Breastfeeding and baby won’t take a bottle ! It’s not anyones fault!

So your baby has always been able to take a bottle at times from birth and you are planning to go to an event, return to work and baby will be looked after by someone else where a bottle will need to given and baby says no……..

Babies are born with a strong suck reflex and are often able to breastfeed and drink from a bottle in the first month or two due to this reflex.

But things are changing ! Your baby’s oral cavity is expanding!

Jaw is moving forward, the tongue has all this new and exciting range of movement but also at around 2-3 months this suck reflex integrates and all of a sudden they seem to have lost the skill and how to work with a bottle .If anything in the process of bottle feeding doesn’t feel right to a baby - how it feels in their mouth, the flow of the milk . This can create stress , tension and frustration for everyone.

There are lots of ideas in the community about how to remedy this problem. Such as “ if they are hungry enough they will take it” or “ it the bottle can’t be given by the breastfeeding mother”

Your baby is not refusing the bottle intentionally, they need to be helped to learn how to take the bottle and this can take patience, time and practice.

I have completed training specific to “Guiding Bottle Breakthroughs” and can help with an individualised home or telehealth consult and plan for you and your family . This includes

• A unique oral assessment to identify any particular oral challenges your baby may have

• Specific oral exercises tailored to your baby’s needs

• A comprehensive plan to support the process

• Email/phone/google meet follow up and a what’s next plan if baby is 6 months or older and the bottle feeding process is not progressing .

Call me for a discussion about how I may be able to help you