Feeding FAQ: 3-4 months – Breast Feeding

How can I get my 3 month daughter to take a bottle?

We have been trying to get our daughter onto a bottle as I cannot carry on breast feeding her. She used to take the 10:30 am feed by bottle when she was 6-8 weeks old and would also take some at 10:30pm. She then became ill and was permanently on breast and since then she has refused to drink from the bottle. We try when she is half asleep and sometimes she might take a bit, most of the time she wakes up and gets upset if we try with a bottle. In the end we have to breast feed her. Usually when feeding on the breast in the morning she will do up to 1h, and likewise in the evening she might do anything up/and over 1h. (taking the time to burp her and sometimes change her)) We are at a wits end as we really need her to start to take the bottle and do not know how to go about it. We have tried trying the bottle and then taking it away and waiting till the next feed which she seems ok with.
At present she feeds at 7am for 1hour, 10.30am 20-30mins, 2.30pm 20-30mins, 5.30 15-20mins, 6.10 20-30mins, 10.30pm try with bottle then will take 15- 20mins.
She naps at 8.30-9.10am, 12-2pm and 4.30-5pm.

The older a baby is, the more difficult it is to solve this problem. It is best if you tackle the problem over a 24hr period, when you have help and support. Gina has written a case study in The Contented Little Baby Book p 181 about twins which will help you to see that you must be persistent in order for your daughter to accept a bottle.

Here are a few guidelines to help you:

Offer the first bottle at least four hours after the last feed your daughter had so you know she will be hungry.

Although she accepted an Avent bottle before, you may have to try some different bottles and teats as she is now used to a soft nipple and breast. The silicone teats on Avent bottles are quite hard and resistant. Look for a softer one such as a Tommee Tipee Variflow which will still fit your bottle or you may consider buying a narrow necked bottle such as a NUK and using a rubber rather than silicone teat to begin with.

Although you want to stop breast feeding it may help to offer your daughter expressed milk first from a bottle rather than formula. It is the bottle she is protesting about rather than the contents, so at least you know she is familiar with your breast milk.

Make sure that the flow from the teat is fairly quick as she will then taste the milk in her mouth even if she begins to cry as soon as the bottle is offered to her.

Make the milk fairly warm but shake it well and check before you offer it to her. A breast fed baby is used to receiving milk at body heat.

Sometimes it is better if someone else such as Dad or Grandma give the first two or three bottles. Your daughter associates you with the breast. You may even have to leave the room whilst they do it as the sight of you will be enough to upset her. If you want to watch, at least stand out of her view and hearing for the entire feed.

If you want to give her a bottle have some one with you who can distract her by waving toys and rattles so she is not so aware that you are putting a teat into her mouth. Some people believe that a baby will automatically suck on anything that is put into their mouth providing they have not decided before that they don’t want to. This means you will need to hide the bottle until your daughter is distracted and doesn’t realise what you are doing.

If your daughter begins to cry as you try to feed her, don’t keep taking the teat in and out of mouth as this will just infuriate her even more. Keep it in so she has the chance to taste the milk and may decide to suck at it.

The whole experience can seem traumatic to you both but, if you have to give up breast feeding, she has to learn to drink from a bottle. Be prepared to battle with the problem for the minimum of an hour, providing you know that she is really hungry. If your daughter falls asleep exhausted before taking a full feed, don’t be tempted to breast feed her. Let her sleep and then offer the bottle again when she wakes up, until she finally realises that milk can come from a bottle as well as your breast and it is just as good.