Expert: Sally Wendkos Olds - 10/29/2010

Question
My daughter is 12 weeks old and I cannot get her to take a pacifier or a bottle. I would like to be able to pump and leave the house occasionally (I don't have to return to a job). My first daughter is 17months and took the pumped milk fine. I am not big on the idea of a pacifier but my 12 week old just seems to want to suck more in general. I always offer the breast but sometimes she fusses as she sucks. I need any advice you can offer on getting her to take a bottle and pacifier. (I could do without the pacifier but it would be very helpful for her to learn to take the bottle).

Answer
Dear Jeanette,

First, congratulations for giving your daughter the best start in life by breastfeeding her!

I am attaching an excerpt from my book (see below) which offers suggestions for babies who refuse to take a bottle. I hope that some of these will help you.

Good luck!

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Olds & Marks, 4th edition, September 2010, published by Workman Publishing, and soon available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters.
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What If Your Baby Refuses the Bottle?
Your baby may absolutely refuse to take any nourishment from a bottle. Some go on “hunger strikes” if they can’t have the breast; no matter how ravenous they get or how piteously they cry, they won’t give in. Families cope with this in a number of different ways. One of the following may work for you:
• Nurse as much as possible while you’re home, so even if your baby won’t take a bottle while you’re gone, she’ll still be getting a good supply of milk.
• Brush your baby’s mouth with the nipple and let him grasp it himself instead of pushing it forcefully into his mouth.
• Warm the bottle nipple and the milk to body temperature by running warm water over the nipple and the bottle. Never warm milk in a microwave -- you can get hot spots, which can burn your baby's mouth.
• Ask someone else to pick up your baby while she’s sleeping, but almost ready to wake, and feed her milk in a bottle. Do this for a while, and then try it when she’s awake.
• If your baby absolutely will not take a bottle, try offering milk from a cup. (See suggestions for cup feeding in the box on page 000.)
• Or you can start by feeding milk through a large medicine dropper or a spoon—rubber-coated or plastic. Sometimes, once the baby has received a couple of ounces of milk this way and is not so desperately hungry, he’ll be willing to tolerate the bottle for the rest of the feeding.
• Experiment with different kinds of milk. One mother discovered that her baby preferred fresh, refrigerated breast milk over thawed frozen milk. If you’re feeding formula, try another brand, after consulting with your baby’s doctor. Or try different proportions of breast milk-formula mixture to get your baby used to the taste of formula. You can start with three-quarters breast milk, one-fourth formula and gradually increase the amount of formula.
• Experiment with different feeding positions. Have your caregiver try propping your baby against her raised legs, or holding him facing out, so he can’t see her. (We don’t know why this works, but some babies feed better this way.)  Doing this in front of the television sometimes helps. We’ve also heard of a dad putting on his wife’s bathrobe and tucking the bottle under his armpit, with good results.