I have ( with success) put a little little bit of honey on the bottle nipple and had no problem after that. Hope this helps ... Best of luck :-)

Children and honey is very dangerous. It can cause infant botulism. See this:

"Botulinum spores are found widely in soil, dust, and honey. Adults who swallow botulinum spores are almost never affected. When infants swallow the spores, however, the spores can germinate in their immature gastrointestinal tracts and begin producing botulinum toxin. This has occurred even when the honey was only used to sweeten a pacifier (European Journal of Epidemiology, Nov 1993).

Botulinum toxin is the most poisonous natural substance known to man. The lethal dose is only 1/10,000,000 mg per kg of body weight -- an amount that would be invisible to the naked eye. This tiny amount in the blood stream can cause death within minutes through paralysis of the muscles used in breathing."

Be careful with honey!

As for taking a bottle.. my first daughter just completely refused, too. Try actually leaving the house and see how it goes if you're really set on it. But you know, children are only young for so long.. they grow up so quickly. In a few months you're going to look at your child and wonder where your baby went!

Wow. Scary info. Poor thing, I know she just loves breastfeeding and it's why I'm not going to stop for a good while yet. It just means that I can never be away from her for very long. I love her dearly but I need a break now and then. Plus I'd really like to spend some quality time with my husband again: I miss it. Maybe she thinks that if she takes the bottle, she'll never be offered the breast again. God, I just dunno what to do. :(

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I am currently breastfeeding my almost 8 month old and she refuses to take the bottle as well, what I found out to work for me is that who every is feeding her your milk besides you is to put it in a sippy cup. She isn't going to drink it right out of the sippy cup but she will be able to get it to come out. That is what works for me anyways. Most children who are breastfeed and not introduced the bottle within the first month will shy away from it. The child is just used to the mother's nipple and it's conforting for the child.

I also breastfeed my first child and she was introduced the bottle within the first month and she had no problem taking a bottle every once in awhile.

Hope that helps

Been there, done that. Our no. 1 was just as adamant as yours, and we tried all the things you've tried and nothing worked. Matters came to a head at six months, when Mum started drying up. So finally (I think this advice came from the pediatrician), Mum left the house (the room isn't good enough). All day. Leaving yours truly with the baby and bottles of expressed breast milk. After several hours of coaxing by the father and major drama on the part of the baby, she took the bottle. Eyes red-rimmed from crying and giving me this massively accusatory stare - "Ok (sob), if this (sob) is all you're (sob sob) going to give me, (sob) I guess I'll (sob) TAKE IT (SOB)." Sob. Suck. Sob. Suck.

She drained the bottle, and we had no trouble thereafter. I think the principle is, no artificial teat comes close to resembling a real one, and one has to convince the recalcitrant among our infants that the plastic nipple really does contain food.

Yeah you're description sums up Taniya's reactions! Except the 'suck' part. Sigh. She knows how to take a bottle but prefers not to, adamantly at that! I got her to take an ounce tonight, after a pretty big fight and lots of tears. I feel mean for persisting but I've tried everything else to no avail. Not sure whether to stick at it every day or leave it for a week or two before trying again.

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Not sure whether to stick at it every day or leave it for a week or two before trying again.

That's perhaps advice I'd seek from a pro you trust rather than a blog. I'd be inclined to say "persist", but your mileage may vary - if there's too much stress involved, most importantly if you are the doubting party, persistence may do more harm than good.

I remember in our case it was "you have no option, kid" that finally broke the ice. Which meant I had to do it. I mean, how would you feel if you got offered castor oil when the chocolate is, like, right there?

I'm on child #7, and taught childbirth/breastfeeding for 14 years. The problem is that experts don't want you to introduce the bottle too soon, or it could cause "suck problems," but if you don't bring it in within the first few weeks babies will often refuse. Since you've tried everything else already, I'd go with the cup. Babies need to suck, but you're not quitting breastfeeding, just looking for occasional backup. No need to make feeding time an unpleasant struggle.

As mentioned, ask your pediatrician, too. He/she may have suggestions or cautions for you. Speaking of which, the warning about honey was well said. (my own grandmother lost TWINS to infant botulism.) Also add molasses to the list, which carries the same risk for babies under a year old.

Janell
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My 6 month old (fourth child to breastfeed) is also refusing the bottle - she knows darn good and well that milk comes from mommy and there's no convincing her otherwise. So I gave up the bottle altogether after a solid MONTH of trying everything (hungry v. not so hungry, morning feed v. afternoon v. night feed, different bottles, different nipples... all we got was tears and frustration). Now she will sit in her bouncy-seat and actually take 3 oz. of expressed milk from a cup, no problem.

I used a Gerber cup with a soft rubbery spout, and I took the no-spill valve completely out. I hold the cup and tip a sip at a time into her mouth. Works great. Eventually I'll put the valve back in and just hand it to her, but for now, this is fine.