I mentioned in my post yesterday that perhaps breastfeeding was going a little too well because Olive has been rejecting the bottle. Over the Christmas holiday, I exclusively breastfed her for 5 days, and when she was offered a bottle yesterday morning, she threw the biggest fit since she’s been born! I’d never seen actual tears roll down her face. It was pretty heartbreaking, and I had to nurse her to calm her down.

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You hear a lot about nipple confusion, and moms are advised not to introduce bottles too early until breastfeeding is well established, or baby may prefer the bottle over breast. I definitely think this is true for some moms, but I also know far more moms that have had the opposite problem — they introduced a bottle too late and baby wanted nothing to do with it (it’s suggested you introduce a bottle before 4 weeks of age). I just never expected it to happen to me since Olive has had bottles continuously from birth!

Once Olive rejected the bottle, I knew the first step to try was for me to not be in the room while someone else fed her. When she was offered a bottle at her next feeding, she was still very upset and I had to nurse her again. When she was offered a bottle at the feeding after that, she eventually took it with a little bit of coaxing and switching up positions. I then decided that we would bottle feed her in the daytime, and I would only nurse at night so she would know when to expect bottles. Up until that point, I had been taking a break in the middle of the day to nurse Olive.

I nursed her the rest of the evening and last night, and this morning she was upset again when presented with a bottle, but since she’s usually sleepy and relaxed in the mornings, she took that one with relatively little fussing. I thought we were out of the woods, but I can hear her throwing another fit right now because she doesn’t want her bottle (she did end up taking it).

I’m lucky that Olive didn’t have a full out bottle rejection like some babies have. Some take weeks of trying different bottles and tips and tricks before they finally take a bottle… some never take a bottle at all! Olive seems to be getting back on track with a little bit of crying and fussing. I think I’m just going to have to be careful about not going as long as I did this past week without giving her a bottle. I don’t mind breastfeeding her most of the time, but she has to be able to take a bottle or I can never be away from her for more than 3 hours at a time. I can’t blame her for preferring breast over bottle though — it’s so warm, cozy and comforting!

When did you first introduce a bottle to your baby? Did your baby ever reject the bottle?

Breastfeeding Problems part 4 of 13

1. Pumping Supplies by Guides
2. Mastitis Misery by mrs. wagon
3. Elimination Diet Adventures by Mrs. Superhero
4. Tips & Tricks When Baby Refuses the Bottle by Checklists
5. Breastfeeding Woes by breastfeeding
6. Clogged Milk Ducts (and How to Treat Them) by Mrs. Bee
7. Probiotics for Preventing Thrush by Mrs. Bee
8. Mastitis by Mrs. Bee
9. The Shield Between Us by Mrs. Hopscotch
10. Too Much of a Good thing (or dealing with an oversupply) by Mrs. Superhero
11. Battling Oversupply by Mrs. Sketchbook
12. Unsolicited Breastfeeding Advice for New Moms Part II by breastfeeding
13. Mastitis by Mrs. Chocolate