From: watson@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (laura.k.watson)
Subject: Re: Baby refusing bottle
Organization: AT&T
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 19:53:22 GMT

A big Thank You to everybody who sent me mail about my baby not taking 
his bottle.  I have not had time to send out mail replies to each person
personally, but I really truly do appreciate all the advice!

In article <72969@apple.Apple.COM> scott@Apple.COM (scott douglass) writes:
>I wouldn't worry about it too much, unless you have to go back
>to work or something.  My kids followed about the same pattern --
>they took a bottle for a few weeks then never again.  With my first
>I was really upset and tried everything to get him to take a bottle.
>But like you said, he would just wait it out until I got back.

Actually, I already am back at work.  Things are still okay, though,
since I normally go there and nurse the baby during my lunch hour.  
But the daycare people have a tendency to suspect that the baby is 
sick when he won't drink his milk from his bottle.  They start taking
his temperature, and trying to figure out if his ears are infected.

Yeah, on the day I went on a one-day business trip, was the first 
time I really thought for sure he was preferring me to the bottle.
While I was gone from about 5 am to about 10 pm that night, he 
drank maybe about 10 ounces of milk total from bottles all day.  
And he wasn't sick or anything that day.  I'm sure he's taking 
a lot more than that when he is nursing.  

>It's really no big deal.  If I go out, I just nurse the baby first
>and if it's going to be more than three hours I leave baby food (this
>only works after six months or so).  

One day last week he drank a whole 8 ounce bottle of breastmilk at 
daycare.  But it is rare when he does this.  More normal is like 
today, when he wouldn't drink a single drop from his bottle.  Some
days he might drink just 2 or 3 ounces then quit.  It doesn't seem
to be hurting him, though.  He's still growing at a pretty good 
rate, in fact he's somewhere between the 75th and 90th percentile.

He has never taken a bottle from my husband, although he's tried
to give it to him numerous times.  My husband says he starts crying
as soon as he sees the bottle.  Once he took a bottle from me.
But not since then.  He's only three months old right now, so 
I'm just going to go along with it for now.  In another month
or so I'll start trying formula, differnt types of nipples, 
athletic socks, and various things that people have suggested.

>With three kids I don't think
>it's the baby keeping us home at this point.  If we want to go out
>we usualy wait until after bedtime anyway/

Alas, alas and alak.  Both of my children seem to be 
not-morning-people who want to stay up as late as possible at 
night!  By the time they go to sleep I'm ready for sleep too!
And they roll up the sidewalks at 9 pm where I live.

>And I don't think refusing the bottle correlates with late weaning.
>My boys pretty much weaned themselves around a year, by which time
>they were taking whatever fluids they needed from a cup.
>
>So try not to sweat it.  It won't last long.

Yeah, you're right.  Before I know it he'll be weaned and walking 
and talking.  <sigh>  I guess I'm not too worried. 

-- 
Laura Watson           lkw@falcon3.att.com   
                                 
Mom of Stephanie W. Zolayvar ( 2 yrs, 4 months ) and
       Eric W. Zolayvar (3 months)