BF going TOO well? She won't take any artificial nipples.

[@llli*koux]

My baby is 2 1/2 months old, and we're doing great with breastfeeding, no real problems so far. My only complaint is, she will NOT take a bottle or binky. She's taken a bottle (reluctantly) for her grandmas a couple of times when I wasn't home, but that's it. It's really made things hard for me, I really want her to be ok with the occasional bottle or binky, but she's having none of it. On a normal day when we're just hanging out at home it's fine, but when she's screaming in the car I can't stop to nurse her every time. I would also love to be able to give her a bottle or binky at church. I'm currently teaching a class of 10-11 year olds, and I can't really teach a lesson and nurse at the same time, nor can I just leave the kids unattended. Do you have any suggestions on how to handle this? I love breastfeeding and don't want to stop, but for my (and my husband's) sanity we need her to learn how to be soothed without nursing occasionally.

[@llli*talia12]

Hi there
I'm having the same problem and some members suggested to make sure to try different nipples, warm the milk enough, not be home when my mother in law tries the bottle, etc...
I've tried all and she still didn't take it except like twice Througout last week, which is really frustrating.
DD's pediatrician told us that if she gets hungry enough she will have to take it eventually, but I hate doing this to her, poor girl.
We're going to try and take an appointment with a lactation consultant today, I'll make sure to share any details with you, hopefully something works for both of us and our beloved children
Best of luck my dear

[@llli*lllkaren]

Bump!

I'm not a lot of use on this one; neither of my babies was ever interested in a pacifier. My first wouldn't take a bottle either. Hopefully some of the other moms here will be able to offer some ideas.

It's actually pretty normal for babies to refuse bottles when mom is around, but accept them from other caregivers. That's good she'll sometimes take a bottle from one of her grandmas -- at least you know she can. She may not be happy about it, but if there were an emergency she wouldn't go hungry.

Crying in the car is hard. I think there was a whole thread about it recently... I'll try to find it.

One other thought... Have you tried a sling or wrap for while you're teaching your class at church? You'd have your hands free, and your baby might be soothed just by being snuggled up against you in the carrier. Especially if you're standing up and moving around a little bit.

[@llli*Npaul09]

Have you tried the Medela "Calma" nipple for your bottles? I've heard it is the best...it simulates the mothers nipple. Check it out on their website. I haven't tried it myself, but maybe worth a try! It should be carried at your Babies R Us, although mine did not. Good luck!

Oh and to make you feel better, nursing is the ONLY thing that gets my dd to stop crying!...she also wont take a pacifier. Have you tried different types of pacifiers? Like a Nuk?

[@llli*lehall]

We're dealing with the same thing. A few tips I've received:
*Your baby will likely not take a bottle from you. She knows you're mom, and she wants the "real deal"
*Sounds like that is mostly an issue while teaching at church. Is there anyone else who can keep her (and maybe they can do the bottle) while you're teaching? At my church there are a whole bunch of "extra grandmas" around.
*Some babies are just screamers in the car. My bottle/paci loving niece screamed everytime she was in her carseat. Her mom listened to soothing music, spoke in a calm voice, and pretty much just muscled through it.
*At other times, you can work on other baby-calming methods. Walking, singing, baby wearing, warm bath, naked time, go outside, whatever you can think of can all work when pacifier and bottle aren't cutting it.
*Finally, if you have eliminated possible sources of real problems but the baby is still fussy, it really is okay that they just cry. Not abandoned-baby crying alone crying, but "I'm right here with you and I'm sorry you're crying, but it's going to be okay" crying.
*How we respond to crying babies is more important to our sanity than our ability to get them to stop crying.

I''m right there with you, and these suggestions are just some of the ways we're coping.

[@llli*punky]

I'm sorry mama. That's really hard. I can totally relate to how tough it is to have a screaming baby in the car and even though my DS will take a soother, he doesn't like the car unless he's sleepy enough. Sometimes there's not much you can do about that one.

As far as taking a bottle, I agree with the PP's that getting someone else to do it will probably work best. Many babies are reluctant to take a bottle period, but if they're hungry enough they won't starve themselves. And it'll be much easier to get her to if it's not you offering.

With the paci, I don't have too much advice there. Some babies just don't like them. My DS1 never liked it, and took to thumb sucking at a couple months old. DS2 was a hard core soother baby, and DS3 also likes the soother most of the time. Try different kinds of nipples though, you might find one that she prefers.

[@llli*jrsmom2012]

I have the same issue with my 9 week old. He fights and fights the bottle, but he does finally take it. When I time it, the fight is usually only 3 minutes or so - sounds worse than it is. And believe it or not, I do get him to take the bottle from me. I just did it the other night because I had 2 drinks so I fed him a pumped bottle. He cried and fought it for about 2 mins but then latched right on. I don't know if you're a swaddler, or if this will work, but by now he knows that when I change him and then swaddle him tight, the boob is next. So when I wrap his swaddle his little mouth is already making sucking motions. If I insert the bottle as I'm lifting him toward my chest, he takes it pretty quickly.

I have been using the standard Medela nipple and have tried Dr. Brown's, but I do hate his fight - even if it is only a few minutes - so I want to try some of those old school brown soft Playtex nipples. From what I remember, they are the most like the real thing.

Good luck to you! It's a tough battle because they prefer the real thing. Oh and my LO really has no interest in the pacifier either.

[@llli*koux]

Thank you all so much for the ideas and support! I think we've figured out that my husband can take her at church for the hour I'm teaching, which will help me a lot. I just feel bad for him, because she will NOT take a bottle or binky from him at all. I've given her a bottle a few times lately (mostly just to prove to him that it's possible), but when he tries it she refuses it entirely. He thinks she won't take it from him because he's a man (only women have ever given her bottles), but I think it's more that she senses how tense and frustrated he is. Who knows the reasoning... He's getting very frustrated with her, understandably. So she'll probably just end up crying for him the whole hour that he has her.

As far as the car rides go, I think we're gonna have to take the route of lehall's niece, and just "muscle through it". That's exactly what it feels like - it's so hard to sit and listen to her scream and know there's nothing I can do about it. Sometimes she will take a binky, but you have to hold it in her mouth the entire time. Which defeats the purpose of giving her one in the car anyway.

I also had a question about bottles, if anyone knows. The one we've found that she'll take best is the Playtex Ventaire. It has a really wide, short nipple that is most similar to my breast and she is able to have a wide mouth and "latch on" to it, rather than just sucking the end like most bottles. The only problem is, it seems to leak out the bottom a lot. It has a screw-on bottom with a rubber plug which makes for very easy cleaning, but it has little holes that leak sometimes. I try and screw it on as tightly as I can, but sometimes it will leak no matter what I do. Does anyone use these bottles? Any ideas? It's annoying to be sprayed with milk from both ends of the bottle while she's feeding, and I really hate wasting any milk.

[@llli*lehall]

Ventaire is the bottle my son has decided to tolerate as well. It seems that the key to avoiding leaks is to make sure that the silicone ring is well seated in the bottom of the bottle. One reviewer on Amazon said that boiling the rings and nipples periodically helps with leaking. I haven't called, but I have heard that they have good customer support/trouble shooting over the phone. Good luck!

[@llli*monika.h]

When you're at church, is there any way you can give your a good feed before you teach your class? Maybe she'll be happy if her tummy's full and your dh can take her for a walk in a snugli?

Car rides can be tough! Hopefully soon she will be able to play with toys while you drive. My DS had a spell where he really didn't want to be in a carseat. We just had to do our best to grin and bear it.