Monday, March 19, 2007
Bottle Baby Blues
My baby boy was born with a tongue tie and it was really hard to get him to breastfeed, so my lactation consultant had warned me not to give him bottles or pacifiers until he could breastfeed without a problem. Now four months later he is a champion breastfeeder (which I am grateful for), but to this day he cannot figure out how to suck on a pacifier or bottle. We have been trying really hard to get him to take an occasional bottle, but to no avail. He just chews on the nipple or rolls it around with his tongue. I was just wondering if this is something that's happened with anyone else's kids, or if this problem is due to his tongue tie. Does anybody have any bottle-weaning tricks up her sleeve?
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9 comments:
What's a tongue tie?
I have no expertise on this subject whatsoever but I was just reading about this last night in what to expect the first year. I have been lazy about giving my 6 month old bottles over the past few months and sometimes she just doesn't want one. We introduced an Avent bottle to her in week 4 with no problems, but I've heard that some people need to try different brands of nipples before their baby will take to it. I read last night that you can try giving the bottle to the baby when they are really hungry (and more desperate for food no matter the means) or when they are really full (and not frustrated by hunger). That probably doesn't help much! But this woman I just met in my new ward said to me the other day, go straight to sippy cups and skip the bottles. I have no idea if this has any legitimacy whatsoever, but I'm just throwing it out there! Aren't bottles necessary? Hopefully more people will comment...
You know how your tongue is connected to the bottom of your mouth with that little stringy tendon thing? Some people are born with it connecting too close to the front of their mouth. That's called a tongue tie. Some tongue ties are worse than others and the tendon needs to be snipped because the tongue can't come out past the lips. Collin's wasn't very bad, his tongue just humps up in the back and he had a hard time latching on at first because of it. Even though he is fine at nursing now we are going to get it checked out because it might cause him problems with speech later on. Anyway, that was a rather long answer to your short question!
I nursed my son and at first we gave him the occasional bottle and he didn't mind, but after a while it just got easier to skip the bottle and just nurse him. Well, even though he sucked on a pacifier, he never wanted to take the bottle again! That is, until he weaned himself (in one day, mind you!) and then he took a bottle like he had taken it the entire time.
It might just be a personal preference on your son's part, and not at all related to the tongue tie.
I'm sure that doesn't help too much either, but all babies are different and they DEFINITELY have their own opinions!
We moved from Ohio to Minnesota when my first was 4 months old. She'd taken at least one bottle a day since she was one week old (she'd had feeding problems and needed to supplement). I kid you not, the DAY we moved here, she NEVER touched a bottle again (until we went back to Ohio a few months later, and she took a bottle fine for grandma--it was like she just couldn't take one in MN...but I digress). Since she wouldn't take a bottle and actually needed the supplementation, I started her on a sippy cup then. It took her a couple months for her to really get the hang of it, but in retrospect I was so glad that I didn't have to wean her from the bottle! Weaning from the breast was hard enough not to have another thing on top of it. Similarly, don't push the pacifier if he doesn't like it. It's better for his mouth in the long run if he doesn't get in the habit, and it will save you another weaning headache.
Has anyone besides you tried to give him a bottle? My daughter definitely has a mind of her own when it comes to bottles. Sometimes she'll take one, sometimes she won't. But one thing's for sure...she usually won't take it from me. Babies are so smart. They know they can get the "real thing" from Mom, so sometimes they won't accept anything else! Sounds like your son has a true medical excuse, but aubreydoll's right, it might be at least partly an issue of preference as well!
That's a great point, Steph! I read something about that too...they can smell the Mom's milk!
Mine would never take a bottle from me. She would just fine for Dad or Gma or the babysitter but not me. In fact, I couldn't even be in the room! So try being far away, when he's hungry. Is his tongue heart shaped at the tip or round? Can he reach the roof of his mouth? In speech, we worry about being able to physically make the sounds (can the tongue get to where he needs it to) and feeding (which he's got down, mostly :) Since you said you were going to have it checked for speech, I would have him see an ENT and if they recommend getting it clipped, do it while he's a baby and not a toddler or older. In my experience, it's harder for them in speech.
Hey, thanks for all the advice. I am especially relieved to know I am not the only one whose baby doesn't take to bottles!
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