Why does my baby refuse to take a bottle and bottle feed?!

O man! It's so frustrating, they took the bottle, with no problem, in the early days and weeks, but now, breastfeeding is going great but you just need the baby to take the bottle and they won't! 

It's turned into a battle of wills, maybe you're told to not let them manipulate you or take the mick, they'll eat if they're hungry enough, they're sad, you're pulling your hair out, and you just don't know what to do or where to get help.

Sound familiar?

There are many reasons you may want your baby to take the bottle, maybe you want to have a few hours to yourself, go to the gym or the hairdresser, and they simply can't come. You could be going away on a trip, want a date night with your other half or simply you just want. They're all valid reasons.

Bottle refusal consultation

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What if I told you, they're not manipulating you or refusing to take the bottle. It's not because 'they can smell you' and you should go away for a few days. it's because THEY CAN'T!

Past client learning to stabilise the teat in his mouth

Bottle feeding is totally different to breastfeeding, it's a different skill that, just like riding a bike or driving a car, is a milestone one you will need to teach them.

'But they could take a bottle on day 3 or week 6' , I hear you say!

There is a good reason for this, because in those early days they had their suck reflex intact, meaning they would suck on anything, including Dad's face, Granny's chin and great Aunt Mo's arm. However, at around 8-12 weeks that reflex integrates, meaning they now have to consciously and actively suck.

In order to be successful at taking the bottle they must,

*accept the teat into their mouth

*organise their tongue around and stabilise the teat in the mouth

*form a seal around the teat

*learn to suck

*learn that there is milk coming out of the teat, and what to do with it

*Lastly, to swallow safely.

You can see that it's not all that simple, and only with support and practice these babies will successfully be able to take a bottle, and if they get stuck on one step they will be unable to continue to the next until they can do it.

If your baby is over 5-6 months, you could totally skip the bottle completely, and give a bottle with a straw, or even an open cup, again these are skills that need practice, patience and plenty of towels for spills, cos there will be a fair few!

I can support you with all these skills.

Taking a bottle successfully may take a good couple of weeks for your baby to learn, because, well it's a lot! However, I can teach you how to support your baby!

The first session will look at how your baby moves their mouth, accepts the teat and there will be homework, after all exposure and practice makes the difference, you wouldn't expect them to walk independently after cruising on the sofa once, you would be patient and hold their hand.

We then keep in contact, over the next week or so, adjusting support, exercises and level of exposure as needed. There will be up days and down days. Most babies are successfully taking a few ounces within a couple of weeks.

What if it's an emergency and the baby must take a bottle? Well, we can support them in other ways to eat, while they learn.