My 4 month old daughter is not drinking milk. She has been doing this for the past 2 months. Her problem is, she will not drink milk when she is awake. As soon as we put the bottle in her mouth she will cry and refuse. But she will be very hungry that she will suck her thumb like anything. When she goes to a drowsy stage we have to take the thumb out of her mouth and slowly put the bottle. And she will drink fine. But in the middle if she gets up that's it. Every feeding is so frustrating and i am a working mom and it is a mental torture for me. The doctor has referred me to a speech therapist who will evaluate the baby's feeding pattern. Has anyone done this and is it helpful? Niki replied. Jai,

I am going through EXACT same problem with my 3 month old baby.......Let's talk and share our view points... Do send me email to nikitakothari@yahooDOTcom with your contact information....

All the best.
Niki
P.S. I am in Atlanta, U.S. Jai replied. Hi Gazal, has your daughter started drinking when she is awake? Did you try anything else? Is NESTUM- RICE available in U.S? I have recently started Gerber Rice cereal for her. I am giving her one table spoon.
Jai replied. Thanks for the response Vani. I'll certainly try the things you said. And also i am going to try Gerber - Nuk nipple you had mentioned. gazal replied. hi Jai,
My daughter had exactly the same problem and i too used to put the bottle while she went to sleep!
But dont worry keep trying and she will realise that if she has to drink milk then she has to take bottle.I too am working and believ me i empathise with u.
Gradually when she completes 4 months try introducing NESTUM-RICE its good and can atleast feel assuared that some milk has gone in her tummy thru this cereal.(nestum is supposed to be mixed with milk)DO check with ur doctor abt the same.
good luck. vani replied. hi ! jai !

i can understand how frustrating that must be for u. i more or less had the same problem. my baby girl gave me a hard time taking the bottle but i didn't give up. it took me 3-4 months and it was hard. beleive me. i had to go to india so i wanted her to take the bottle. and she also used to suck her thumb. so i've had both the problems. first u should do is to put on mittens on her hands so that she doesn't suck her thumb. and let her cry for milk. let her ask for it. u will have to be strong as they really cry a lot. mine went blue sometimes but u have to remember that crying now is ok as compared to not having milk at all. and milk is very very important for the 1 year. so don't give up. give her the bottle and keep trying during the night also. she will like the nipple eventually. what u can also do is try different nipples. when i was experimenting i bought the whole market nipples for arushi. finally one of them worked - gerber nuk nipples. so try that and keep us posted ! all the very best. just keep one thing in mind. children r very flexible - at least for the first few years so be persistent and keep trying. don't feel guilty for making the baby cry. it's only for their good. right !!! all the best to u !! Rita replied. Hi Jai,

My daughter has only recently at 10 months began taking formula milk, we tried everything but she just would not take it! I am now spoon feeding her milk - which takes alot of time but just knowing she is having the milk makes me feel alot happier. You may want to try this.