5-month-old won't take bottle from me, only mom | DadHQ

5-month-old won't take bottle from me, only mom

Dec 271 min read

Been trying for weeks now. My wife pumps, I do the feeding, but as soon as my daughter sees the bottle she starts crying and reaching for mom. It's like she knows it's me holding it. We're thinking about going back to work next month and I'm genuinely worried about this. Has anyone dealt with this? Do they eventually get over it or am I doing something wrong with how I'm holding her or the temp of the bottle?

12 comments216 views

Comments(12)

SSteve Q.RegularDec 27

lol babies are wild. Our son would only take bottles from my wife at this age but he'd literally nap on me for hours. Like completely different vibe depending on what he wanted. Hang in there, the exclusivity doesn't last forever

MMarvin T.RegularDec 28

This is so common with bottle refusal. She absolutely knows it's you—babies are weirdly perceptive about that stuff. Honestly some kids just take longer to accept a bottle from dad. Have you tried feeding her in a different position than mom does? Sometimes changing the whole setup helps.

JJosh E.RegularDec 28

Weeks of trying is rough man. Our daughter did this exact thing from 4-7 months then just... stopped. Like one day she took it from me no problem. Every kid's timeline is different but you're not doing anything wrong.

CChad R.RegularDec 28

This sucks and I feel this. Took our daughter like 2 months to take a bottle from me consistently. What finally worked was having my wife leave the room entirely - not just out of sight, like actually gone. Sounds weird but she stopped expecting mom and chill out

CCarlos M.New DadDec 28

The wanting mom thing is developmentally normal but it's frustrating af. Real talk though - this phase where you feel a bit sidelined? It's temporary. By toddler stage she'll prefer you for some stuff and mom for others. Doesn't mean your bond is weak

HHugh S.RegularDec 28

Don't switch to formula just because of this—pump bottle refusal is fixable and usually temporary. But yeah the 'she knows it's you' thing is real. Some dads have had luck with skin-to-skin contact during bottle time to make it feel more natural to the baby.

LLuca P.RegularDec 29

Jumping in to say the skin-to-skin thing actually worked for us when everything else failed. Just holding her against my chest while bottle feeding made a huge difference. Felt weird at first but the bottle acceptance improved noticeably within like a week.

JJoel F.RegularDec 27

Does your wife ever leave the room during your feeds? Because babies will straight up cry for mom if they know she's available. Sounds harsh but sometimes it needs to be a long-enough absence that the baby realizes 'okay he's what I got' and settles down. We had to do this and felt like monsters but it worked.

CCarl D.RegularDec 27

What if you tried feeding her when she's drowsy or distracted? Not like sneaky, but just timing it when she's not fully focused on WHO'S holding it. We had luck with feeding our son right after playtime when he was tired enough that he just took what was offered.

KKeith L.RegularDec 29

Have you tried warming the bottle more? Sometimes it's not about the person it's about the temperature being off. Also different bottle nipples - some babies are picky about the flow. We went through 4 different brands before one clicked

TTony F.RegularDec 28

Bottle rejection from dad is so common at 5mo and it usually passes. What doesn't help is stressing about it which baby can feel. Just keep it low-key, let mom do most feeds for now, and in a few months she'll be reaching for anyone with food

DDante J.New DadDec 29

She definitely knows it's you lol. Not in a mean way, just that babies are insanely perceptive about smell and tone. My advice: don't make it a big thing, keep offering casually, and honestly some kids just prefer their primary caregiver. Doesn't mean anything