There are tons of articles with tips on how to get your breastfed baby to start taking a bottle. But what happens when your baby suddenly refuses to take a bottle after months of drinking from it without problems? What causes an older baby to suddenly refuse to take a bottle?
As parents, we’re constantly paying attention to what our babies eat. In fact, we often feed them much better than we feed ourselves. We are so focused on helping them to receive enough nutrients and stay as healthy as possible.
Because of this, it can be alarming when your baby suddenly refuses to drink a bottle and you don’t know why. How worried should you be and what can you do to help your baby start drinking from a bottle again?
Keep reading to learn 7 reasons why your baby might suddenly refuse to drink from a bottle. Plus get pro-tips on how to overcome these common challenges.
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1 – Your baby prefers to nurse.
If you are breastfeeding and bottle feeding, it is super common for your baby to refuse to take a bottle because she prefers to nurse.
While breastfeeding, your baby creates a special bond with you. She associates food time with this special bonding time and will often want to cuddle and nurse rather than take a bottle.
Although your baby may have taken a bottle without problems before, she could be going through a growth spurt or need a little extra love. When this happens, she is more likely to refuse the bottle because she wants to nurse and be close to you instead.
Many moms will notice that their baby seems to drink from a bottle less often at daycare then he nurses at home. Then in the evening, he will nurse much more frequently than he usually does. This can be concerning for moms, but it is completely normal. Often, your baby will drink just enough throughout the day to top off his hunger and then wait to squeeze in lots of nursing sessions once you’re together again in the evening.
Pro-Tip: If your baby starts to show a strong preference for nursing and refuses to take a bottle from you, try to have someone else give the bottle. Your baby has a great sense of smell and can smell your milk on you. Because of this, she is more likely to refuse to drink a bottle from you than when other people offer it.
2 – Your baby isn’t hungry.
We started introducing food at 6 months and instantly our baby fell in love with eating solid food. His eyes light up every time he gets to sit in his highchair and eat meals with us. But as he started eating more food, he also started to refuse his bottle.
Again, this is normal! Once your baby starts eating more solid food, she won’t need as many calories from milk. She will naturally decrease her milk consumption a bit as she takes in more food calories.
If you try to offer your baby a bottle when she’s already full, she’s much more likely to refuse it than if you offer it when she’s hungry. Don’t ever force your baby to drink from her bottle if she isn’t hungry. This can be frustrating for her and can cause stomach discomfort if she becomes overly full. Instead, take a break and offer a bottle in a little bit.
Pro-Tip: They often say that “food before one is just for fun.” T
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3 – Your baby wants a different nipple flow.
However, as your baby gets older, she may become frustrated with the “slow flow” nipples. Now that she’s older, she’s much more efficient at drinking milk and may want to take in more milk at once. Sometimes switching to a faster flow nipple can reduce her frustrations and help her to start taking a bottle better again.
Pro-Tip: Although your baby might be ready for a faster flow, continue to practice paced bottle feeding. Also, only increase your nipple flow as much as your baby needs it. Don’t immediately skip from a slow flow nipple to a fast flow one. Try the medium flow first and stick with that if your baby is doing well.
4 – The milk tastes different.
Your baby might have been drinking from a bottle without any problems but then suddenly start refusing the bottle because of differences in the milk. When you make a bottle, there are several factors that could change how much your baby enjoys the milk.
If your baby is finicky, he may like a very specific temperature for his milk. When it’s too warm or too cold, he can be more likely to refuse his bottle. (This is a great bottle warmer to make sure you always have the same bottle temperature!)
If you’re giving formula, changes in type or brand can also taste different and lead your baby to refuse to drink it. Likewise, if you’re not super precise while you measure the milk, the ratio could be a little different and your baby might refuse to drink the milk when it’s more or less diluted. (Check out this automatic formula maker! It mixes your formula so you always have the same mix and temperature.)
Finally, if you’re giving frozen breast milk, there are a number of changes that can occur during the freezing and thawing process that might cause your baby to start refusing the bottle. One common concern is having excess lipase in the milk. Over time, this breaks down the fats in milk and can cause the milk to taste “soapy,” which some babies will refuse to drink.
Pro-Tip: If your baby starts refusing to drink a bottle, think about what changes could have occurred with your formula brand or frozen breast milk. Carefully measure out your formula or experiment with the milk temperature. You can also try mixing freshly expressed milk with thawed milk to see if your baby will drink it better that way.
5 – Your baby is teething.
Teething is the worst!
Our baby got his first tooth at 4.5 months and now has 7 teeth at almost 8 months. Every time he is teething, I feel so bad for him. It’s clear that he’s feeling uncomfortable and in pain as he waits for those teeth to pop through.
Unfortunately, the sucking motion can often put extra pressure and pain on your baby’s gum. I’ve also heard from several moms that teething pain is worse when babies are laying down than when they are elevated.
This means that it’s pretty common for babies to refuse to lay down and drink from a bottle while they are teething.
The good news is that those teeth will eventually pop through and your baby will feel tons of relief once that happens. The bad news is that sometimes it feels like the teeth take ages to come in.
Try to find teething remedies that help relieve as much pain as possible for your baby. A few options include giving your baby teething toys to chew on, rubbing and massaging her gums with your finger, applying teething gel to her gums, or giving her pain medications. Also, try feeding the bottle in a more seated position to prevent extra pain from reclining your baby to eat.
If you can help minimize her pain and discomfort, she is much more likely to stop refusing the bottle and drink more milk for you.
Pro-Tip: Milk popsicles are great for relieving pain from teething while also helping your baby to take in some milk. If you’re worried your baby isn’t taking in enough milk, you can make a few milk popsicles and then offer them to your baby while she’s teething and refusing a bottle.
6 – Your baby is sick.
When you don’t feel well, you typically don’t feel like eating as much. Likewise, when your baby isn’t feeling well, he is much more likely to suddenly start refusing a bottle.
Do your best to comfort your baby when he isn’t feeling well and try to add in lots of extra snuggles. Continue to offer a bottle as often as you can so that he doesn’t become dehydrated while he is ill. (Dehydration is very serious in babies. If you are worried about your baby’s fluid intake, please call your doctor’s office for more tips.)
Again, do what you can to minimize the symptoms. If your baby has an upset stomach, avoid solid foods or stick to a bland diet until she is feeling better.
If she’s congested, try to keep her head elevated as much as possible and give her a bottle at a more elevated angle (like you do with paced bottle feeding and to avoid acid reflux). This prevents her from being as congested and makes it much easier for her to breathe while drinking her bottle.
7 – Your baby is distracted.
The older your baby gets, the more easily distracted he becomes while he is eating. He wants to be a part of the action and doesn’t want to miss anything around him.
This often causes your baby to suddenly start to refuse to drink from a bottle because he is too distracted for milk.
We’ve noticed that our baby is much more likely to refuse a bottle when the TV is playing, when my husband and I are chatting, or when kids are playing around us.
In these situations, he is much more interested in looking around than drinking from his bottle.
If your baby suddenly starts refusing to take a bottle, I highly recommend that you try to minimize distractions while you offer the bottle. Consider stepping away to a different room with no extra noise or distractions.
Creating a calming environment where your baby can quickly drink his bottle and then return to the fun to eat some solid food or spend time playing.
Do you want to learn more reasons why your baby might not be drinking milk from the bottle suddenly?
I know how scary and stressful it is when your baby starts rejecting the bottle! You constantly worry and wonder what you can do when your baby is not drinking any milk.
Because I know exactly how moms feel when their baby refuses the bottle, I put together the ultimate baby bottle refusal guide THAT WORKS!
In this step-by-step guide, there 20 pages filled with specific things you can start doing right now to finally figure out how to get your baby to take a bottle again plus checklists and worksheets to help you put it all together!
You can work your way through this checklist and try each step until you find exactly what works to help your baby start drinking from the bottle again.
To download this free step-by-step workbook and finally fix your problems when your baby refuses the bottle, click here!
It’s not uncommon for your baby to go through certain phases and refuse to drink from a bottle.
When this happens, try to take a step back and relax.
Your baby won’t starve from drinking a little less for a couple of days.
Try to pay close attention to what is going on with your baby and then experiment to see how you can help encourage your baby to start drinking from her bottle again.
In the meantime, you can add in extra nursing sessions if you are breastfeeding, offer a cup with milk, water, or juice, make milk popsicles, or give foods with
Did your baby ever suddenly refuse to drink from the bottle? What tips helped you?
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My 8 month old is on solids but has started drinking a lot less should I be concerned
Great question! This is very, very common and expected with this transition. When your baby starts eating more solids, they naturally need less calories from milk. If they completely refuse milk, stop having wet/dirty diapers, or seem lethargic, they may be dehydrated. If these happen, I’d call your medical provider to touch base.
Thank you for this article. A lot of great information and tips. My baby is 3 weeks old and I have exclusively been breastfeeding him and I’ve been giving him a bottle a day of 2oz of pump breast milk with his vitamin D inside. One night I introduced him to a pacifier but he rejected the pacifier. The next day I wanted to give him his bottle and he didn’t want to take it anymore. Do you think it was due to the pacifier? What can I do for him to take the bottle again? I was scared of him not taking a bottle and that’s the reason I introduced it to him this early.
I’d keep offering the bottle according to your normal schedule. He might refuse a few days and then get back on track. When you offer try to be extra soothing and make it an extra special time so your baby doesn’t feel apprehensive during bottle feeding. If it goes on longer than a week or so, you can try switching the nipple type or downloading the bottle guide here for lots more tips. Good luck! Feel free to email me if you have any questions!
My boy has been on formula since born , he always loved taking his bottle feed until 4.5 months old now he is 5.5 months old and he rejects bottle all the time even in his sleep. I am so worried tried everything to make him take bottle, we changed bottles/nipples etc reduced distractions. He just won’t take it. I don’t know what to do now 😭
Sorry your family is going through this! I know how stressful it can be. I’d recommend checking out the bottle refusal guide to see it you can figure out what’s causing the refusal, which with help to find the best fix for your family. Feel free to email me if you have any questions while you’re going through it! 🙂 Good luck!
Hi Danielle, my 7 month old daughter is having trouble accepting a bottle suddenly. Both formula (goat) as well as natural breast milk. Also she has developed a dry cough the last month or so. This did not influence her bottle intake before, but last few days it does. She might be teething although we do not feel the teeth yet; not broken through. Her temperature is not high. She usually enjoyed solids, but also the last few days that is more challenging. She has a tongue tie and lip tie lasered away, but her latch was never really great, so despite nursing, she doesn’t get a lot of milk in, because she’s too impatient, not waiting for let downs. Your advice is much appreciated.
I hope things are going better! It sounds like your little one has been feeling under the weather since she’s eating and drinking less than normal. I’d keep offering a bottle as often as possible, and know that she might drink less at a time than normal (like we eat smaller meals when we’re sick). I’d also connect with your doctor and let them know that she is drinking less and has had a cough so they can determine if they’d like to see her. Good luck!! Hopefully she’ll be feeling better soon and drinking well again! <3
Hi there! Great article thanks! We’ve been giving our daughter a bottle since she was a month old. Now she is 3 months. She never loved it but would generally take it. Out of no where she really started resisting. Crying, pushing it with her tounge, turning her head, etc. And then all of a sudden she will drink it (sometimes we have to fight her on it a bit). Sometimes she will drain 3-4 oz, others stop after 1-2. We made the holes bigger so it flows faster and she seems to like that. And she will take it when asleep. She also breastfeeds fine (just fusses if she’s tired). Any advice or ideas on how to get her to fight less with the bottle? Her doc thinks it’s reflux and suggested rice cereal in the bottle but I can’t wrap my head around that since she eats fine otherwise, doesn’t arch, isn’t fussy otherwise Thanks!
Amanda, this is a really common milestone at this age. I always recommend talking with your doctor and following their advice, but I’m not personally a big fan of adding rice cereal to milk unless the doctor can really help to explain why it would be necessary. If you’re concerned about reflux, I highly, highly recommend trying out paced bottle feeding. This can help your baby to feel more comfortable and more in control and help to cut down bottle refusal. You can also try using a syringe or cup if your baby seems to prefer feeding this way. Good luck!
My little boy at 8 months old, has just been in hospital for 10 days receiving medicine everyday. He absolutely hated the medicine and it often would get administered un pleasantly to say the least. He now absolutely refuses the bottle, but has been drinking from a bottle since 6 weeks old. Even after sleeping all night when he should be most hungry in the morning he just clamps his mouth shut. He is also teething but was teething before the hospital visit so i’m worried that he associates the bottle with taking medicine now. It’s been 4 days of trying to get him to take it, sometimes he does under duress but i also don’t want to create a negative experience with the bottle.
Kayla, I am so sorry to hear this! I hope your little boy is feeling better soon! I can absolutely see how your baby might be associating the bottle with these negative experiences. I’d recommend trying to make bottle time really really special for a while. Go into a quiet, private location and enjoy one-on-one time together. Give your baby your full attention and snuggle, listen to relaxing music, sing lullabies, or talk together. If he starts to get upset, calmly talk to him and let him know that you can take a break to cuddle. Try to calm him down and make him feel safe and then gently offer the bottle again. Hopefully this really intentional, positive bottle sessions will help him to feel more comfortable again in no time! <3
Hi! We have very similar experience with bub. Just wondering if you have found a solution. Thanks!
Hey! My son is 8 months old he is formula fed baby from birth. He was taking good quality of milk. But it has been 2 months i am struggling to feed him he cries alot take few ounces while sleep only few. I too much worried what yo do. He is active. But milk is necessary need. He is not even on soids.
I definitely recommend download the baby refusal guide on this page. There are lots of different suggestions and clues in there and one might stick out to you. Also, feel free to shoot me an email and we can go over a few more specifics of your situation to see what we can find out. 🙂 My email is [email protected]
Hi
My baby is formula fed from birth, although he never showed interest in drinking milk but somehow i gave by distracting through all means… from yesterday he is refusing milk at his best…. he is crying…. he is hungry, taking his fingers inside his mouth but refusing to drink milk. I tried everything which previously helped me in his distraction to drink milk, but nothing seems to work now. His no means no…. he is 6.5 months old. We haven’t introduced semi solid food to him but he is not interested in that also… he doesn’t want to eat or drink… I’m very much worried, today i cried also. Pls help
Oh Tanvi, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this! Have you downloaded the bottle refusal guide? I’d flip through it to see if any of those tips help you. I’m working on catching up on emails and will respond there too tonight or tomorrow.
Thank you for this. I am currently separated from my baby’s father and we have an 8-month old daughter.
I exclusively breastfeed her when she is with me. But he has her during the day twice a week while I am at work.
When she is with him, she hardly finishes more than 6-10 ounces of food over an 8-hour period. She is happy and active throughout that time and is looking and feeling good when she gets back to me.
She drinks a little from the cup and turns away. It takes many tries to have her finish a two-ounce bottle.
Is that OK or is there any advice on how to make her eat more while she is with him?
If it’s okay with you guys and she’s not showing signs of dehydration, I’d say it’s okay. You can use this time to work on drinking out of a cup (either open cup, straws, or sippy cups) to push fluids and work on eating solid food. You can also try sending a shirt of yours with to snuggle with during bottle feedings to help your baby feel more comfortable during these feedings. <3 I'd also recommend your baby's father to download the bottle refusal guide and recommend any tips that you think would go over well with her. Then I'd let him know about paced bottle feeding and recommend he do this with each feeding since it more closely monitors breastfeeding and gives your baby more control over the feeding so she feels more comfortable. Good luck!
My 8 month old has started refusing to take a bottle from anymore but mom (he’s been taking a bottle fine since 4 months old, although I generally breastfeed him). This means he won’t drink milk from the nanny (maybe 2 oz all day). He’s started and likes solids and wants to nurse more frequently at night so I’m not too concerned about his total calories but I’m worried about day time dehydration (and I would like more sleep!). Any suggestions for getting him to accept a bottle from someone else? He’ll happily drink 4 oz bottles if I offer them to him, but refuse and start crying if another person tries.
That’s so tricky! I’m guessing he’s missing you and enjoys this time together! I’d keep having the nanny offer the bottle, and also feel free to start offering milk (occasionally) and water as often as he wants in a cup. This will help to make sure he gets enough to drink during the day while you’re gone. As long as he’s still having plenty of wet diapers, it’s a great sign that he’s fully hydrated. To help him take a bottle from other people, you can try sharing any special routines you do (example: always sit in the rocking chair and hum together) and have her mimic those. You can also have them cuddle with one of your shirts or introduce a lovey to see if that helps. 🙂
My 5 month old had a hard time latching when he was a newborn. We didn’t encourage bottles because I wanted to establish a good breastfeeding relationship with him. I thought things were going well, but then I found out last week that he’s lost a whole pound between his December (4 month) checkup and January checkup. I knew that something was a little different in January because he was producing fewer wet diapers. The only thing I can think of that I had changed was that I started eating healthier (but not fewer calories) in January, and we sleep trained over the Christmas break. My supply has tanked – a weighted feed showed he only took in 40 g of milk when it should be like 90.
I’m pumping after every feed now, taking galactagogues to increase my supply, and I’m going to the Dr. for a domperidone prescription tomorrow.
In the meantime, I have tried giving him a bottle just so that he can get something above what I’m giving him, and he is flat out refusing. Sever types of bottles, several nipples, both expressed milk and formula. He’s taken bottles before (most recently he downed 5 oz of expressed milk just three days ago), but now he just turns his head away and cries if I (or my husband) try to give him a bottle.
Should I perhaps give it a few days and then try again? Do you have any advice for a baby who won’t even let the bottle get near him? I’m so worried that he’s not getting enough nutrition and it’s causing permanent damage. I don’t know what I’d do if I can’t get my supply up AND he won’t take a bottle.
I’m going to download your bottle refusal checklist and see if I can figure this out. Thank you for your post, I hope I find something that works!
Monica, so sorry you’re dealing with all of this! I can imagine that it’s a lot of extra stress for you! A few thoughts and ideas for you based on the information you shared here. 🙂
I actually recommend nursing as much as you possibly can. Try out something like a nursing vacation (stay in bed/at home and nurse as much as possible for several days) to boost your supply. If baby doesn’t want to nurse that much, I’d also try to power pump once per day for a week or so if you’re schedule allows to see if that helps to boost up your supply again. I also recommend drinking as much water as possible and following recommendations from your doctor about boosting supply. If you can get your supply back up, it’s often easier than trying to switch to bottles.
In terms of bottle refusal, you’re in a little different situation than most of the readers here because your baby hasn’t taken a bottle yet. One of my favorite techniques for this is to start nursing and nurse for a minute or two, then try to switch over to the bottle. If your baby starts to cry, go back to nursing for a few minutes and then offer the bottle again. This can help your baby to get more comfortable and familiar with the bottle because he already loves cuddling with you and nursing. I also HIGHLY recommend paced bottle feeding because it mimics breastfeeding much more closely and is a more comfortable experience for your baby.
Good luck and email me if you have more questions! >>> [email protected]
Thanks very much for your advice :).
With lots of pumping, I’ve been able to get my milk supply up enough that my son is now satisfied with a feed (what a wonderful moment when your child nurses, then starts cooing happily afterward!).
We are still trying to get him to take a bottle; we’re to the point where he will keep the bottle in his mouth but won’t drink out of it lol. He takes NUK pacifiers so I have a NUK bottle with a latex nipple coming in the mail soon.
Thanks again!
Yay! That makes me so happy! Have you gotten the new nipples? How’s that going so far?
My baby was exactly the same. But she takes a pacifier so when I bought her the bottle from the same brand she immediately took it. Also my baby will only take fresh milk
Yay!!! I’m so glad you were able to figure out what worked for baby! Great job! 🙂
Hello , my son is two months old and just recently he stop taking the bottle i usually Pump and feed him through the bottle but as today he drank from the breast in the am and then the bottle about 2 hours later and took A 3 hour nap had about 3 ounce and now Will not Take the bottle at all that was about 5 pm he drank A little Breast but not much
This is actually really common around this age. I’d recommend sticking to your schedule and being consistent. Typically, if you keep offering a bottle, your baby will get over the hump before you know it. If you need more tips, check out the bottle refusal guide and feel free to send me an email. 🙂
My baby is going to be 5 months old this Friday! She started refusing the bottle feeds for two days now. She would shut her mouth close when the nipple is near her mouth. She would allow us to put the bottle in and get a few good sucks and then let go. We are currently using Philips avent natural bottle and nipple. She has been feeding on this bottle since her first month with no problems. I signed up for your baby bottle survival guide. Here is a little history she had a hard time breast feeding when she was born so we got her on bottle feeding pretty early on. She has been mostly fed by me (dad). She just started refusing to eat with me for the last three days and only takes to my wife’s mom (maternal grandmother) to feed and even then she fights her. She use to start and finish feedings in 10-12 minutes, now it is taking us upwards of 45mins to get an ounce or two in. I am pretty stressed out that she isn’t getting enough to eat.
Phil – so sorry you’re dealing with this! It so stressful! Look through the guide and see if any of these ideas make sense. Feel free to email me at [email protected] and we can brainstorm back and forth a little more too. It’s totally possible that she’s battling an illness, dealing with a growth spurt, or getting ready to sprout some teeth which can all have a big impact on her desire to take a bottle. In general, she might have days where she wants to drink more/less and it’s okay if she has a little less for a few days. The main think to keep an eye out for is wet diapers. If she suddenly has a big decrease in wet diapers, call your doctor because dehydration can be really serious. Anyway, feel free to email me and we can go over things in more detail. Good luck!!!
My bubba is 9 months old and is currently cutting his top middle front teeth. Suddenly he has stopped taking his bottle, I’m assuming this is from teething. Will he go back to the bottle and should I start thinking about contacting a doctor as it’s nearly been a week.
I’d guess that there’s a super good chance that the baby bottle refusal is from teething. My baby always refused the bottle while teething because his gums were sore and he didn’t like the extra pressure from the bottle. If your baby isn’t having several wet diapers a day, you definitely want to check in with your doctor as soon as possible because this can be a sign of dehydration, which can be super dangerous for your baby. However, you can definitely call earlier if you’re worried. Listen to you gut and just check in with the doctor if that helps you to feel better. In the meantime, if your baby is drinking out of an open cup, straw, or sippy cup, you can try to give milk or water that way to give extra fluids while you can. Good luck!
My 9 month is completely shutting his mouth when we give him bottle . He always drank milk only with distractions. When he was 3 months old doctors diagnosed with aspiration and had to add gel mix to thicken milk. That stage has passed when he is 7 months old and he drank milk normally. He is teething now and simply shuts his mouth for milk. Opens for water with same bottles and tests. Eats his solids. Can’t get even 1 oz of milk now from last 1 week. Only solids and water. He eats yogurt . Tried pediasure. Same thing. Any suggestions to disguise formula into foods.
Oh my goodness! I am so sorry you’re dealing with this Harsha! Since this is more complicated, I’d definitely talk to your doctor more to discuss different options. If he’s struggling with aspiration, you might also want to ask about seeing an occupational therapist or speech therapist to check for things and get their advice. If he’s already taken thickened milk, you could also ask your doctor about making it even thicker and spoon feeding this to him. I used to work with adults with disabilities and this was a great option for some people who couldn’t drink milk, but still wanted to add it into their diets. Good luck to you and your family!!
Baby is refusing to eat, or open her mouth, after we forced her mouth shut today, to keep the second dose of Calpol down after the third round of injections.
Oh I’m so sorry that you’ve been dealing with this! I somehow missed this when you first posted, but I hope things have gotten better. It can add in an extra layer of difficulty if you have to give meds and your baby isn’t a fan. Lots of support coming your way!
My 10 month old baby girl suddenly refused milk. I have tried every ways possible but she still refuses. Good thing is she still eat her food and drink water as per normal. She already has 4 teeth popped out. Should I be worried? 🙁
I recommend checking out the Bottle Refusal Guide that I have linked above. It shares so many tips and ideas of things you can try. But also, I wouldn’t worry too much. Around this age, our baby started eating much more solid food and transitioned away from as much milk. As long as your little one is still having wet and dirty diapers, it’s okay if she is drinking less milk. 🙂
My baby is 2 months plus, she is currently sick with cold and
She suddenly started to refuse bottle feeding but prefers to nurse.
Please what do I do
Poor kiddo! I’m sorry you’re family has to deal with this all at once! I definitely recommend to keep offering the bottle (or nursing since you are also breastfeeding) as often as possible while she’s sick. The extra fluids are important. With that being said, when you’re little one is sick, she is much more likely to want to turn to you and breastfeed for comfort rather than bottle feed. She also won’t drink as much overall since she isn’t feeling well. It’s a lot like when adults are sick. We want to cuddle or spend time with loved ones just relaxing together and often don’t eat as much as usual. Keep a close eye on her diapers. You want to make sure that she is still having several wet diapers a day. If not, definitely call your doctor as soon as possible as she might be dehydrated from drinking less and dehydration is very dangerous for babies. Even if she is still having we diapers, if she isn’t feeling well and is refusing to drink milk, you can certain still schedule an appointment with your doctor just to get everything checked out and make sure they don’t have any other recommendations. Hopefully she’ll be feeling better and drinking like normal again in no time!
Last week my LO refused to take a bottle. She normally drinks about 30 to 35 oz per day and all of a sudden down to 15 to 20 oz a day, and we thought, maybe it was the formula. So we bought another brand of formula and she still refused to drink. Maybe she was ready for whole milk and no longer like formula and sure enough she still refused. At this point we didn’t know what to do, she was still using her binky so we assumed no teething or what not.
My LO is very particular about her binky, it has to be this type and color. Recently she stopped using the binky on the left and only uses the right one. The left one got soft and probably worn out and the right binky is hard. We thought maybe the bottle nipple is worn out, so we switched to a harder nipple and she began to drink her milk. Took us one whole week to figure that out!
Wow thank you so much for sharing!!! We have changed out our nipples a couple of times as they got worn and I never even thought about adding this to this guide. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
I go back to work in a month and i am trying to bottle feed my 2 months baby but she will either cry and push out the bottle with her tongue or just play around with the nipple of the bottle with her tongue. The longest we have gone without feeding her was 5hrs until we gave in…She used to take the bottle when she was 2wks to 4wks but then i went back to breastfeeding. My question is, should i continue to try to bottlefeed her persistently with the same bottle she took before or should i try to buy different types of bottles to try on her?
If it were me, I would try to go a few more days or so and just keep encouraging the same bottle (Mostly because I’m cheap, lol!). I would also ask your partner, family, or friends to try to offer your baby the bottle to see if that might help since often times nursing babies are more open to take a bottle from people other than mom. After a few days, I would try another bottle type to see if that would help. Good luck mama! Don’t worry, she’ll get there! <3
Hey, Thank you for your helpful post! I’m going back to work so I’ve had to stop breastfeeding and start bottle feeding. For a few weeks she was taking 8oz before bed, with 1 or 2 night feeds – much better then we where exclusively breastfeeding so it felt bliss! At our check up with our health care visitor they where concerned with how little solids and milk she was having in the day and asked if we could night wean her. Since we have done that her milk intake has literally halved! she now only has 4oz before going to bed. It doesn’t make sense?! Or is it normal for a baby to cut back on milk in the day when the milk intake at night goes away? Thanks xx
Thank you! I’m so glad you found it helpful! I’m not sure how old your baby is, but yes, this is totally normal. As your baby gets older, she will start to drink less milk at night because she will start drinking more milk/eating more food during the day. We try to make sure our baby has a filling supper with protein, fiber, and healthy fats. He usually goes to bed about 1-2 hours after supper and just has a small bottle of milk before going to sleep. I’d keep an eye on your baby’s hunger cues. If she isn’t acting super hungry and is still having wet and dirty diapers, she should be good to go! (Also, if it helps to reassure you, our baby is pretty chubby 😉 and he typically only drinks about 16 ounces of milk each day, with only about 4 ounces before bed, so this is totally normal.)
Great summary of common causes of milk refusal in babies. You may have this somewhere in the post of the 7 reasons, but I would definitely recommend that if milk refusal persists more than a few days or there are any concerns of dehydration, to contact the pediatrician. Sometimes, there are physical or psychological issues that could cause milk refusal. My daughter was 3 months when she started refusing milk and we had to spoon/dropper feed her to keep her hydrated and not be in the Emergency Room or end up on g-tube. Every time we took her to the pediatrician, they found her hydrated enough to not indicate Emergency Room evaluation and continued to monitor her weight. She dropped from 50%-25%-6% finally over 6 months period and finally the pediatrician believed me that it’s a struggle to have her accept the bottle. The above 7 points you mentioned are great suggestions and none were indicated for my daughter. We simply had to figure out a way to distract her to have her accept the milk bottle so she started finally gaining some weight and has stayed at 15% since then…on a side note, she doesn’t eat anymore than she ate at 6 months of age so she still has to drink lots and lots of milk (and no, starving her still does not help). It’s been a frustrating experience and takes the joy out of parenting sometimes, and has been hard to see that the doctors won’t do anything about it simply because I do a good job at hydrating her. Of note, I’m a physician myself, specialized in urgent care (this is where my re-hydration skills have come from). So for all the parents who have tried to verbalize any persistent feeding issues to your doctor and have been unheard, I know how exhausting it can be. Find a doctor that will listen and go with your parental instincts. Don’t let anyone else tell you to starve your child or that your child is just a picky eater and the phase will wear out. Every doctor is different and I hope that you find good help soon!
Thank you so much for this great comment! I’m working on a few updates for this post and I want to really stress the importance of listening to your mom instincts and talking to your doctor when something is wrong. On a side note, I am so glad that you knew what to do and kept looking for a doctor that would listen to you! And I am so glad to hear that you baby has been growing more! I hope that she keeps on growing more and more! 🙂
We have the same problem,she is 8 months now just started refusing the bottle again!
Have been 3 times hospitalized 3 times so far.This is crazy!
She has severe reflux ever since she was born.
Oh my goodness! I am so sorry you have been dealing with this and so happy that you have a medical team that can help when needed! Have you started solid foods yet? Have you noticed this helping at all of make it less likely for her to be hospitalized if she refuses the bottle? Lots of hugs and well-wishes to you and your little one!
This sounds just like my granddaughter..the only way to get milk into her is to force feed with Syringe. She is now 6 months and thus has been going on for at least 4 months.
Did you resolve this? Was there a cause? At the moment my daughter hasn’t found anyone to help..they just shrug their shoulders and say they have never seen it before.
Any helpful comments would be appreciated
I am so sorry your family is going through this! I can’t imagine how challenging this is and frustrating that your daughter hasn’t gotten any help so far! If the syringe feeding is working and she’s gaining weight well and having enough diapers and it works okay for your daughter, she can certainly keep doing this. It might be a good idea to ask about a referral to an occupational therapist or speech therapist as well. They should be able to do different swallow tests to see if that’s having an impact. I’d also recommend that they double check for a lip or tongue tie. Sometimes this can impact how a baby sucks on a nipple and could potentially cause bottle refusal. Good luck to you all!
Hi I’m having the same problem my daughter is 9 months and we’re on week 2 where she just refused to take a bottle feed however she drinks it from a spoon or cup but it takes too long or Evn a syringe, after many attempt of giving the bottle she jus refuses to put the bottle close to her mouth even though Iv changed the bottles what else could I do? Im really struggling with this bottle feeding issue
Mia, I know how hard this can be and I’m so sorry you’re going through this! Is this a relatively knew thing with your daughter or has it been a struggle for a while? If she’s able to take in milk from a spoon, syringe, or cup, that’s great because it can help to make sure that she’s staying hydrated. Some babies will actually start the transition off of the bottle and over to a sippy cup/open cup at this time, which can be super nice for you because you don’t have to struggle to wean off the bottle later. When our baby was around this age, he refused to drink the bottle every time that he was teething. He started getting his molars around this time and it always seemed too painful to drink out of the bottle, but once they popped through he was back to normal.
I’d download the checklist if you haven’t already to test out some of the ideas there to see if any of those work for you. In the meantime, I’d work with your daughter to become more independent drinking out of a sippy cup or open cup. Hopefully she can still get plenty of milk in that way! 🙂 (PS – this is the post we used to teach drinking out of an open cup – https://mylittleeater.com/opencupdrinking/)
So what was the issue? Do you know? what happened when your Pediatrician finally listened?
My boy just turned 8 months and has refused to take bottle… But i dont see his any tooth com8ng out so far.i m so waiting for his tooth to show up.
Sometimes it takes a little time for the teeth to pop through! Our baby started to get fussy a few weeks before his new teeth finally popped through. Hugs to you and your baby boy! Hopefully it pops through soon and he starts feeling better and drinking the bottle again. 🙂
My 3 month old just started absolutely refusing a bottle and it’s breaking my heart!! She just absolutely screams her head off when we try these days. But she had done amazing the past 3 months with bottles, so I don’t understand the sudden change. I’m praying so hard it’s just a phase and possibly a growth spurt?? Because she has been nursing more than normal…but I still don’t know what to do or how to get her to take it. The past week has been so so hard 😭
I know exactly what you mean! We were so stressed when our baby suddenly started refusing a bottle! Hopefully it’s just a growth spurt! Keep offering a bottle and be patient and soothing with your baby and hopefully she’ll be taking it again in no time! <3 Hugs mama!!
you’ve probably tried this but sometimes it’s to do with burping and colic some babies get it bad with not many visible symptoms but are very uncomfortable and in pain. Best of luck x
Great point!!! Thank you so much for adding! We saw this when my little guy was struggling with gas problems. But one we were able to support him more to relieve this, things got so much easier for us!
Thank you so much for your help , i just changed her bottle and she drank the milk but only 4oz she usually drinks 6 she’s been giving me a hard time especially at night around 4 am around her feeding time :/
I hope it’s helpful for you and your little one! Babies go through so many changes in such a fast period of time. We noticed our baby started to refuse a bottle when he was getting ready to drop his 4 am feeding time. It seemed like he wanted a few snuggles and a little help getting back to sleep but wasn’t hungry enough for a bottle and would refuse it if we offered it. We tried waiting a little longer before going in to soothe him when he woke up and he actually started sleeping through the night. Maybe that’s the case for you too! 🙂
The same is happening to my 3.5 month little one now. We are mix feeding. He bottle feeds during the day, though I also get to breastfeed when he wants to. I breastfeed throughout the evening. But just a week ago, he started refusing bottles and only wants to nurse. I have tried swithing nipples, milk brand, and experimented on feeding positions, but I only get to bottlefeed him while he sleeps.
So many babies go through this and it is so stressful! Just try to keep offering the bottle and soon he should start taking it again. It might also help to have a family member or friend try to offer the bottle, since your baby is associating nursing with you and might not want a bottle from you when he would rather cuddle and nurse. <3
I’m currently going through this and am beyond frustrated. My daughter is 2.5 months and has been bottle fed since birth. We never had an issue until the last day or two. She acts hungry but when we give her the bottle she throws her head back and forth and never gets a good latch. Or she just sits there and pacifies herself. And doesn’t eat. She normally eats 24 oz or so a day. Today we are only at 12. She has serious issues with spitting up and is on medicine for that. But I’m at my wits end with this situation. She’s on a slow flow nipple. But I’ve tried a medium and that does nothing.
I got the best advice ever from someone who told me that babies are amazing at regulating their hunger and telling us when they are hungry. Some days they will eat every hour and drink double the amount of milk. The next day, they might eat half as much and take longer breaks in between. It’s hard, but try to look for signs of hunger. There’s a chance she’s not hungry and is trying to tell you she’s full. If she is showing signs of hunger, she might be coming out of a growth spurt or teething or getting a cold. These were really big factors for us when our baby was that young. Keep an eye on dirty and wet diapers and check with your doctor if she isn’t having very many and keeps eating around 12 ounces per day. But if it’s just a day here and there, she might still be full from yesterday. Hugs to you! I know how stressful it is when this happens!
My three month old has started refusing her bottles. The problem is she’s at daycare from 6:30-3:00 pm. I go in and feed her around 11, but she’s not taking bottles during other regular feeding times. Same mix of formula and breast milk that it’s always been. I’m concerned because she’s so tiny and that is a LONG time to go without eating. Any ideas?
That’s so hard! I know exactly what you mean! It is so stressful when you worry about your baby getting enough to eat. <3 My first tip is to try to keep pushing through. Sometimes babies will refuse for a few days and then snap out of it just as suddenly as they started. If that doesn't work, I would play around with the nipple flow and style and also try to mix up the milk options a little. If you pump, you could have excess lipase in your milk which makes a big difference in the taste and many babies don't like it. (You can either taste or smell your pumped milk. If it has a high lipase level, it has more of a soapy taste/smell.) You can try changing the ratio of pumped milk to formula or try freezing the milk as soon as you pump and then serving as soon as you thaw it in order to help. Good luck mama!
I just read all the reasons why baby is refusing bottle and it all makes sense but I’m still unsure as to why my baby is refusing it. I can only give her the bottle when she’s asleep. So I dream feed during the day and night. It’s so hard. I have cried so many times because it’s been 3 weeks like this. Prior to this happening she was drinking her bottles and loving it ! She’s 4 months old. I’m so worried and not sure what to do anymore 🙁
Oh mama! This sounds so challenging! I’m so sorry you are going through this! Feel free to shoot me an email and we can brainstorm a little more together. <3 Stay strong, you can do this!!
The same is happening to my 3.5 month little one now. We are mix feeding. He bottle feeds during the day, though I also get to breastfeed when he wants to. I breastfeed throughout the evening. But just a week ago, he started refusing bottles and only wants to nurse. I have tried swithing nipples, milk brand, and experimented on feeding positions, but I only get to bottlefeed him while he sleeps.
This is exactly how we were for a while and it was so stressful when he started refusing the bottle! Good for your for trying out so many different options! You are amazing! I noticed that our baby VERY strongly preferred nursing anytime that he was teething. It seemed like it was too uncomfortable sucking from the bottle and he always seemed to refuse it while nursing. Our baby got his first tooth right around 4 months and this was the first time we saw this, so maybe your baby is an early teether too! 🙂
These are all great reasons why a baby would start refusing a bottle. We had trouble getting our daughter to drink from a bottle, but she never refused it. She didn’t necessarily drink out of a bottle every day. It was only when I was away from her for the occasional date night or when I was going for a long run. I am sure that when a baby starts refusing a bottle after taking it for several months can be frustrating for parents, but these reasons help ease their mind. Each reason makes complete sense and something parents may not realize or think about at the time. Thanks for the valuable information!
Thanks so much for your kind comment! It can be frustrating and concerning when your baby suddenly refuses it, but thinking about the little things can help you get over the hump. 🙂
Thankfully I have a wise woman in my life who introduced me to the concept of slow flow nipples. When I went back to work, I had no clue. I am seriously convinced that switching to a slower blow nipple is what saved our nursing relationship.
Yes!! I wish I would have known this from day one! Our baby got a bottle in the hospital to help with his low blood sugar, but then it took a few months for him to nurse successfully because he wanted a faster flow! You are lucky to get this tip right away!
These are all great tips! My daughter only went through this once and I think it was because she was sick. She just wanted to nurse all day.
Yes! We’re just getting over a nasty bug here and my little guy has wanted to sneak in lots and lots of extra comfort nursing to help feel better. <3
My baby is a boobie monster and REFUSES a bottle. He actually smacks it out of my hand and sends it flying. Funny thing, he will drink water out of a bottle or cup but not milk. I never thought about the teething aspect….maybe that’s the issue?! Thanks for all of this great info! 🙂
hehehe, I can completely picture this! Some babies STRONGLY prefer nursing and have a much harder time adjusting to bottles. Teething makes a huge difference for us! HE rarely takes a bottle while he is teething, poor baby!
Danielle – such a great roundup of all the possible reasons baby refuses a bottle. When you’re having a problem with your infant google can be your worst enemy – it’s so great to have all these options for what could be going on in one post! My little decided she wasn’t taking the bottle two weeks before I went back to work. It was like she knew we were going to be separated.
Three types of bottles, hours of stress, and a few trips of me just leaving her with daddy, we figured it out, but it was SO stressful. I would have loved to have this resource during that time to try and figure out what was possibly happening when she refused the bottle!
This is almost exactly the same thing that happened with us! He started refusing the bottle right before he actually NEEDED to take it! I’m so glad you found this information helpful! Thank you for your feedback!
I’m currently going through this right now. I’ve been back at work for about a month now and just a few days ago started to refuse his one bottle he gets while I’m away. Im only gone for one feeding. So he doesn’t go too long and he’s been taking one bottle a day for months, even before I returned to work. He’d get a breastmilk bottle with his vitamins in it, never a issue. Suddenly he doesn’t want to take it. Im figuring he’s just getting older and preferring me over the bottle but now I’m wondering if it’s possibly the older milk and he’s not liking the taste. Today I’m going to try giving him a more recent pumped milk in his bottle and see how that goes. Thank you for this great article.!
Thank you so much for the feedback!! I hope this helps you and your baby!!
Please help! I have same issue with my 7.5 months boy,he will only take 1 oz when previously took 6 oz..but whe i gave him milk in the cup he will take it and even ask for more,today we took him to the doctor and he said he have some allergies ansd his nose is blocking during feeding so he describe a powerful medication,but i don’t believe this is the reason.he ia already on a fast flow nipple and have 2 lower teeth…please i would appreciatw any suggestion
I’m glad you were able to go to your doctor and get a few ideas! If your baby is taking milk from a cup instead, you can definitely keep offering milk in a cup instead of by bottle. He might just be ready to make that transition a littler earlier, which which help you a ton later because you won’t have to struggle to wean off the bottle.
We’ve noticed that our baby doesn’t take a bottle as well when he’s sick because his nose is congested. Medicine and/or slowing down the feeding and offering breaks to burp and breathe a little helps us as well. Also, if you’ve started solid foods recently, that might reduce the amount of milk that your baby is drinking because he’ll start getting more calories from food. Just keep an eye on his weight and wet/dirty diapers. As long as he’s staying on his growth curve and having wet and dirty diapers and if your doctor feels good about things, you should be good as well. <3 Good luck!!!
I have been pumping breast kiln and feeding my baby from a bottle. He is now 9 weeks old and go the last few weeks he fights the bottle with daytime feeds, spits it out, cries, kicks, then he tires out and takes it in his sleep. Is there anything i can do todo get him to feed better during the day? And awake?!
Darla, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this! I know how challenging it can be! He might be going through a growth spurt, which can cause extra fussiness. I would also check out the tips on pumped milk (and lipase) to see if that is affecting your baby. Maybe you can freeze right away or boil it to help him. Good luck!
My son much preferred the bottle to nursing, so that was never a problem for us. However, he would start to refuse it after a few sips when teething, but then he would be cranky because he was hungry. It was a vicious cycle until we started solids.
Yes!! I was so surprised to learn how much teething impacted babies being able to drink out of a bottle comfortably. Those pesky teeth are no fun! I’m glad things got easier once he started eating solid food!
Refusal of the bottle is probably one of the most frustrating things we had to deal with as parents of milky babies. It felt IMPOSSIBLE to do anything because we could never let someone watch them.
Great article with information for understanding why babies do this. <3
Thank you so much for the feedback! I agree that it is such a difficult situation!
I love your pro tips. My babies pretty much-refused bottles all together. They just wanted me. It was exhausting.
Breastfeeding is such a commitment! I didn’t expect it to be as demanding as it is, but it is exhausting! Especially when they don’t want to take a bottle to give you a little break.
This is a great list and I think me and my son have gone through all of them! There was a few days where he just didn’t want to eat and I couldn’t figure it out and he was right in. the middle of a growth spurt. These kids keep you on your toes thats for sure!
Yes! I couldn’t agree more! As soon as we get the hang of things, they like to change it up a bit! 😉
This are really helpful and very accurate tips, thanks Danielle! I think #3 happens to every mother as her baby grows but it’s hard to remember to switch the nipple flow as they grow. This checklist is perfect for moms!
Thank you so much Savannah!! I completely agree with it! You don’t even think of it and then one day they’re ready for a faster flow!
These are pretty on point! In the moment of panic and worry, it’s a great list to refer to and ease your mind. Thank you!!!
Thank you so much for checking it out!!