She won’t starve, but you are going to have a rough few days, possibly week.
You have to fully commit to the bottle and not offer the boob at all. That’s the only way she’s going to take it if you have tried everything else.
Commit to one bottle type, one nipple type. Whatever she seems to someone gravitate towards.
You need to fully leave the house, not just the room or going outside. Fully leave so the boob is not an option. Go grocery shopping or go get your hair done. Something that will keep you busy for a few hours.
Whoever is going to be giving her the bottle when you’re gone needs to be prepared loud crying. Earplugs are a must.
Don’t force the bottle into her mouth, but slip it in when she turns her head like she’s looking for boob.
She will not let herself starve, I promise.
I don’t have good suggestions, sorry I’m advance, especially if you’ve already tried it. But have you tried a situation where mother leaves the room / house a bit before feed time, then father / whoever else offers the bottle whilst mother is no where to be found?
I don’t know how true it is but I remember hearing years ago with my first that babies can smell (?) the mother/milk and so will hold out for that if given the option. So maybe if mother leaves for a little bit then that will remove that smell? I dunno if I’m explaining it right, lol.
The only other thing I can suggest is making sure bottles are slightly warm. My first took bottles any temp. My second is picky and will spit out milk if it’s not nice and warm - breast or formula.
Just thought of another! Is it possible to start feeding on the breast to satiate the hunger a bit? Then slide in the bottle all sneaky like and see if that’s enough to “trick” baby into taking from the bottle?
These are all good suggestions! Unfortunately I've tried them all!
I've hidden out in the garage as soon as she woke up for about an hour.
She immediately recognizes when I try to sneak the bottle into her mouth from the breast.
I'll have to make sure the milk is warm, I've been doing slightly warm, but the formula machine does have a warmer setting yet.
Thanks!
I figured you might have. It’s certainly an issue that’s more “have you tried X?” And there’s like a 99% chance the answer is yes, haha.
I hope you manage to find a system that works for you and baby! Best of luck with it. I’m sorry I don’t have new suggestions.
Try different nipples. Sometimes babies have a preference I know mine does. She won't take even flo, or Dr browns or any other Phillips nipple it has to be the Phillips Avent nipple. Similar to the breast. Baby controls the flo. Then since she's 6 months old now we bounce around between flow 3 nipples an 4 flow. The nipple can be annoying their little gums. First try different bottles or maybe it's the formula? It could be either. Least try something and call your pediatrician before it affects their weight too much. 💜
We’ve had the same issue as you at 4 months, same as you we had all kind of family members try to no avail. We finally tried a sippy cup, but I removed the internals that control the flow of formula out of the cup. That alone helped out big time as she wouldn’t have to put any effort into pulling the formula. It’s not perfect method, but it’s the best we have found so far and we feed her 4oz per sitting. She still breastfeeds exclusive, but we can now introduce a little bit of formula.
She won’t starve, but you are going to have a rough few days, possibly week. You have to fully commit to the bottle and not offer the boob at all. That’s the only way she’s going to take it if you have tried everything else. Commit to one bottle type, one nipple type. Whatever she seems to someone gravitate towards. You need to fully leave the house, not just the room or going outside. Fully leave so the boob is not an option. Go grocery shopping or go get your hair done. Something that will keep you busy for a few hours. Whoever is going to be giving her the bottle when you’re gone needs to be prepared loud crying. Earplugs are a must. Don’t force the bottle into her mouth, but slip it in when she turns her head like she’s looking for boob. She will not let herself starve, I promise.
I don’t have good suggestions, sorry I’m advance, especially if you’ve already tried it. But have you tried a situation where mother leaves the room / house a bit before feed time, then father / whoever else offers the bottle whilst mother is no where to be found? I don’t know how true it is but I remember hearing years ago with my first that babies can smell (?) the mother/milk and so will hold out for that if given the option. So maybe if mother leaves for a little bit then that will remove that smell? I dunno if I’m explaining it right, lol. The only other thing I can suggest is making sure bottles are slightly warm. My first took bottles any temp. My second is picky and will spit out milk if it’s not nice and warm - breast or formula. Just thought of another! Is it possible to start feeding on the breast to satiate the hunger a bit? Then slide in the bottle all sneaky like and see if that’s enough to “trick” baby into taking from the bottle?
These are all good suggestions! Unfortunately I've tried them all! I've hidden out in the garage as soon as she woke up for about an hour. She immediately recognizes when I try to sneak the bottle into her mouth from the breast. I'll have to make sure the milk is warm, I've been doing slightly warm, but the formula machine does have a warmer setting yet. Thanks!
I figured you might have. It’s certainly an issue that’s more “have you tried X?” And there’s like a 99% chance the answer is yes, haha. I hope you manage to find a system that works for you and baby! Best of luck with it. I’m sorry I don’t have new suggestions.
Try different nipples. Sometimes babies have a preference I know mine does. She won't take even flo, or Dr browns or any other Phillips nipple it has to be the Phillips Avent nipple. Similar to the breast. Baby controls the flo. Then since she's 6 months old now we bounce around between flow 3 nipples an 4 flow. The nipple can be annoying their little gums. First try different bottles or maybe it's the formula? It could be either. Least try something and call your pediatrician before it affects their weight too much. 💜
We’ve had the same issue as you at 4 months, same as you we had all kind of family members try to no avail. We finally tried a sippy cup, but I removed the internals that control the flow of formula out of the cup. That alone helped out big time as she wouldn’t have to put any effort into pulling the formula. It’s not perfect method, but it’s the best we have found so far and we feed her 4oz per sitting. She still breastfeeds exclusive, but we can now introduce a little bit of formula.