explore it.  If baby isn't quite that former then try gently introducing the nipple to their rima oris like a pacifier.  We want this to be non-threatening and depression pressure.

ii Once your babe is comfortable with the nipple being in their oral fissure y'all'll want to attempt dipping the nipple in expressed milk and letting them suck on it; again, this is WITHOUT it beingness total of milk. Nosotros're only making friends with the nipple, not eating.

3 If your baby won't suck on the nipple no matter what you do, get them to play tug-of-state of war while sucking your clean finger or a pacifier (if they'll take 1). They volition need to cup your finger with their natural language, extend information technology over their gums, and keep it there while they suck.  When they're sucking you lot'll tug your finger/pacifier a bit to encourage them to suck it back in.

iv If y'all can't become your baby to suck on a bottle nipple, pacifier, OR your finger and you've tried this over and over for at least iii days, you need one-on-1 help with a skilled IBCLC to effigy out what's going on.  There's e'er a reason babies aren't sucking, and the reason is never "considering he wants to make my life harder."

v In one case you've got baby used to sucking on the bottle nipple, hand them an empty bottle to play with/get used to. Over again, proceed it low force per unit area and fun.

Headed back to work?

My dorsum to work pumping planning sheet for exclusively breastfed babies takes all the guesswork out of making milk for your babe while you're separated.

You're ready to move on to a bottle with something IN it!

Once they're convinced that the bottle isn't going to do them grave bodily harm you can fill it with about one ounce of pumped milk.  Warm?  Cold? Doesn't really matter.  Endeavor ane, try both.  Well-nigh babies don't have any problem drinking cold breastmilk direct from the refrigerator.

You'll desire to offset with babe sitting upwards, and you lot want to slowly bear on the nipple tip to their lips so they'll open their mouth, and so to the roof of their mouth right behind the gumline, allowing them to suck it in.

No shoving, no forcing, no screwing the bottle into baby's mouth. Proceed your tone light and fun. Don't let them see you sweat!

One time you get your baby to allow the bottle nipple into their oral fissure, you lot may need to trick them into sucking on information technology and drinking.  In that location are lots of means of doing this.

I'chiliad going to requite you a boatload of ideas- only it's very of import that you DO NOT TRY THEM ALL AT Once.  Try a few of these in one session if your babe is calm and happy.  If your baby gets upset, STOP!

• Agree babe facing out and walk around
• Habiliment baby in a baby carrier or sling (and motion!)
• Go exterior and show baby distracting, colorful things
• Bounce on a yoga ball or... well probably non a trampoline, but, you know, whatever way you bounce your baby, do that
• Distract infant with a shiny loud obnoxious calorie-free-upwards moving toy
• Phone call in a pet or an older sibling and bribe them into existence actress fascinating
• Plow on the Television set or iPad (I won't tell anyone)
• White racket is your BFF; endeavor it (and and then attempt it even louder)
• Hold baby as if they are nursing (snuggle them up shut to you, belly to belly)
• Offer the bottle when baby is juuuust waking up and hungry but however sleepy, like a dream feed
• Try laying baby on their side (in your lap, or in the colic concord in your artillery)

If you lot DO get baby to suck and swallow, even once or twice, be super sugariness and happy nearly it in a calming way.  They have to larn that this is okay and not threatening and that sometimes even when we're loudly celebrating, it confuses them.

Continue information technology happy and soothing!  And if they only practice i or two sucks and swallows and then stop, don't force it. Count information technology as a win and try once again later.

Because here'south the thing I've found in every unmarried bottle refusal (and also, breast refusal) consult I've done- if baby isn't taking the bottle (or chest) THERE IS A REASON.  Babies don't refuse bottles but to be jerks and evidence us who's dominate.

If you lot've tried all these things- the suggested bottles and nipples, the lark, the slow and steady, and Nil is working, you need to call in an expert.

You've got a couple of choices here!

1. Y'all tin can volume a virtual visit with me, and we tin work together via video conversation, or
2. Find a local IBCLC who specializes in bottle refusals below (currently this list is Usa but)

For more than info about this list or to be added, please read this note.

California

Carly Marks, San Diego

markslactationsupport.com

Evonne Smith, Los Angeles

newnorthbaby.com

Ellen Schwerin, San Francisco

happymilk.usa

Heather Shabestari, San Diego

 bfcofsd.com

Chrisie Rosenthal, Los Angeles

landofmilkandmommy.com

Rachelle Markham, San Diego

RachelleMarkham.com

Molly Brannigan, San Francisco Bay

Eastbaylactationassociates.com

Michelle Kunschke, Sacramento

simplymothernurture.com

Gem Mohr, Sacramento

MohrLactation.com

Debra Bender, Silicon Valley

losgatoslactation.com

Tali Ganir, San Francisco Bay www.taliganir.com

Katie Howser, San Francisco

http://www.katiehowser.com

Please note: This list contains names, locations and websites of IBCLCs who say they specialize in canteen refusal consults. Names are in no item gild (except for in Massachusetts where I put myself showtime because it's my blog post and I can do what I desire) and are provided just as a courtesy for my readers.

If you are an IBCLC in the USA and would like to be added to this list, please make sure you are:

• experienced with bottle refusal consults
• confident about your skill and ability in this area
• in private practice with a standalone website (non a Facebook page)

If these all apply to you,please contact me with your name, town/area and country, and your website. I volition add together names to this list at my leisure, and I accept concluding say on who is on this list.

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Source: https://www.rachelobrienibclc.com/blog/what-to-do-when-your-breastfed-baby-wont-take-a-bottle-introducing-a-bottle-part-3/

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