04/15/2026
If you are navigating bottle refusal and the time clock feels like it is running out, I am here to tell you there may be a missing piece!
Bottle feeding is a skill JUST like breastfeeding. If this is a skill your baby has not learned to use OR practiced routinely, it makes sense why it may be hard for them to pick up the ability to do it all of a sudden.
If feeding feels unsafe or hard, babies are smart enough to know not to proceed! Working through bottle refusal means identifying WHY your baby is having a hard time. This can do:
-Overall lack of practice
-Inappropriate ni**le shape
-Body tension
-Oral dysfunction
-High palate
-Tongue/Lip ties
-AND MORE
Your baby not taking a bottle can feel scary and overwhelming, because usually we NEED them to take it. The option to proceed without is not always there. It is time sensitive and we get it!
If you feel as though you’ve hit a wall and the tricks you’ve gotten from google or your pediatrician aren’t working- know that your great aunts, sisters, cousin doesn’t need to give the bottle. You don’t need to evacuate the house for 10 hours. You don’t need every bottle under the sun.
You just need support dedicated to YOUR baby’s needs. There are TONS of providers who have taken bottle refusal courses that can support just that so you have the piece of mind moving forward that your plan is going to work.
Gone are days of starve them out programs YOU can have a direct hand in supporting your baby’s ability to do this!
