Bringing a tiny huɱaп being into the world is no easy feat. 9 months of being a baby’s all-inclusive 5-star hotel suite with a private amniotic fluid pool and 5 meals per day. But once the child is finally done with their stay in the belly, the real fun begins, each day bringing something new.
You get used to one change and then another happens just as quickly as the last one did. One thing that stays constant is the need to eat. ɱaпy mothers choose to breastfeed their babies, building a nice bond between them that becomes a chore to break once the mom needs to be someplace else for more than 15min.
This grandad found a loophole to trick his grandson into being bottle fed without any fuss or yelling or crying and, to be fair, isn’t that always the goal? Let’s get into the story!
Baby not liking milk from a bottle? Well, this grandad has a trick for you!
A now-viral video was shared by Wendy Rangel on TikTok, in which her dad put a baby bottle through a hole in his t-shirt, the clear nipple of the bottle poking out. He carefully positioned it on his chest so that it wouldn’t move or drop, tapping around it to make sure it stuck.
He then bent down to see whether the milk would come through, Wendy laughing at the scene in the background, all the while the caption read: “My godson won’t take the bottle so my dad tried something.”
One ingenious ɱaп in a now-viral TikTok video is seen positioning a baby bottle inside his shirt to mimic a mother’s breast
Then it was ᴛι̇ɱe for the real test – would the baby drink from it? The ɱaп holds the child in his arms, trying to carefully position him to drink the milk, whilst also doing his best to not spill everything on the floor.
The boy seems quite confused at first as if to say ‘the heck is happening’ but then the baby boy spots the nipple and latches on instinctively, regardless of whether it belongs to his mom or grandad.
The scene leaves Wendy in stitches, her laughter booɱing throughout the room, whilst her proud dad rocks up and down with the baby happily chugging away at the milk.
As you can tell, he’s very proud of his invention. But the real test is – will the baby fall for it?
The video ends with a closeup of the hole with the ɱaп’s own nipple sticking out, a wet patch on the T-shirt showing what was left of the milk. He then rubs around it, sighing as if to say he’s sore from all the hard work he’d just put in.
First posted at the end of 2020, the video has since amassed an impressive 8.8M views and almost 2M likes. It was dedicated “to all the dads out there who struggle with their little ones not taking the bottle.”
He gets his grandson and carefully positions the baby in place, trying his best not to spill the milk
Oh boy, did I go down a rabbit hole to find out all the reasons for them doing so. You bet imma share the findings! This might not be everyone’s cup of tea, so feel free to skip right ahead to the full video below, but to those that are as curious as I was – continue.
Typical signs that the child is averse to the bottle, as described by Mamamade, include skipping meals with no signs of distress, appearing hungry but refusing to eat, becoming tense, crying or screaming at meal ᴛι̇ɱe.
They also tend to take in very small amounts of milk before stopping to protest, averting their gazes and physically turning away from the bottle. Continuous behavior like this is not only distressing to the baby, but the parents as well.
You’d think it’s the same thing, the nipple on the bottle imitating the mother’s, the milk oftenᴛι̇ɱes coming from the mother herself, so the flavor should be similar – definitely more similar than the formula! The question ‘why???’ plagues most parents, which is a good thing in the sense that it means you’re not alone and a solution must be somewhere out there.
From medical issues to an off temperature in the milk, there are dozens of reasons as to why babies refuse the bottle with a passion.
And it’s a victory! The baby latches on almost immediately, the proud grandad rocking back and forth in encouragement
Healthline detailed the top seven reasons for babies to flat-out refuse the bottle, starting with wanting to continue breastfeeding, not being hungry enough, feeling too sick or unwell to feed, being held in an uncomfortable position, not liking the temperature, flavor, or texture of the milk, or the bottle itself.
Last but not least, they might have had a bad experience with being bottle fed before, such as associating it with reflux, gagging, vomiting, or an inferior milk to the one they’d been used to.
Main thing is – don’t panic. Babies cry and act silly someᴛι̇ɱes because they don’t know any better. And it is your responsibility as a parent to read their cryptic signs and find the best solution for all of you, especially the baby. They won’t be cooking omelets any ᴛι̇ɱe soon, ya know. So, what can you do to make the baby love the bottle?
The shirt is a casualty in the situation, but as long as the baby is fed and calm, that’s a worthy sacrifice
Here’s a bunch of suggestions from WebMD that sadly don’t include the ‘fake the boob’ trick the grandad pulled. First, check the bottle and the milk itself. The temperature of the milk should be around 37 degrees Celsius or 98.6 Fahrenheit, and refrain from reheating the milk in the microwave to avoid inconsistencies in temperature.
Also, don’t be afraid to taste the milk. If it’s got a weird, rancid or soapy taste that makes you gag, chances are your baby won’t like it either. Lastly, check whether the milk can come out of the nipple easily as there might be a block or the hole isn’t large enough for the baby’s wants.
If it’s not the bottle or the milk, it could be the baby itself that’s the cause of the issue. They might not want food to begin with! Their little minds could be focusing on something a lot more exciting, such as the television, especially if The Witcher is on. Henry Cavill could distract anyone, like me getting distracted from the point of this paragraph. Worth it.
Anyways, if the baby has started enjoying solid foods, maybe they don’t want the bottle anymore and are happy to be using their little baby teeth.
Baby Kenny was born June 2, 2020 and his godmother and grandpa have fallen head over heels for him
But of course, the most important thing is to monitor the baby’s health. A cold, an ear infection or a sore throat might make the feeding process too painful or uncomfortable for the child, in which case they should be taken to a doctor.
The same applies if the baby is losing weight quickly due to a lack of nutrition. Also notice if the baby is constantly crying, or losing fluids through vomiting and diarrhea; all red flags that signal a visit to the doctor’s office. But of course, if it’s a one off, again, don’t panic.
The little angel is truly a precious gift to the family. It is common for babies to not like to bottle feed, for multitudes of reasons
And finally – don’t rush it! Although babies tend to learn quickly, it can be a strange experience requiring a lot of patience and calm. Even with all these reasons and solutions mentioned, there are plenty more out there that will best apply to your child.
Now we can enjoy some pictures of the sleepy baby in its complete adorableness.
The key is to continue being patient, observe the child, figure out why the problem persists and, most importantly – don’t panic
Grandad has become the master of the bottle and we wish the best for Kenny and his family!
As adorable as they are, babies can be frustrating when they’re not cooperating with what’s best for them. And yeah, someᴛι̇ɱes the last resort might be cutting a hole in your shirt and faking it!
The grandad seems to have become the master of the bottle. However, I do not want to see any comments about this picture, saying the child is being taught bad habits, kids should not be in the presence of alcohol, etc. The kid is fine. There’s nothing in that bottle. He’s just having quality ᴛι̇ɱe with his grandpa and loving every second of it.
Leave all your beautiful thoughts and comments below, give the writer a follow for all their hard work (wink wink, cheeky me) and I shall bid you a wonderous wonderful day!
People have shared their own experiences, sending praise to the grandpa. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!