Baby refuses the bottle

Some babies don't want the bottle from mom because they can smell her scent and want breast milk. It might help if your partner gives the bottle, maybe that'll work... Good luck

Maybe the Medela bottle with the Calma teat works?
The teat is designed to work the same way as breastfeeding.. Not sure if it's a good idea! Good luck!
x

I have a son who is almost 4.5 months old. We're dealing with the same issues with him. He used to drink from the bottle for a while, but lately, he hasn't been. He really only drinks the bare minimum from the bottle when I'm not around, and then he waits happily for Mama to make up for lost time. I'll be starting solid foods soon; I think it's a bit early too, but I have no choice since I'll need to work full-time soon.

By the way, he does drink fairly well from a cup, so maybe that's an idea for your little one. I've tried all kinds of bottles and nipples, but I don't think that's the issue.

Hi Eva,

A friend of mine had the exact same problem! She tried all brands and the only one that worked was the cheapest one you can find in big department stores. She bought one herself at Zeeman of Winnie the Pooh (she happened to find it there); you usually find the same ones in big department stores.

And strangely enough, it worked. She breastfed until her daughter was 8 months old, and unfortunately, she started with the bottle very late (just a few days before her daughter had to go to daycare). Luckily, she only worked half-days, because her daughter absolutely refused to drink from a bottle. After 2 weeks, she had found the perfect teat!

I hope this works for you too. Good luck!

Greetings

She drank from the bottle today! Took her daughter to her aunt, she was sad for about half an hour, but then she tried it. It took some effort, she has trouble grasping the teat, so it was really no refusal, but now she gets it. The second bottle went in easily. The third bottle will be given soon. What a relief. It worked with the Difrax, Dr. Brown she pushed it out with her tongue because that teat is very soft and long. Avent is too stiff and the Medela Calma was a total disaster. So a tip for parents who also face this, take your child to someone else in a different environment! It went completely against my instincts to have to do it like this, but it did work!

This struggle is so relatable.
Our daughter was fed breast milk daily, and 2-3 times a week she had expressed milk from a bottle. We started with the bottle from week 2 and it went well right away! Super, we thought, she’s got this. We kept giving it 2 to 3 times a week when it suited us, like with visits or outings. She also spent a day regularly with the babysitter during these months and drank from the bottle there.
Until, when she was about 3 months old, it suddenly didn't work anymore. As if she had forgotten how the nipple worked. After asking the health center, it turned out her 'sucking reflex' had faded, which is normal for all babies, and she fell back on her skills. For our girl, practicing a few times a week was apparently not enough to build up that skill.
Feelings of frustration and helplessness, because if I had known this could happen, I would have given the bottle a few times a day as standard!
And now? I read a lot of contradictory messages online about bottle rejecters. It was also hard to deal with reactions from family and friends (because 'you're a pushover mom, spoiling your child. How hard can it be?'. I called the health center and a lactation consultant—their advice was 'practice calmly once a day with the partner holding the bottle'. This felt better than 'starving her until she would take it', which according to them also didn't work.
What followed were 5 weeks of daily practice. It was hard to keep it relaxed, because our little girl got tired and frustrated quickly with this bottle that was being 'forced' on her and which she didn't seem to know how to get anything out of. The little moments she could practice (when she was rested, playful and relaxed) were small. At the same time, my tension increased, because soon I had to go back to work and would be away all day. I decided to call my work and involve them in my struggle with this, so I could calm myself down a bit. My work was willing to give me the space to go home halfway through the day to feed my daughter—thankfully one less worry.
We stayed consistent, persisting daily with the same bottle (Dr. Brown, though we had switched to a different nipple stage by then (stage 2)—with a slightly larger hole, suitable for her age). Sometimes we spent an hour, during which our daughter, tired and frustrated, finally had 20 cc inside (this was already a big victory for us). It went up and down; if she drank 10 cc yesterday, it went completely nowhere today. Besides practicing with bottle feeding, we also started at 3.5 months practicing with rice flour porridge with a spoon (with the idea that she would at least get something in if she didn't take the bottle).
She is now 4 months old and over the past 3 days it's getting better and better! As if she finally figured out how it works again! We notice that it no longer matters who gives the bottle or when during the day it happens.
For all parents who are also struggling with this; give your child the time to practice with this daily and as parents, keep going despite the frustration. Give your child the time to master this 'new' skill!