If your baby won't take a bottle, consider these possible causes and solutions. If he has been weaned fairly abruptly and enrolled in child care where he will need to drink from a bottle, he may well not have had enough time to adjust to this change. He has to adjust to a loss of skin-to-skin snuggling for a nursing. He has to adjust to the feel of a rubber nipple rather than the soft warm human nipple that provided mother's milk. So many bewildering changes often lead to mighty bouts of crying, vigorous turning the head away from the proffered bottle, and spitting out the rubbery nipple that does not resemble mom's nipple in taste and texture at all. Even babies who are not in other-than-mother care sometimes put up a stiff opposition and exhibit much distress when you start a slow process of weaning from breast to bottle.
Some more questions to consider are below. Reflect on the answers and share them with your baby's care provider. She will be happy to have more information that will help her care for your little one.
- Does he like his milk cold, lukewarm, warm, or nearly hot?
- Which angle of the bottle does she prefer?
- Does he want to turn in toward your body as he eats, or hold your fingers or hand?
- Does she like to be wrapped in a cozy blanket while feeding? Is she distracted by sounds or light?
- Does your baby burp easily if he is brought to your shoulder and patted on the back? Or does he prefer to be draped across your lap as you rub his back? Does he like vigorous pats or gentle ones?
