Breastfeeding and Bottles

I know this is normally asked right after birth, but DD is almost 4 months old and she still REFUSES to take a bottle and I was wondering if you guys had any advice. I REALLY want DD to take a bottle, but she just wont do it. I've tried the Breastflow bottles, Avent bottles, Nuby bottles and a Nuk bottle. She just throws a fit. I've tried to get her used to a pacifier too, but she just ends up laughing at me when I stick it in her mouth. She finds it funny for some reason. 

 Does anyone have any tips on getting her to take a bottle?  I feel like I'm trapped in the house b/c she still wants to eat every 1 1/2 - 2 hours and where I live going to the mall or anywhere interesting is a 35 min drive, so I end up having to go into Motherhood Maternity and use their changing room to feed her, lol. If I could give her a bottle it would make leaving the house much more enjoyable. I'm lost. I've tried everything I can think of. 

My main concern is we will be making a long distance move in 3 1/2 - 4 months and if she's still eating like she's doing now, there's no way I can make that drive without using a bottle. We would never get there, lol. I know Fearymay posted about solids, but I thought if you were breastfeeding you weren't supposed to introduced solids until they were 12 months...This is my first time breastfeeding and I feel totally lost. When she says it's time to eat, I just feed her.

 Sorry you're going through a rough time with bottle feeding! From what I understand and have read the best time to start training on the bottle is around 3-4 weeks old and just offer one every so often to keep the baby familiar with it. Soooo.. it's going to be a lot harder to get going! Also if someone else feeds her the bottle they have a more likely chance of excepting it. My niece wouldn't drink a bottle if her mama was anywhere in sight or if she could hear or smell her! Maybe someone else could try giving her the bottle when she is really hungry and you are quiet on the other side of the house or something and eventually after she accepts it from someone else you can start trying ? BF babies normally prefer the natural tap and know that mama has to goods and can smell it! Hope that helps! Good luck! 

I started emmi on a bottle at about 2 months. I would put some breastmilk in her mouth then have her start sucking the bottle when she got a taste of the breast milk. I know that trapped feeling from breastfeeding..

 The only other thing I can think is to maybe introduce a nipple shield every once in a while... That way she's getting the milk, she's on ur breast so she's familiar with the smell and positon of u but she also gets a feel for a nipple.. Then find a nipple with a smilar shape to the nipple shield and try to start introducing the bottle

AAAAAARGH I know exactly where you're coming from, it's so frustrating isn't it?  My DD outright REFUSED anything to do with a bottle until 6 months.  And I tried everything suggested by everyone.  I am now the proud owner of about 18 different bottles and nipples.  It didn't matter if I was in the room, out of the house, nothing.

What finally DID work though...one day she took the bottle from me while driving around in the car.  DH drove and I sat in the back with her, and she just took it.  It was a fluke that we even tried it, it was a last ditch effort.  It was breastmilk in a Nuby bottle (with the flattish nipples).  We did the "bottle drive" every day for a week, then tried her at home one day and VOILA.  New found freedom!

Good Luck!

I'm not from this birth club, but I still have lots of experience with this.  First- good job BFing!  I know it presents some challenges, but the benefits to it are so awesome.  All 3 of my babies (who were all BF) refused a bottle.  I tried every tip out there, but they just refused it.  It wasn't until about 10 months that they all finally would take one.  On your long drive, can you just stop every few hours and nurse her in the car?  That's what I would've had to do.  

 As far as solids, they say that you can start them at 6 months with a breastfed baby, if the baby seems ready.  Two of mine were ready for solids at that point, but my last baby (my DD) refused all solids until 8-9 months.  Up until then, it was just me nursing her!

I wish I had your problem . Mine downright refuses to breastfeed.

Try having someone else give the bottle of expressed milk.  She knows what's up... she's not going to take a bottle from you when she knows the good stuff is right there!  Leave the room and have daddy try.   You could also try syringe, cup or finger feeding.  If none of those work, you might need look around and test out other bottles.   When I finally gave up fingerfeeding at around 8 weeks, it took a lot of searching to find the right bottle... it was a lot of borrowing from friends until we found a brand he would take (dr. browns with a preemie nipple).  Have you tried the adiri natural nurser, I've heard good things about that one.   If nothing else works, just give her more time.  She'll get there.  It might not be fun to be tied down so much, but just try to enjoy her nursing while you can .  Good luck :)

Ava was the same exact way for a LONG time.  I had to go back to work when she was 18 weeks old so I started taking her to daycare at 6 weeks to get her used to a bottle.  It took until she was 16 weeks old before she would eat anything at all from one.  I had every kind of bottle.  Tried everything.  What FINALLY worked was the old fashioed drop in bottles with the brown nipples and holding her VERY close as if I was still breastfeeding her and just soothing her by quietly sweet talking for about 10 minutes until she finally latched on.  For the first few months of working she would starve all day at daycare (taking a total of 3-4 oz in a 10 hour period).  It was so difficult so I know what you are going through.  My Dr suggested refusing to nurse her until she took the bottle.  I couldn't do it though so I just waited until it was her and me and just held her close and kept trying.

 Thanks for the good tips! DH actually tried giving her the bottle the other day and she flipped out even more with him. It was like "What are you doing? You don't feed me!" lol. I couldn't help but laugh. She didn't always flat out refuse them.  When she was around 6 weeks old, she would try and latch on, but she always seemed soo uncomfortable while trying to eat and then she would just let go and throw a fit. I would feel so bad for her, like I was doing something wrong. That was with the Breastflow bottle. I only gave it to her twice. I should of kept giving it to her, but I was so scared of nipple confusion that I kept away from bottles for the most part. I thought it would be easier once she got older, lol. Boy, was I wrong. 

I went and tried to find the drop in bottles with the brown nipple, but I can't seem to find it anywhere in stores. I've been meaning to look it up online, but I can't seem to remember anything now days. The Adiri natural nurser bottle is actually the one I planed on trying next. I hope it works out.

mine wont either .. i have tried all kinds of bottles and nipples.. so know what you mean about feeling trapped

you can introduce solids at 4-6 months even when bf... dependong on baby can be later