***WARNING! This post is about nursing. So if you are my brother, for example, you may want to skip this one.***
Colin will not take a bottle.
Correction, he will not take a bottle from anyone but me. And, really, isn't the point of a bottle that I don't have to be there. In the past few weeks, I have developed the inability to pump, which means he hasn't had a bottle – even from me – in about 3 weeks.
So I decided to try giving him formula, since the pumping wasn't going anywhere and I was seeing myself sitting at home every night for the next year or so.
It is not going well.
He refuses to take formula. He makes the most dramatic, disgusted faces when a drop of it enters his mouth (which happens purely by accident, since he is actively avoiding the bottle at all costs.)
Any ideas? Should I bypass the bottle completely and try a cup? Should I try mixing formula with breast milk? Am I using the wrong kind of formula? Should I give up and resign myself to not leaving him for the next 6 months? Does anyone out there have experience with this?? Help!!!!!
About Melissa
I have no advice for you since I stopped nursing both around 4 months and switched to a bottle with no problems but I definitely feel for you. It definitely sucks when you feel so tied down. I guess just keep trying and maybe he will eventually take something from other a cup or bottle??? Good Luck.
oof. try mixing in the breast milk with the formula and slowly switching the ratio from more milk then formula to more formula then milk… eventually ending with straight formula.
Both my daughters were loathe to take the bottle. We did ‘tough love’ — I left the house for hours at a time so that a caregiver (my hubs, the nanny, random strangers (ha!)) could give baby the bottle. It helped that I was out of the house because a) I didn’t have to listen to the screaming and b) the caregiver didn’t have to stress that I was listening to the screaming.
Persevere. Eventually hunger will win over the need for mommy. Make it a routine every day.
Good luck!
my first son was exactly the same. he was needless to say having a cup early. he would just go without even if i left him for any length of time. i started putting diluted juice in a cup for him and he took to it. i know bringing up kids today is a lot different from when i had mine but juice is a good thing. he went from breast to cup. i had several people try the bottle but he just kept refusing it totally.
i don’t usually reply to anyone but just wanted you to know you are not alone.
My son refused the bottle, too. We ended up just going to rice cereal (he was 3-4 months or so)..and nursing. It was the only way I could leave him and have someone else watch him without him starving. He never did take a bottle, but went straight to a sippy cup (eventually).
No idea on this topic. But I thought you might find it amusing that Ellie told the ballet class that you went to a hotel and that Colin slept in the hallway.
I assumed she was talking about a hallway in the hotel suite, but it was amusing.
Oh! I’ve been there. Doesn’t help that mommy guilt I fell every day when I leave for work. That and the separation anxiety that my 7 month-old has developed where she cannot even be in a different room from me. As soon as I walk in the door from work, she is reaching for me and trying to nurse.
I’d try a cup. Born Free makes a great cup that is good for younger babies. Aubryn took well to it. You could try mixing the breastmilk with the formula and slowly move to all formula but if you’ve been unable to pump, this may not work. I’m not familiar with formulas and if he would take to one over another. Have you tried having someone give him a bottle when you aren’t home? Hang in there – my pediatrician told me a few months ago that eventually the need to eat and breathe will win out!
Try a cup. # 3 refused bottles and gave up nursing at 11 months. I pumped and he took it from a cup
With #1 I had a similar situation and tried just staying with him 24/7 until I thought I’d lose my mind.
I hope something works soon.
My first two kids both rejected the bottle by 4 mos and I never ever gave one to Rebecca. I started a cup early, and with David I was giving him solids at 4 mos. (I know, it’s unheard of now.) I would leave them with baby food or a cup of something and hope for the best. I remember that window being short-lived.
((hug)) It gets easier!
I feel your pain! Mine was slow to start with the bottle; then my utters got tired of pumping at work and I was yielding less than half of what my daughter would go through. Yet she wouldn’t take formula. Any kind. None. She was young (3-4 months) and I wasn’t ready to go to solids/cups, so I broke out the big guns and put my body back to work. We also tried out a couple different kinds of bottles and she really liked one of them.
To get the milk flowing into the pump again when I was at work, I brought a dirty diaper with me (they still had the sweet breast milk smell), a worn onesie, and a burp cloth. I looked at pics of her and listened to a voicemail of her babbling. The most dramatic thing I did, though, was to pull her in bed with us for about a month. It was tough at times, but I was able to pump for a full year after that so it must have worked. If these things make your head spin (it’s intense), go with the cup, for sure!
Many wishes and prayers for your stress!