Expert: Sally Wendkos Olds - 10/20/2005

Question
I primarily breastfeed my 8 week old son-we have given him 1 bottle a day (pumped breastmilk)since week 2--up until recently, he has done fine with both breast and bottle.  Now he is rejecting the bottle--any ideas on how to re-introduce the bottle?--it will soon be necessary for him to be "proficient" at both.  Thank you!

Answer
Dear Betsy,

First, congratulations for giving your son the best start in life by breastfeeding him!

I am enclosing an excerpt from the chapter about working nursing mothers in my book (see below) about offering the bottle. I hope that one or more of these suggestions will help get your son back on the bottle as well as the breast.

Good luck!

Sally

Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters.
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BOX 12-3   OFFERING YOUR BABY THE BOTTLE
  * Have someone else give the cup or bottle, right from the start. This is an ideal way for your baby's father to assume a larger role in his baby's care. The next best feeder is the person who will care for your baby when you go back to work.
  * Introduce the cup or bottle when your baby is not frantically hungry.
  * Some babies have definite preferences for one kind of nipple over another. Others don't care. Try a contoured nipple (like the Nuk or the Kip), but just buy one or two in case your baby doesn't like it. Be sure not to buy nipples especially made for premature infants if your baby is full-term; these nipples are made of thinner rubber, which some vigorous suckers have been known to bite pieces from and swallow.
  * If you can find "blind" nipples, which don't have holes in them, you can make your own hole with a hot pin, to insure that the milk won't come too quickly.
  * To test the flow of milk, hold the bottle upside down. If milk pours out, the nipple opening is too big; if it doesn't squirt out when you squeeze the nipple with your fingers, it's too small. In the first case, there's nothing you can do other than throw the nipple out; in the second, you can make an additional hole or two.

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 her grasp it herself instead of pushing it forcefully into her mouth.
  * Warm the bottle nipple and the milk to body temperature by running warm water over the nipple and the bottle.
  * 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 you have not already offered your baby milk or water from a cup, try offering him water first. Once he takes that readily, he'll probably also take milk this way. You don't need a special cup to do this. Any cup in your house will do, although the infant "sipper" cups with two handles and a lid are the least messy.
  * Feed the 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.
  * 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.