I know there are a lot of mommies out there who read our blog and I am hoping at least a few of you have some suggestions to help me out. Here’s my problem:
I’d love to go get my hair done by a friend of mine who is in beauty school about an hour or so away from where I live. I would be gone at least 4 or five hours. My daugher who is three months old is exclusively breast fed. Within the first month or so after she was born she was given an occasional bottle of pumped breast milk without any problems but for the past two months I haven’t been away from her long enough for her to need a bottle. We tried to give her one the other day and she refused it. I tried again today and she screamed.
I’d like to be able to leave for a few hours for some much needed mommy time but I am afraid she will just cry and not take the bottle and that my hubby won’t be able to handle it. Before I make my appointment, do any of you have any suggestions to get her to start taking a bottle again? Help!
Laina says
Have you tried the bottles that are soft and designed to feel like a breast? My niece was VERY fussy about bottles and those helped. The other options is to try a week of “trainin” where you offer a bottle first at each feeding. A pain I know. Good Luck it’s such a bittersweet process of having them so close but then needing a little space.
Anonymous says
Honestly. She’s old enough to where she is not going to starve. She will learn to talk the bottle because she will be hungry enough. You have to keep trying everyday so that she can pick up on it or it’s never going to work. You need to get away and your husband has to step up and figure it out on his own.
Jessica says
I’ve found that my baby won’t EVER take any kind of bottle from me. However, he will from other people. So I would suggest that you go shopping or out to the movies for a while and see if your hubby can get her to take a bottle.
Babies won’t starve themselves. If she’s actually hungry then she should take the bottle.
Good luck, you deserve some Mommy time!
Danielle Miller says
Try disappearing for short periods of time to let you husband try the bottle. Maybe if you aren’t around, she will get the picture that she isn’t getting fed any other way. A little bit of crying isn’t going to hurt her. Even if she cries for three hours, I think it can be good for them. My little one has learned several different types of cries to communicate better because we haven’t been afraid to let him cry it out a little bit when he wants us. And even though he’s only 10 months now, I wanted to start early with teaching him that he doesn’t always get what he wants. Three months might be too soon, I don’t remember specifically when I started. But I could tell that he was ready for it. It was when he wasn’t just crying, he was crying with attitude.
Kama @ Today's Housewife says
I have a friend who went “cold turkey” with a bottle with her youngest one because her other 2 kids wouldn’t take a bottle. She said her baby only took 1 bottle in a 24 hour period, but after that she would take one regularly–she didn’t nurse her when she didn’t eat. Sounds harsh to me, but it might work! My son is 6 months old and has only had a handful of bottles so far and my husband is the one who has given them to him every time…
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Jo says
I had a similar problem but then again way different..let me explain. All of my babies were bottle fed from the get go because of a milk intolernece…anyways my son took the hospital bottles with no problem and when we brought him home he did not want our bottles..he would scream and cry and make a face. We figured out very quickly (after going and buying those expensive prefilled bottles) that the nipple shape was different on the bottles..the non prefilled bottles had a longer nipple and therefor our baby boy didn’t want nothing to do with them..he was the same way about his pacifier…he would only take a premie one..he didn’t like the regular ones. My suggestion to you is to find the nipple that replicates your own nipple to almost exactness. You little one may just dislike the nipple shape ’cause its not like mommy’s..
Good Luck!
Marcy says
We had major issues with this when I went back to work after my daughter was born (she was 4 1/2 mo. old). My husband tried everything and the only thing that worked was riding it out. By the second or third day she finally started taking the bottle (she must have been hungry enough). It wasn’t pleasant, but worked out. Good luck!
Carey says
I second Jessica’s comment! I breastfed 3 babies and helped “coach” a mom I was providing daycare for. First, make sure you don’t ever give her a bottle. She knows you have the “good stuff”! Don’t be in the room or even in the house. If possible, have your hubby give her a bottle everyday.
Hate to say it…but if that doesn’t work…go anyway. She’ll be ok, and so will your hubby. You need an out!
BTW, I really appreciate your blog!
Lori says
My breastfed baby won’t take a bottle from me. And when she was about 2 months, we struggled for MONTHS to get her to take a bottle. She only likes Breast Flow from first years. She can smell your milk from 20-30 feet away, so you might have to practice going outside w/ the monitor while your husband tries to give it to her before the big day. Good luck. I know, it’s SO hard!
Kasey says
My breastfed baby went through a stage where he wouldn’t take a bottle from me. He only got 1 or 2 a week total (while we were out), and if I tried to give it to him, he screamed. He wanted it straight from the tap. : )
I would suggest getting your husband to try the bottle again, while you’re out of the room. Also, make sure you are using a slow flow nipple. Like a previous poster said, you might try different types of bottles as well.
Some breastfed babies are very touchy about taking a bottle for many reasons. My mother breastfed my little sister, and she never ever took a bottle. I would not leave the baby and expect her to take the bottle when she gets hungry enough. That may not happen.
Hope it all works out and you are able to get away for a while.
Mindy says
Thank you to everyone who left a comment. I will let you know how it goes! I appreciate all the feedback! 🙂
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