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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Remedy For Feeding Baby With Bottle

Hello, please help!!! My 4 1/2 old baby doesnt want to drink from a bottle even if its breastmilk, she only wants to breastfeed. She also doesnt like at all the Enfamil formula. When i gave her the bottle i try to put her in different positions than how i breastfeed, sometimes in a bouncer or car sit and she stiil doesnt take the bottle. I tried to give her a bottle when she s not to hungry and when she s hungry and still is not working. Her daddy give her the bottle and she doesnt take it. I tried different bottles now i use avent bottles. I didnt introduce her to solid food yet maybe in a week or two i will. The problem is that i have to go back to work soon and dont know what else to do for her to take a bottle.Is there any other formula that taste better than Enfamil? or should i add cereal to the bottle? But if its breastmilk why she still doesnt want the bottle? Thank you!!!
Mon, 18 Aug 2014
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Pediatrician 's  Response
Thanks for putting up your query at HealthCareMagic. I assume that your daughter is 4 1/2 months old (month or year not mentioned). Feeding the baby is a concern that working mothers need to face. Exclusive breast feeding is advisable upto 6 months of age but recommendations vary slightly with the country of residence. In other words, if you can adequeately express your breast milk and store in it a refrigerator, we insist not to use formula feeds and not even water for the baby. The milk needs to be brought to the normal room temperature before it it given to the baby. It is to be done by thawing and not by heating. In case of an working mother, it is advisible to express your breast milk and feed the baby either using a bottle or a cup and spoon. The latter requires some training. Definitely when the mother cannot be present for the same, the smell of the mother, the feel of the mother's skin and things like that are lacking in case of a bottle and some babies therefore refuse to be bottle fed. Sometimes babies that refuse bottle feeding, may still like to be spoon fed and you might give it a try if you haven't done it already. It also needs to be ascertained whether the baby has milk allergy.

Let me put some suggestions to ease your problem. You might have already tried many of them, but in case you haven't, let's start at the top and work our way through them. First of all, have someone else give her the bottle while you're out of the house. Babies can smell their moms from a distance of at least 20 feet, and she may know you're around even if you're in another room. Offer her the bottle when she's not dreadfully hungry, rather than waiting until she's starving. If she takes a pacifier, try a bottle nipple similar to the pacifier she uses. For example, if she sucks on a latex pacifier, use a latex bottle nipple rather than a silicone one and vice versa. If she just chews on the nipple and plays with it, let her. She may actually start to suckle on it. Starving a baby into submission is not a good idea.

Some mothers have induced their baby to take a bottle by holding the baby in a totally different position than they would when breastfeeding. Try putting her in an infant or car seat so she is semi-upright, and then feed her the bottle while facing her. Once she is used to taking a bottle, you can hold her as you usually would for feedings. One enterprising father put on his wife's bathrobe and tucked the bottle under his arm while holding the baby in a breastfeeding position. Although it might not work for you, it might still work for her father.

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Suggest Remedy For Feeding Baby With Bottle

Thanks for putting up your query at HealthCareMagic. I assume that your daughter is 4 1/2 months old (month or year not mentioned). Feeding the baby is a concern that working mothers need to face. Exclusive breast feeding is advisable upto 6 months of age but recommendations vary slightly with the country of residence. In other words, if you can adequeately express your breast milk and store in it a refrigerator, we insist not to use formula feeds and not even water for the baby. The milk needs to be brought to the normal room temperature before it it given to the baby. It is to be done by thawing and not by heating. In case of an working mother, it is advisible to express your breast milk and feed the baby either using a bottle or a cup and spoon. The latter requires some training. Definitely when the mother cannot be present for the same, the smell of the mother, the feel of the mother s skin and things like that are lacking in case of a bottle and some babies therefore refuse to be bottle fed. Sometimes babies that refuse bottle feeding, may still like to be spoon fed and you might give it a try if you haven t done it already. It also needs to be ascertained whether the baby has milk allergy. Let me put some suggestions to ease your problem. You might have already tried many of them, but in case you haven t, let s start at the top and work our way through them. First of all, have someone else give her the bottle while you re out of the house. Babies can smell their moms from a distance of at least 20 feet, and she may know you re around even if you re in another room. Offer her the bottle when she s not dreadfully hungry, rather than waiting until she s starving. If she takes a pacifier, try a bottle nipple similar to the pacifier she uses. For example, if she sucks on a latex pacifier, use a latex bottle nipple rather than a silicone one and vice versa. If she just chews on the nipple and plays with it, let her. She may actually start to suckle on it. Starving a baby into submission is not a good idea. Some mothers have induced their baby to take a bottle by holding the baby in a totally different position than they would when breastfeeding. Try putting her in an infant or car seat so she is semi-upright, and then feed her the bottle while facing her. Once she is used to taking a bottle, you can hold her as you usually would for feedings. One enterprising father put on his wife s bathrobe and tucked the bottle under his arm while holding the baby in a breastfeeding position. Although it might not work for you, it might still work for her father.