Baby Parenting Guide

My wife has been exclusively breast feeding our 3 month old daughter. How can we get her to take a bottle?

My wife has been exclusively breast feeding our 3 month old daughter. How can we get her to take a bottle? We have tried different "nipples" and she doesn't want to take any of them. What is the best way to transition to bottle feeding smoothly. My wife still wants to breast feed, but we also want the option to bottle feed so we can go out once in a while. Any suggestions?

Public Response to My wife has been exclusively breast feeding our 3 month old daughter. How can we get her to take a bottle?

1. Try putting a little bit of expressed breast milk on the nipple of the bottle. It takes a while sometimes though.
2. Have you tried the First Years Breastflow Bottles? These are the only ones my LO will even consider taking (and even then he has to be hungry enough). I was also told of Adiri bottles. Both of these kinds of bottles the baby has to nurse, just like at the breast. Introduce them slowly, when the baby is hungry, but don't give in if she doesn't want it right away. Just wait 20 minutes (w/o giving the breast) and try again... if she refuses wait another 20 min, try again. If this goes on over an hour (depending on the last time she has eaten) you may want to feed her and try agian with the next feeding. Best of luck.
3. just keep trying it. if the kid is hungry, eventually they will drink out of a bottle because they will not starve themselves. don't give up because the more you dont push the bottle, the harder it will be.
4. She will take breast milk from a bottle if it's given by someone other than her mommy. Make sure mommy is out of the room. Baby's never died from starvation because they refused a bottle. She'll get hungry and take the rubber nipple.
5. Not Yet...it can be when she gets her first tooth then make her drink out of a bottle
6. Try giving her BM in that bottle rather than formula because she knows the taste of BM and she might not like the taste of formula. Keep trying to give her the bottle. If she doesn't take it from your wife, it is because she knows that mum will breastfeed. So you try giving her the bottle when she is hungry and your wife has gone out. When she is hungry she will search for her mum for a few minutes, but she cannot be hungry for long so she will take the bottle from you rather than going hungry. Good luck
7. try using BHP free teats/bottles i heard its easier as babies dont like BHP
8. Try a cup instead, your daughter is not too young. My daughter would never take a bottle but started using a regular cup when she was 3 months. I think it was just so different that she was ok with it - she doesn't want to suck on something that isn't mommy =P After she gets the cup down, try a sippy cup. If you get her on a cup now, you'll never have to wean her from a bottle, so it's a win/win.
9. My son is the same way. We've had the most success with the Breastflow bottles. We feed him when he's sleepy and seems less aware that it is a bottle. We've been struggling with bottles since he was 3weeks, so I don't know if there is any easy fix for you. I have also used Avent bottles with a nipple that is one size bigger than his age because I have a forceful letdown and I know he can take big gulps and he gets a little frustrated with the bottles that only trickle into his mouth. We've also found that feeding him from the bottle when he isn't hungry helps because he won't drink when he is hungry/angry and the bottle just makes him more angry, but feeding him sips off and on when he is calm prevents him from getting hungry and then he doesn't fight the bottle. He hates the bottle when he is hungry, it just makes him madder. Good luck.
10. my lactation consultant suggested the Adiri bottles.. they are most like moms nipple. She also said someone else like dad should give the bottle to the baby---have the baby near something of moms that has her scent. If mom tries to give the bottle she will get confused as she will go for the boob. I'm pumping exclusively and my daughter still tries to go toward the boob but has no issues when daddy feeds her. the first bottle was confusing to her but once she sucked and swallowed she realized it's ok.