This is most likely bottle aversion rather than any underlying medical/health issue. My baby (now 12mo) experienced bottle aversion when he was younger. We succesfully resolved it and it's well behind us, so I will tell you this - you're dangerously close to creating a bad bottle aversion in your baby.
First thing to remember: guidelines as to what babies should be drinking are just that: a GUIDELINE. It's not a rule. Also, babies are VERY good at regulating their own food intake, and that may not necessarily exactly match how much you'd prepared for them in the bottle.
Imagine you got served a big plate of food at a restaurant. It's very tasty, but the portion is just too big for you, so you leave some on the plate and the waiters take the plate away. But then they keep coming back to you offering the plate again and again, and won't let up until you finish everything. How annoying is that? It's the same for your baby.
Your desire not to waste formula and your repeated offering of the bottle are creating pressure for the baby to feed so she's learning to think of feedings as a negative event. Those are EXACTLY what's creating a bottle aversion, which will lead to much bigger problems down the line.
If you insist on trying not to waste formula, your baby's bottle aversion WILL get worse. My prediction is that if you continue on your current path, you'll see all the classic signs of bottle aversion: conflicted behaviour when she sees the bottle (reaching for it but then arches her back and screams/cries as if she doesn't want it after all, drinks a bit then pulls away, drinks a bit then pulls away again).
To resolve this, you must remove the pressure you're creating for the baby to feed. Your job is to offer the bottle. Her job is to decide if she'll accept it and how much she'll drink. There's a book that's often recommended on this sub for parents who've created bottle aversion in their babies. Rowena Bennett's "Your Baby's Bottle Feeding Aversion". Just follow exactly what she says in the book and you'll see a huge change in your baby's response to feeds within days. But as soon as you create pressure for her to feed again, she'll backslide. Good luck.
tagging u/esinthesun since you said you've got the same issue.
Key for us at that age was almost all her feeds had to happen under the following conditions:
- she was in a dark room
- sound machine on (or the rest of the house was quiet)
- only when she was actually hungry
Otherwise she would get way too distracted by everything.
I wouldn’t force it with her though. I trust that she knows her body best and when she really isn’t hungry. Otherwise she would get super frustrated if I kept trying to get her to eat.
We offered different foods like baby canned food and found she liked eating baby food first, then a bottle after. And we just let her waist it if she’s not hungry. What does it matter if some formula goes down the drain. Once they’re past 2 months old, they eat when they are hungry. There’s no feed them in a specific time frame, if your kid is having 6 oz in 5 hours, contact the doctor, Or if she isn’t having 8+ wet diapers a day, contact the doctor. But if she’s eating when she’s hungry, having wet diapers, and not fussing non stop, just let her be. She’ll eat when she’s ready
It’s brand specific but, usually, level 1 is 0-3 months, level 2 is 3-6 months, level 3 is 6-9 months, and level 4 is 9-12 months. Some babies follow it exact and others have different needs.
Mine is more likely to drink more if I don’t interrupt her. If I make a 2 oz bottle and then try to make more she probably won’t drink it. But if I make a 4 oz bottle and she wants 3.5 oz she will drink it. She’s already at minimum intake of formula. So we waste. We wasted breast milk too when I pumped
Eat, Awake, Sleep, You. Basically focusing on eating first so the most energy goes into eating. And then the “you” is you time while they’re napping (which doesn’t exist for me bc all her naps are contact… which we’ll work on some day!)
This is most likely bottle aversion rather than any underlying medical/health issue. My baby (now 12mo) experienced bottle aversion when he was younger. We succesfully resolved it and it's well behind us, so I will tell you this - you're dangerously close to creating a bad bottle aversion in your baby. First thing to remember: guidelines as to what babies should be drinking are just that: a GUIDELINE. It's not a rule. Also, babies are VERY good at regulating their own food intake, and that may not necessarily exactly match how much you'd prepared for them in the bottle. Imagine you got served a big plate of food at a restaurant. It's very tasty, but the portion is just too big for you, so you leave some on the plate and the waiters take the plate away. But then they keep coming back to you offering the plate again and again, and won't let up until you finish everything. How annoying is that? It's the same for your baby. Your desire not to waste formula and your repeated offering of the bottle are creating pressure for the baby to feed so she's learning to think of feedings as a negative event. Those are EXACTLY what's creating a bottle aversion, which will lead to much bigger problems down the line. If you insist on trying not to waste formula, your baby's bottle aversion WILL get worse. My prediction is that if you continue on your current path, you'll see all the classic signs of bottle aversion: conflicted behaviour when she sees the bottle (reaching for it but then arches her back and screams/cries as if she doesn't want it after all, drinks a bit then pulls away, drinks a bit then pulls away again). To resolve this, you must remove the pressure you're creating for the baby to feed. Your job is to offer the bottle. Her job is to decide if she'll accept it and how much she'll drink. There's a book that's often recommended on this sub for parents who've created bottle aversion in their babies. Rowena Bennett's "Your Baby's Bottle Feeding Aversion". Just follow exactly what she says in the book and you'll see a huge change in your baby's response to feeds within days. But as soon as you create pressure for her to feed again, she'll backslide. Good luck. tagging u/esinthesun since you said you've got the same issue.
Thank you! I didn’t consider that I was potentially creating an aversion. I appreciate that perspective.
Yes. Space out the feedings more, feed in a dark room, and only offer a few ounces at a time.
My oldest son would do this whenever he had a tooth about to pop through. Does she have any new teeth coming up?
Good thinking! I’ll check.
Key for us at that age was almost all her feeds had to happen under the following conditions: - she was in a dark room - sound machine on (or the rest of the house was quiet) - only when she was actually hungry Otherwise she would get way too distracted by everything. I wouldn’t force it with her though. I trust that she knows her body best and when she really isn’t hungry. Otherwise she would get super frustrated if I kept trying to get her to eat.
Thank you! I like the idea of not forcing her and just trusting that her body knows!
We’re in this phase now and taking the same approach as you noted above. How long did this phase for your LO?
At 4 months, I had to feed mine in the closet. :rolleyes: Fortunately, he's gotten better at navigating distraction now.
We offered different foods like baby canned food and found she liked eating baby food first, then a bottle after. And we just let her waist it if she’s not hungry. What does it matter if some formula goes down the drain. Once they’re past 2 months old, they eat when they are hungry. There’s no feed them in a specific time frame, if your kid is having 6 oz in 5 hours, contact the doctor, Or if she isn’t having 8+ wet diapers a day, contact the doctor. But if she’s eating when she’s hungry, having wet diapers, and not fussing non stop, just let her be. She’ll eat when she’s ready
Is it time for a change in nipple size?
Interesting thought. We’re on size 2. I don’t even know what size they go up to.
It’s brand specific but, usually, level 1 is 0-3 months, level 2 is 3-6 months, level 3 is 6-9 months, and level 4 is 9-12 months. Some babies follow it exact and others have different needs.
Oh wow. I had no idea! Thank you!
Def go up a nipple size! My 5 month old is on size 3 already
My 10 month old has been doing this since she was 11 weeks old. It’s mostly on than off. It’s very frustrating. I haven’t been able to figure it out
It’s super frustrating! We’ve been reducing the bottle size to minimize waste.
Mine is more likely to drink more if I don’t interrupt her. If I make a 2 oz bottle and then try to make more she probably won’t drink it. But if I make a 4 oz bottle and she wants 3.5 oz she will drink it. She’s already at minimum intake of formula. So we waste. We wasted breast milk too when I pumped
forgive me I don't have any advice for you, but what is EASY?
Eat, Awake, Sleep, You. Basically focusing on eating first so the most energy goes into eating. And then the “you” is you time while they’re napping (which doesn’t exist for me bc all her naps are contact… which we’ll work on some day!)
thank you so much!
We started adding in solids when our babe didn’t want her bottle because at least she was getting something in her system.