occasional expressed bottles - should I give up?

[Persuasion]

DD is now 8 weeks. I'm enjoying breastfeeding now and it's all much easier than in the first few weeks, and DD is doing well on it.

I introduced a bottle of expressed milk once a week from 5 weeks to try to get her used to it in case there's an unexpected problem, or to wean her onto at 6 months (my original plan).

She took it fine the first time but it's getting progressively more difficult. She takes milk really slowly, gets upset, cries and yesterday refused altogether. I've tried different bottles/teats, me doing it, dh doing it with me in a different room etc etc etc.

I also tried a dummy at night and she refuses that too.

Should I just give up on the bottle? If I stop now will she ever take one? And does that even matter, if I needed to could she take a cup instead at say 6 months?

[Bunnychan]

I was looking at cups today- some of them are from 4 months so that wouldn't be a problem. I know how you feel- I hate expressing but like to give LO a couple of bottles a week as I will be going back to work when's she's 5 1/2 months and wanted her to learn how to switch between breast and bottle from an early age. It's what works for you & your baby!

[PicnicPie]

That is what happened to me. I would express every day to ensure that DD had at least one bottle a day and a bottle or two if we were going out.
I did it every day, and then one day at around 4 months she point blank refused. She did not take it, just preferred the breast. I was so frustrated but there was nothing I could do. By that point I had also got very comfortable with breastfeeding so I made the decision to give up the bottle. It was a decision that was difficult to accept because for the following 4 months I had to constantly be with her and had to miss a number of keep in touch days at work because I couldn't leave her with anyone. Anyway, long story short, just this week I have reintroduced the bottle and have stopped breastfeeding (expressing and ff) as she's 8 months and on solids. It took 4 days, lots of tears, a bit of jam on the teat and finally she has accepted the bottle.

So if you were to give it up you can get her to take one again when she drops some feeds, but it just means that in the short term whilst she's only on milk that only you will be able to feed her.

[tumbletumble]

I think it's a bit optimistic to expect a baby to take a bottle once a week - some do, but IME it needs to be more regular than that for most babies. So I think you should either try to give her a bottle a day or give up completely.

[Persuasion]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have to go back to work so there's no urgency really.

That's interesting tumble, I read that once a week should be enough and I didn't want to do more than the minimum in case I compromised the breastfeeding. Definitely worth consideration.

Any other experiences or views?

[minipie]

I did a daily bottle until 6 months, then dropped to once a week or once a fortnight. I am now at 10 months beginning to wean onto bottles fully and dd seems to accept it no problems (though haven't tried giving a bottle at the bedtime feed yet which i suspect may be trickier)

Of course it may be that my dd would have taken a bottle anyway without all the tedious daily expressing ... I'll never know, but am very relieved not to have a battle at this stage (so far, touch wood!)

[PinkPepper]

I expressed v occasionally and my boy always took a bottle whether it had been days or weeks since his last one. I don't think every baby refuses bottles. He has a cup now if he has milk when im gone (of normal milk as he's 14 months!)