Once breastfeeding is established, some babies can experience bottle refusal. Overcoming bottle refusal can be an extremely stressful process and make you question what’s going wrong.
Here I will give you some tips on different methods to try to overcome bottle refusal with your baby. My experience comes from being a pediatric nurse, certified breastfeeding counselor, and mama of three – one of them being a bottle refusing baby!
I want to start this post off by saying that if your baby refuses bottles, there is absolutely nothing wrong with them.
Once breastfeeding is established, some babies can have an aversion to bottles. The good news is there are multiple steps you can take to encourage your baby to take a bottle. This can be extremely stressful for a mother who needs to return to work and cannot stay home with their baby to breastfeed exclusively.
It can also be stressful for a mother who does stay home, as she will be the only person who is able to feed the baby. And it will also be really difficult for her to have a chance to get away for more than two hours at a time.
If your baby still has difficulty overcoming bottle refusal, just know that it is temporary and within just a few months your baby will be eating solids and can use cups. I’ve learned through motherhood that everything is a phase, and you WILL get through it! Now on to the tips!
Overcoming Bottle Refusal Tips
1. Try offering a bottle when your baby is in a happy mood, not overtired or crying from hunger. If your baby is already crying from hunger, they are going to be less likely to be patient enough to give the bottle a chance.
2. Try having someone else give the baby the bottle other than mom. Often times if the baby knows their mama is around by seeing them or even smelling their breast milk, they will resist the bottle. Having someone else give the baby the bottle also gives the baby the opportunity to get used to taking a bottle from a different caretaker when mom is gone.
3. The first thing a parent usually does when their baby starts refusing a bottle is go out and buy tons of different bottles for them to try. I’m guilty of this as well.
Save your money and try to stick to one bottle. My favorite bottles for a breastfed baby (and really all babies!) are: Evenflo Balance+, Lansinoh Natural Wave, and Dr. Brown’s.
These bottles work because they mimic what the breast actually does when in baby’s mouth. Rather than just looking like a breast.
If you look at the Evenflo Balance+ and the Lansinoh Natural Wave, the nipple shape is sloped and mimics what a breast is like when baby is latched. The Dr. Brown’s is a longer cylindrical nipple. Both of these nipple types allow baby’s tongue to properly cup the nipple the way it should to effectively transfer milk.
If you’re just starting to introduce bottles to your baby, I recommend starting with two of those brands and seeing which one your baby takes to best.
4. Use freshly pumped milk instead of frozen milk. Frozen milk can taste different, especially if your milk has high lipase. High lipase can cause a metallic or soapy taste and smell in your breast milk. This can be a huge factor in causing your baby to refuse a bottle and is an easy fix!
5. Start with trying to give your baby a small amount of milk first, like 1/2 ounce. We consider this a snack. This causes less pressure for the baby to take and is great practice.
You can try it when they’re not really hungry and relaxing, or just before a nursing session when you recognize early hunger cues.
6. Keep the period of time you attempt to give the baby the bottle short. No more than 10 minutes. And if your baby is getting really distressed and uncomfortable during the experience, stop right away. Follow your baby’s cues and just try again at a different time.
7. Make sure your baby feels comfortable in the position they’re in while taking the bottle. The baby will want to feel supported. You can even try having the caretaker give the baby the bottle on the nursing pillow if you use one. Try multiple different holding positions and see if your baby likes one more than the other.
8. Pace feeding! This method of feeding mimics the way a baby would work to get milk from the mother’s breast. Hold the bottle at mid-level with the baby’s mouth, rather than tilting the bottle upward.
This will prevent the milk from constantly dripping out of the nipple, and instead allow the baby to pull the milk into their mouth themselves. Every few minutes, pause and give the baby time to recover and suck at their own pace. Check out my Instagram for more on paced feeding.
9. Including movement like swaying or walking around may help the baby to drink from the bottle. The distraction and movement may cause the baby to relax and be more accepting of the bottle.
10. Stay calm! If your baby senses you getting stressed, they will escalate and become even more distressed.
11. Try a variety of different flows in nipple types. Breastfed babies usually have to work harder to get milk from the breast due to the mechanisms of how breastfeeding works. If they are drinking from a bottle where the flow of milk is coming out of the nipple fast, it may make them uncomfortable and not want to drink from the bottle.
In this case, trying a slow flow nipple may make the experience more comfortable for the baby. I recommend this preemie nipple from Dr. Brown’s for that extra slow flow!
On the other hand, some women may have an oversupply and it causes their milk to come out faster. In this case, your baby may feel more comfortable with a faster-flowing nipple.
Make sure the baby looks comfortable and not struggling to keep up with the amount of milk coming out from a faster-flowing nipple. If the milk is dribbling out from their mouth or they’re coughing, go back to a slower flow nipple. Give different flows a try and see how your baby reacts.
12. Bottle refusal can be related to body tension or oral restrictions such as tethered oral ties. If your baby has struggled from the beginning with bottles, I highly recommend seeing a lactation consultant, occupational therapist, or other professional that specializes in this area.
13. Practice with just the bottle nipple like you would a pacifier. Expose your baby to the feel of it and help desensitize their palette without any pressure to drink from it.
You would do this by simply removing the nipple from the bottle and having your baby practice sucking on it.
14. Give it time! Try, try, try! It may take your baby some time to learn, just like it did when they were learning to latch to the breast. Stay patient and positive!
What If My Baby Still Won’t Take A Bottle?
Remember that this is temporary and soon your baby won’t have to depend on bottles solely. If you’re returning to work, continue sending milk with your baby to their caretaker and have them keep trying. The caretaker can also attempt to give your baby your milk through a syringe or medicine cup.
Your baby may get hungry enough that they eventually take the bottle. Also, don’t forget to give your baby a good feed right before you go!
If your baby does not take the bottle while you are gone, then they may do what is called “reverse cycling”. Once you get back to your baby, they will want to nurse frequently to make up for the milk and calories they were missing while you were gone.
This means they may be nursing frequently through the night. If you can, as the nursing mother, try to get to bed as early as possible to make up for the missing sleep you may experience in the night.
You can introduce an open cup or a straw cup to your baby around 4-6 months. They may do much better with this option and begin taking breast milk much easier.
Overcoming bottle refusal is definitely not an easy task but with lots of practice and patience, it can happen! And just remember if it doesn’t, you and your baby are perfect as you are and with time this will pass.
As a professional and mama who also experienced bottle refusal, I know how difficult this can be and how much it hurts your heart. My bottle refusing baby is now a thriving toddler who has no differences between his non-bottle refusing older sibling!
I truly hope this post helps you with overcoming bottle refusal and that some of these tips work for you and your baby! Good luck!
You May Also Like:
- The Best Proven Ways to Increase Your Breastfeeding Milk Supply
- 10 Breastfeeding Must Haves for New Moms
- 12 Best Bottles for Breastfed Babies Who Refuse a Bottle (2022)
