Baby won't take a bottle

Hi all, I'm a first -time poster and I really need some advice and support. My fraternal twin boys are going to be 9 months old on Tuesday. They were born at 35 weeks, and Jack was IUGR. At one point he was 1.5 pounds smaller than his brother and we worried about him catching up. Well, he's now not only caught up but surpassed his brother in weight, height and milestones. But they are both still off the growth chart, so they need to do some more gaining.

Jack drinks about 25oz of formula and breastmilk per day and has 3 small "meals" of solids (rice cereal mixed with breastmilk, yogurt, fruits, veggies, baby food meats, etc.). Nate was doing the same, but *really* likes his solids. I can feed him an inordinate amount of solid food and he keeps wanting more! The problem is that in the last week or so he has started rejecting his bottle (I work during the day, so his caregiver feeds him). He clamps his lips shut, and if you force the nipple in he'll either chew on it or cry. If I'm breastfeeding (evenings and weekends) and he's done, he'll just bite me! He's only getting about 15oz of formula/breastmilk a day and it's tantamount to child abuse to try and force him to take more.

The doctor said at their 8 month check-up to feed them solids until they're full. Well it seems like Nate would rather eat real food than the bottle. I called the ped and talked to a nurse who was very rude and treated me like an idiot. She said that I need to get a minimum of 24oz of formula or breastmilk in him per day, and that "a few pears" aren't good enough to meet his nutritional needs. She said I need to stop feeding him solids until he got hungry for a bottle.

Has anyone else had this problem? How did you get your baby to start feeding from a bottle again?? Would a faster-flow nipple help? I've had them on slow-flow nipples since birth so as not to sabotage the breastfeeding, but at this point I'm desperate!!

 

Sorry you are dealing with this. My boys fight me on the bottle at least once a day, but not to the length you are describing. I have sat there with a screaming child trying to force it in and hold it. Usually the only thing that works when they get that stubborn is I wait for them to fall asleep and then slip the bottle in. Works for me.

 

I did the fast flow nipples, but was thinking maybe now would be a good time to introduce a sippy cup. Maybe something different would peak his interest. My boys have always been small (3rd percentile) and I tried day in day out to force them to drink more than 20oz a day. It was a major stress in my life.

The other thing I was just thinking is that my boys refused the bottle when they were teething. Any teeth on the horizon?

 

First of all :welcome: !

Second of all, I'm sorry about that nurse. Ugh. She needs to find a new job.
QUOTE
She said that I need to get a minimum of 24oz of formula or breastmilk


24oz was a really good day for my babies, we had reflux.

I would try backing off on the solids and see if he takes to drinking more formula/bm, as that is what will put the weight on. If not, I would start making those meals really count. Full fat yogurt, etc, to help get those calories in.

Maybe try Oragel before bottles just in case it is his teeth?

 

Is he getting some new teeth? Sometimes when they are getting teeth it hurts to nurse or take a bottle b/c of the sucking motion. Have you tried getting him to drink from a cup at all? If that's not the problem, then I would back off the solids a bit and be sure to offer the bottle/breast immediately BEFORE solids. HTH

 

Thanks for the welcome, and the advice. We do feed them lots of fatty, rich foods (organic whole yogurts, pureed meats with pan drippings, melted margarine mixed in veggies). I think I'm going to have to scale back, though to see if I can get Nate interested in the bottle. We are still using Neosure as well as breastmilk; I would like to say it's the formula he doesn't like, but he pulls the same antics with bottles of breastmilk.

We've tried a sippy cup (with water and formula for practice), but he hasn't quite gotten the idea yet.

In regards to teething, everyone has been telling me that these guys were teething for the last 6 months and I haven't seen a tooth yet! :lol: Lots of drooling and chewing things since they were about 3 months old. But the teeth should come any day now, so I may try Oragel before feeding and see if that helps!

Keep your fingers crossed for me this weekend!

 

You've gotten great advice already. I just wanted to let you know that we've had similar issues with one of our twins. He much prefers the breast and particularly when he's been teething, getting him to take much in via bottle is an all day struggle. I was hesitant to switch to the faster flow nipples because of nursing also...but we did, and for us, it seemed to really help. He had been so distractable...and then with the slow flow... I think he just wouldn't stick with it. But with the faster flow nipple, he'd get more in and it didn't affect his nursing at all.

I second backing off on the solids and trying to feed him only AFTER he's had a decent (or as best as he will) bottle.

best of luck!!

-maria
DS1 4.5
DS2 DS3 8.5 months.

 

Welcome!
I am in the same boat right now with my DD. She barely takes her bottle( for the last few days about 17 oz.) but she enjoys solids. Starting tomorrow I am cutting on solids and will make sure they both, especially DD back to their 6 oz bottles every 4 hours.
GL

 

9 months and no teeth yet?? Sounds like teething is the major culprit! My dd got her first tooth at 9months 1 week, and then her second at 9 months 2 wks!

He does need to get close to 24 oz of formula for the nutrition, I agree with feeding him the bottle first, try the faster flow nipples and/or a sippy cup. But also a straw cup may work better too. As long as you are holding it My son hated sippy cups but went straight to a straw cup easily!

My dd was eating 3 8oz bottles by 10 months, one first thing in the morning. Then breakfast and lunch were solids, then a midafternoon bottle before nap, then supper and a snack, and one more bottle before bed. It was all about the timing, she had to be hungry to finish that bottle

 

I was about to post something similar as Im in the same boat except mine are older (11 months).

Can you try a sippy cup with milk in instead? If not, could they eat a yogurt instead? Our pedi told me to feed them yogurts if they refuse their milk as they will get tehir nutricion that way. Also, maybeyou could make a small amount of food for him using the formula and adding cereal to thicken it up. It is very filling but ideal for bedtime!

Mine are teething which is why I suspect why mine are rejecting the bottle.

GL!

 

I went out and bought size 2 and 3 nipples last night and started Nate on the size 2 (so as not to suddenly turn the firehose on!). He seemed to drink a lot more; we could sneak the nipple in and he had to swallow a bit instead of having to work at sucking like with the slow-flow nipples. It's still a fight, but we seem to be getting more in him. He's a sweet boy, but very stubborn when he doesn't want to do something! We scaled back on the amount of solids that Nate is getting and gave him an extra 3oz bottle after breastfeeding this morning; he drank about 2oz, but that's better than nothing! I'll also try the sippy cup again and see if he can practice with some formula until he gets it. Otherwise, it's fast-flow nipples or gavage feeding for the poor guy!

Maria, I'm really glad to hear that faster-flow nipples worked for you and didn't interfere with the breastfeeding. That's very encouraging.

I tried to tell the nurse that we were feeding him a lot of whole milk yogurt, but she kept repeating "a little bit of fruit won't do it!". She just wouldn't listen. I may call back and complain to the ped. I love the doctors, but obviously that nurse has communication issues.

I was just confused because the doctor had said to feed them solids until they were full. He never said to make sure they're getting a minimum of forumla/breastmilk, and kept encouraging us to feed more solids. The kicker here is that if I were solely breastfeeding, we'd never know that he wasn't getting enough since there's no gauge on your boob!

It's a little disheartening because my instinct (and obviously Nate's) were to feed more solids, but that's obviously WRONG!!!

Good luck to the others who are having the same issue, and let me know what works for you!