10 Things to Do If Your Baby Goes on a Bottle Strike
A bottle strike can be frustrating for parents and stressful for babies. Here are 10 tips to help you navigate this phase and get your little one back to drinking from a bottle.
It happened out of nowhere. All this time, my baby had been taking his bottle like a champ. It didn’t matter whether he was drinking expressed breastmilk or formula—he’d finish a whole bottle with no problem.
But around 8 months old, the bottle strike happened. He no longer sat still long enough to finish a bottle, pushing it away or simply playing with it, hoping that would “pass” for drinking. And he preferred to be up and about, not sitting in one place finishing his meal.
As predicted, he’d get hungry later on. He’d cry in the middle of the night hungry for milk or wake up cranky from a nap because of an empty stomach.
If your baby isn’t drinking milk either, don’t worry. I experimented with a few ways to put an end to a bottle strike, and I hope they can work for you too. Take a look at these parents’ stories after trying these tips:
“The last couple of days I have seen a real change in him. He had a lot yesterday which he hasn’t done in a month. Hopefully he can keep it up. I will keep you posted. Thank you kindly!” -Sarah
“Thank you so much. My 8 month old would not take his bottle at all, but I read this article and the bottle in a more boring room tip really works. Again thank you!!” -Brayden
Table of Contents
1. Offer smaller amounts of milk more frequently
With your baby more mobile and curious about his environment, drinking may not be a priority. Rather than sitting him down for a long time to finish a bottle, offer smaller amounts more frequently.
After all, we adults break up our calorie consumption throughout the day, too. Rather than sitting down for three large meals, we sometimes take regular meals and snacks throughout the day.
See if your baby will take to a similar schedule. You might offer half the amount you usually do, then reserve the other half to drink with his snack. If he continues to refuse, you may even want to keep the bottle nearby and offer it a few minutes at a time.
The downside is that this doesn’t establish the habit of sitting at the table for meals. But if he prefers to snack on the go, frequent feedings may be a temporary solution to look into.
Either way, fill the bottles in smaller amounts so you don’t waste the milk and just add more as needed.
If you pump, divide your usual amount into two bags to avoid wasting excess milk he doesn’t drink. For instance, if you usually fill a 5 ounce bag, fill two 2.5-ounce bags instead.
The same is true with formula. Don’t fill a whole bottle he won’t finish any time soon. Instead, measure about half what he normally takes and make another bottle when he finishes the first.
Free resource: If you’re struggling with putting your baby to sleep, you can teach him to self soothe and sleep on his own. Whether you’ve tried to teach him to self soothe in the past or are just now considering it, take a look at the 5 key mistakes to avoid.
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2. Feed earlier than usual
Have you ever tried to reason with a wailing toddler throwing a tantrum? If I had to guess, you weren’t able to get anything through her. The same can be said for wailing babies as well. If your baby is throwing a fit about drinking from a bottle, she might feel more adamant (and vocal) about not doing so.
But see what happens if you feed her a bit earlier than usual, even by just 15 minutes. You might catch her when she’s not in a bad mood or when she’s more willing to drink from a bottle.
A similar scenario is to offer the bottle before you feed solids. She might have more of an appetite for milk if she hasn’t already had solid food first.
3. Change your environment
With so much to see and do, no wonder your baby would rather explore than drink her bottle. Take away the temptation and instead offer the bottle in a “boring” room.
This could be her bedroom after a nap when the environment is still dark and quiet or a subdued room in your home that lends itself to a calm mood. Avoid bright, loud rooms, especially those with distractions that can prevent her from finishing her bottle.
If the boring room doesn’t work, do the opposite and feed her in a “new” room. The novelty of feeding in this unfamiliar place may capture her attention so much that she continues to drink the bottle without a fuss.
You might offer the bottle in your backyard, in a different bedroom than where you normally do, or in her high chair. Any place where you don’t usually give her bottles might be enough of a change to draw her curiosity and allow her to finish her milk.
I noticed that my baby was more likely to finish a bottle when I sat with him on my lap outside on our patio. The new environment, plus being outdoors, curbed his resistance and instead encouraged him to drink.
Make sure you feed your baby upright or at least at a slight angle, like in your arms or an infant seat. Feeding flat on her back makes it more difficult to swallow and digest the milk she drinks, causing her to potentially spit up. Instead, keep a slight angle during feedings to eliminate the discomfort she might feel.
4. Change the bottle nipple
Bottle nipples come in different shapes, materials, and flow. What once worked for your baby in the early months may not be cutting it now. For instance, a slow nipple flow could make it more difficult for him to suck. Or perhaps you’ll have more luck with the brown nipples instead of the clear.
Experiment with changing the nipple shapes, material, and a faster flow to see if one works better than what you currently use.
A similar option is to offer different bottles. You might want to experiment with a bigger size, faster flow, or a new type of bottle to help him drink. The novelty of having a new bottle might even be enough to convince him to drink once more.
5. Experiment with the temperature
Babies can have a preference for milk temperature. Some are fine with cold, while others like room temperature, and still others like their milk warm.
See if your baby will take to a different temperature. If you’ve been giving room temperature formula, for instance, test if warm formula makes a difference.
Do you store milk bottles in the fridge to feed her later? Consider warming the nipple along with the bottle, too. She may not like the feeling of the cold nipple that touches her mouth.
See what happens if you not only warm the milk bottle in warm water but the nipple as well. Make sure that the bottle is tightly secured, then lay the bottle on its side so that even the nipple is also warmed. That way, she isn’t sucking on an ice-cold nipple come feeding time.
Another option is to store the bottle in the fridge with a different nipple and cover and keep a separate nipple at room temperature. Come feeding time, swap the cold nipple for the room temperature one. That way, the nipple she does use won’t be so cold.
6. Offer a freshly pumped bottle
Most of us offer the baby a bottle because we’re not there to nurse. Unless you’re exclusively pumping, you probably don’t pump milk only to hand the bottle to the baby right away.
But in this case, it’s worth a shot to do just that.
Instead of storing the milk in the fridge for future use, see if she’ll take your recently pumped milk in a bottle. Drinking warm, familiar milk might make her more likely to take to the bottle than if it were stored in the fridge for a length of time.
As she gets used to the bottle, she’ll hopefully then be more open to drinking stored milk as well, even if it’s not freshly pumped.
7. Let your baby latch onto the bottle nipple
If you breastfeed, your baby likely roots around to find your nipple before finally drinking. Let her latch on the bottle nipple as well, which mimics this type of rooting. Don’t just put the bottle in her mouth, and instead let her “initiate” and find the nipple with her tongue herself.
There might be a chance that she doesn’t like having the nipple put into her mouth, but would take to it more if you, say, place it next to her lips.
8. Wean from night feedings
Ask your child’s pediatrician if your baby can sleep through the night without feeding. If so, consider weaning from night feedings.
You see, he might be struggling to finish his daytime bottles when he’s eating so much at night. After all, you and I don’t eat throughout the night, and instead take our calories during the day. At some point, so can your baby.
Help him drop nighttime feedings and encourage him to take in his calories during the day. Here’s a quick summary of how to do that:
- Record when he typically wakes up for the night. For instance, he might wake at 11pm and 3am.
- Set your alarm 30 minutes before those wake up times and wake him to feed. This helps break the association between crying and getting milk. Don’t wait for him to wake up to cry for milk.
- Reduce his milk intake at each feeding. Let’s say he typically drinks two 5-ounce bottles at each wake up time. Now, you’ll offer two 4.5-ounce bottles.
- Give extra milk the next day. Increase the amount of milk he gets by the same amount you had reduced the night before. If he had two bottles reduced by half an ounce each, add half an ounce to two of his bottles the next day.
- Reduce the amount even more the next night. Wake him up at the same times, but decrease the amount of milk you offer by another half an ounce. Now you’ll offer two 4-ounce bottles at those wake up times. Again, add those ounces the next day.
- Continue to repeat every night, reducing the milk by half an ounce each night until it’s so little you don’t need to bother waking him up to eat.
9. Introduce solid food
If your baby has been drinking the same formula for months, there’s a good chance he’s getting tired of it. A quick fix? Learn how to make baby food at home. Not only can solids help supplement his calories, but they can also add the variety of flavors he craves.
If you already offer solids, give it to him along with his milk. He can either drink milk with his meal or drink it beforehand. That way, he can associate different tastes with the experience of drinking from a bottle.
10. Let go of control
I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to let go of control. I have things planned, down to the ounces of milk my babies took or the times they napped. So, when things don’t go according to plan, I get frustrated and wonder why they don’t do the things they’re supposed to.
Except even adults don’t work that way. You and I don’t always have the same appetites day by day.
This is why we need to let go of control. We shouldn’t impose our plans on our babies when they’re not ready or willing to oblige. Take it week by week and see if he takes the bottle then.
Give his pediatrician a call if you have any concerns, or bring it up at his next appointment where she can see if he’s gaining enough weight.
Frequently asked questions
A bottle strike can often happen when babies are more mobile. They’re interested in their ability to crawl, sit, and touch everything in sight. Their bodies also don’t grow as fast and don’t need as many calories as they did during the early stages of infancy.
Conclusion
A baby bottle strike can be worrisome and test your patience. Thankfully, you can find different ways for him to take the bottle, from feeding in different rooms to eliminating nighttime feedings.
And most importantly, let go of the control you might be forcing on him. While you can decide when and what he eats, ultimately, he decides how much—even if that means he goes on a bottle strike once in a while.
Get more tips:
- Baby Refuses to Eat Solids? Simple Hacks for Easier Mealtimes
- How to Get a Breastfed Baby to Take a Bottle of Formula
- When Your Baby Is Teething (And Won’t Stop Crying)
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