Expert: ruth kraft - 4/20/2010

Question
Please help !!!! I have been breastfeeding my 11 week old girl and it has been great, but now that I'm trying to introduce a bottle, with milk that I have pumped and put into it she cries hysterically, and she also seems like she does not know what to do with it...have I waited too long ?  Will she ever be able to transition ? Ideally I would like to do both, please give me any suggestions and advice...thank you for your time and help on this matter.

Answer
Hello :) all babies are different. No you havent waited too long. Sometimes there are babies who just cannot stand a bottle. You can try feeding through a sippy cup with no filter and see if the baby will take that. Try having other people give the bottle when you are not home. Drip milk into her mouth, when she is NOT hungry, when introducing the bottle. She doesn't know that the nasty tasting cold plastic is also for food. ( that is how she see's it.. she knows YOU have the good stuff, and she wants just that... who could blame her? ) When she is NOT hungry , let her play , drip drops of milk and and let her explore. that is how babies learn best. She will get it eventually... just be patient. You did nothing wrong :)

I hope that helped.
Ruth Kraft
If you want to join my monthly tip newsletter, email me at Ruth@honoringwomen@gmail.com