New mom in the corner over here today. I had big plans to write a post on how to travel internationally with an infant, but I felt that I needed to be seeking advice today rather than giving it, so here I am.
My daughter, Julia, is six months old. We have been extremely fortunate to have breastfed since birth and it’s a relationship that I’m really proud of. Those first two weeks of nursing after coming home from the hospital were brutal. I wish somebody had warned me as to how painful breastfeeding would be. Pregnancy was a breeze, I had an easy labor, and my recovery was going very well. But breastfeeding?! I cried every time she latched on, and then cried again every time she lost her latch and we’d have to start the process all over again. Just when I found myself starting to dread feedings and wondering if it was worth it, she suddenly became this champion little nurser. We quickly fell into a routine together and it has been one of my most joyful experiences as a new mother thus far. Here were are now, six months later and weighing in at well over twenty pounds. Julia likes her milk.
However, she has also become quite stubborn and defiant. As in, she wants her milk from the source and will have absolutely nothing to do with a bottle, a sippy, or anything other than a boob.
This was okay, as I only work two days a week and am able to run home quick on my lunch breaks to nurse her the days that I am at work, but it’s not ideal. With multiple weddings out of state this coming spring/summer and a weekend get-away planned with my graduating law student, there will be times when Julia is forced to go a couple of days and nights without nursing.
I’m a little worried. I know that eventually when she gets hungry enough, she’ll take something. But what do I do? We have tried multiple bottles, introduced a sippy cup, and even recently tried putting breast milk into a regular cup and helping her to drink it. At first I thought that maybe the thawed breast milk tasted differently causing her to reject the bottle, so then we went and bought stock in all different kinds of formulas. Julia would try all of these new alternatives, but as soon as she discovered it wasn’t the real source she stubbornly refused to take it anymore. My husband is the one that will give her a bottle, but even then she still “gums” it and lets the milk trickle down her chin. We’ve tried implementing this as a regular routine, but no real improvements. She is eating solids now, but I know that it’s primarily to let her experiment and that it is not enough to satisfy all of her needs.
She’ll be staying with our parents while we are gone on these weekend trips. For that, I am extremely grateful. I want Julia to be a happy baby with a full tummy while we are away. I’m just not sure exactly what else to do…
Has anyone been through this? What worked for you? I find the bottle and sippy cup selections to be SO overwhelming – has anyone found one that their baby loved?
Are you usually near by when your husband gives her the bottle? For whatever reason, my son didn’t want to take it if he knew I was in the house, but he was a champion bottle drinker at daycare – didn’t even matter if it was my milk or formula. He was also quite picky about the nipple, and we had to go with something that was “most like me”. The playtex nursers worked well for us. Good luck:) She’ll get there soon.
She successfully took a couple of bottles with me being in the house when she was about three months old. I figured she took the bottle fine, so we didn’t practice with it much after that. Around five months I went back to work PT and that’s when she decided she would have nothing to do with it. My husband offers it to her while I’m at work and he’s lucky if she’ll take an ounce throughout the whole day. We have been trying to make it “routine” and I’ll hideout in a bedroom, but she just plays with the bottle and won’t take any of it. Maybe the key is to have me gone & find one thats a little more similar to the real thing?! I will try! Thanks for your advice, Amanda!
I have no experience with this, but thinking of you! Jessa has never been picky about the milk source, so we are thankful for that.
You could try introducing the bottle while Julia is content and relaxed, before she gets too hungry and stressed. You could also try warming the nipple of the bottle before trying the feeding, this worked with my son! Good luck!
Maybe we are waiting too long and then she gets frustrated? Thanks, Rebecca!
I feel your pain! Unfortunately, there was no quick trick for us. We just tried to offer the bottle as often as possible (some days at each feeding), and he eventually took his milk from it.
I had a similar problem at 3 months when I had to go back to work. We tried every type of bottle and we would just “gum” the nipple. What ultimately solved the problem was me leaving the house while my husband worked at it and making sure the milk was VERY warm. Our son is now 9 months old and will down a bottle if its warm enough but still just chews on the nipple if it isn’t the write temp. We even went through a stage of putting a koozie around the bottle when he drank them more slowly. Good luck!
It’s just so funny how picky babies can be! Seriously, all because of the milk not being warm enough!? Maybe Julia and your little one will be buddies someday with their milk bottle habits ; ) Did you boil the water and let it thaw? What is your trick for getting it warm enough but not too hot that it burns his mouth?
I found that draping one of my shirts (unwashed) over dad’s tummy tricked my baby into taking the bottle from him! Might be worth a try!
I had a little one in my daycare who wouldn’t take a bottle. Her parents tried for weeks before she started with me (around 3-4 months, I think?) but were never successful. We tried multiple bottles, all different temperatures, several times a day, for a good two weeks before finally succeeding. Even though she came to me full time, she just waited until she got home and nursed all through the night to make up for it! Some babies just know they want the good stuff! 🙂 What finally did it for me was rocking her until she was in that “almost asleep” phase, and then letting a few drops of very warm milk fall into her mouth. She’d wake up enough to taste the drops, and then I’d sneak the bottle in just as she realized she liked it. 🙂 It took a little trickery, but once she realized it was a good thing, she seemed to be pretty grateful. Good luck!
Oh, Lianna! You are so good at what you do! Maybe there is hope for us! We will try when she is just drowsy enough.
My second child did not take a bottle either. It was boob or nothing. No bottle nipple worked the way he liked. We went straight to sippy cup… and it was FANTASTIC. I recommend beginning with a two handled straw sippy. It is very easy for a baby to learn how to suck from the straw… the cause/effect connection will be made quicker than you think… but don’t give up. At the beginning, the child will not pull the sippy up to their mouth, but lean down to it to use the straw. This gives the child “control” over her situation… which she will like. If you want to do formula in the sippy, try enfamil. It is way less stinky than other formulas.
I wondered if a straw sippy cup would be the way to go, I just didn’t think she’d be able to figure it out. But that makes sense! Do you have a favorite?
Playtex Lil’ Gripper. My son is 10 now… so this sippy cup has been around for a long time. My one year old also used this cup at 6 months of age, or so. Still uses them and she is almost 2. The ONLY problem is that the air pressure inside the cup is not properly rectified, so it pushes the liquid up through the straw when the cup has been sitting idle. The straw is great though. It breaks in two for super easy cleaning, and is dishwasher safe. The bottom of the cup is flat and stays put. The handles are gripper handles too… so she should be able to grasp the handles and lean down to the straw to drink.
Another detail is that I HATE sippy valves. A sippy valve does not help to train a kid to drink from a normal cup. We don’t tip our drink back and suck at the same time, right? So, why train your kid to do that? The straws don’t require that extra pull that spill-proof sippy cups do. It is just a “normal” straw. The only other cup our child uses are the same style sippy cups WE used to use. Tumbler cup and lid. Darn stores don’t sell those, though. Had to order them online. My 10 year old still uses some of the same tumblers from his baby sippy cups. They will grow with your kid!
Whoops… Playtex Lil Gripper 2-Handled Straw Trainer… 4+ months… 7 oz.
I heat up water in a mug in the microwave so its steaming and then but milk that’s in a milk bag into the mug for a minute or two. I think the milk gets to a more uniform warm temperature when warmed up in a bag vs. a bottle. I then just add the milk to his bottle.
My daughter hated a bottle too, no matter if I was home or not home, whether my husband wore my clothes (:)) or didn’t…it all came down to temperature. I pumped fresh milk, then set the bottle in water that I’d warmed in the microwave. It had to be just on the verge of too hot (we tested on an arm) before she would even consider it. We use Avant bottles, but I I think the temperature was really the issue. Now that she is used to it, daycare barely has to warm it at all! It just took a while for her to get used to.