This problem is about our baby boy. He was born prematurely in his
28th week of gestation. Although he was born prematurely, he had a
very safe course in the neonatal intensive care unit and was
discharged with just some multi-vitamins. He continues to maintain
good health as of this writing. But, the biggest problem we have is
with his feeding. He refuses to take the bottle when he is awake. We
have literally tried all the bottle/nipple combination in the market
with no luck. The only time he takes a bottle is when he is asleep. 
His suck-swallow-breath reflex is fine as manifested by his feedings
when he is asleep. My son gets expressed breast milk from my wife in a
bottle. We had some good luck with solid foods using a spoon. Since
the majority of his nutrition comes from the bottle, we are very
concerned.  I have read that premature babies may have oral aversion
because of their rough start in the hospital. A month ago, he had some
acid reflux problems, but that faded away and was recently confirmed
with an upper GI endoscopy. Even his biopsy of the upper GI was found
to be normal. The doctor opines that his problem is ?behavioral? in
nature. How do we train him ?  We have consulted more than 5
pediatricians, but none have given us concrete solutions. Any ideas ?
How long can we continue to feed him when he is asleep ? Please advise
?

I would also like to add this incident. My wife used to take spicy
food even when expressing breast milk. We are not sure if the spicy
food may have altered the flavor of the expressed breast milk and may
have caused him to develop an aversion.  She had modified her diet in
the past two months to include only bland food.  This still has not
made any difference.

Hi alwaysoptimistic,

I don't have enough time to devote to your question, but I'd like to
help.  I did a search using the keywords:  baby bottle awake takes
bottle only asleep

I'm posting the cached links for the following sites.  Those keywords
will be highlighted, making easier reading for you.

I found interesting and possibly pertinent information on each of the 3 sites.
Perhaps something will apply.  

In addition, one of the things that struck me, is it possible your
dear baby boy is distracted by events going on in the daytime.  At
night he's too sleepy to care and will take the bottle.   Just an
idea.  One never knows because he can't talk yet!

I wish you good luck, and one thing that I noticed while searching is
this is a common problem with babies.


http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:JDxcWPKIwUYJ:www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBSeptOct94p152.html+baby+refuses+bottle+when+awake,+Takes+bottle+only+when+asleep&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:YgGZI-weklgJ:parents.berkeley.edu/advice/nursing/breastfedbottle.html+baby+refuses+bottle+when+awake,+Takes+bottle+only+when+asleep&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:9AFvgc7RQ1QJ:www.familyresource.com/pregnancy/16/276/+baby+refuses+bottle+when+awake,+Takes+bottle+only+when+asleep&hl=en&ie=UTF-8



Best regards,
tlspiegel

Hi alwaysoptomistic,

I see the URL's posted in my comment aren't linkable.  

I'm posting them again - hoping they will link for you.  If not,
please highlight the URL's, select copy, and paste the URL into your
address bar.


http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:JDxcWPKIwUYJ:www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBSeptOct94p152.html+baby+refuses+bottle+when+awake,+Takes+bottle+only+when+asleep


http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:YgGZI-weklgJ:parents.berkeley.edu/advice/nursing/breastfedbottle.html+baby+refuses+bottle+when+awake,+Takes+bottle+only+when+asleep



http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:9AFvgc7RQ1QJ:www.familyresource.com/pregnancy/16/276/+baby+refuses+bottle+when+awake,+Takes+bottle+only+when+asleep


Best regards,
tlspiegel

Sorry, that didn't work.  Try this!

http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBSeptOct94p152.html

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/nursing/breastfedbottle.html

http://www.familyresource.com/pregnancy/16/276/

Have you tried actual breast-feeding, as opposed to the bottle approach?

Breast milk is best. But only a bland diet. Meat, chicken, no strong
sauces on the meats. Eggs, toast, If the baby will not nurse try
looking at the formula you are using. Some babies can only take soy
bases formulas such as Prosobee. It is easily digestable and is mild
in flavor. Stick with the basics, see if he like water from the
bottle. I suggest using the small silicon nipples they do not have an
offensive odor like the rubber ones, they are see-thorough so you can
know if it is working or not. Remember to boil all nipples for 15
minutes or so before giving them to a baby. These nipples come in the
criss-cross option which is good for adding rice cereal to the formula
at about three months of age. Keep checking with the doctor ona
regular basis if you do not get  what you need form him/her find
another doctor.
Spinnster

Hello alwaysoptimistic,
Just wondering if you received an answer/solution to your problem. Has
your baby boy started accepting the bottle yet? I am asking because my
baby has very similar symptoms and the doctors all say the exact same
thing as yours. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
ocarg