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Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Infant feeding

bottle refusal but need to wean!

17 replies

LimesMum · 01/09/2014 20:47

I'm looking for any possible advice on how to get my LO to take milk, or water for that matter from anything other than a breast?

She stopped taking a bottle at 4 months for no apparent reason and we have tried and tried since to no avail.

I've also tried almost every sippy cup and beaker out there. She will drink sips from a doidy and the odd sip here and there from a Tommee tippee sippy cup but this would never be enough for a full feed.

I need to go back to work soon and wondered if anyone else has had similar issues and if so what they did to resolve them??

Thanks

OP posts:

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tomatoplantproject · 01/09/2014 20:54

We had this problem with dd. She refused all bottles, cups etc. My mum eventually got her drinking from a sippy cup with a lot of patience and some squash (which I haven't given her since but did the trick!). We then got her drinking water from a sippy cup for a couple of weeks, and then got her drinking milk whilst on holiday (so I could stay out of the way).

Good luck. I was tearing my hair out!

starlight1234 · 01/09/2014 20:59

My DS was a bottle refusers. I got him to drink from a nuby cup after trying loads and loads of cups..no idea why this cup worked to be honest.

How old is she now. Can you give her before and after work feeds to top her up if she is eating between?

mrsmugoo · 02/09/2014 21:02

Watching with interest as in exactly the same situation!

LimesMum · 02/09/2014 21:57

Thanks ladies.

She is almost 7 months, she takes 3 solid meals a day but still breast feeds 4 times in 24 hours too.

I just really want someone else to be able to give her milk at this stage!! And am. Also anxious about work as will need to cut this down by then..

Maybe I'll try juice then. She just has no interest in water or milk so can't imagine she will for juice either?!

OP posts:

AdorableAbbie · 04/09/2014 16:43

I have the same problem here when I was still BF. She refuses bottle even if she needs to drinl water she refused because it is in her bottle. So I decided to used big dropper just to fed her. Moms just need Patience. :)

IceNoSlice · 04/09/2014 17:25

I came on to post this exact question. DD is almost 7 months old too. I am back to work in early November, 4 full days a week. I also have the slight tweak that I decided to try BLW and my little monkey refuses to be spoon fed so I can't say 'she's on 3 meals of solids a day' as most of it is on the floor.

Arrrrgh!

NormHonal · 04/09/2014 17:29

I went back to work with a bottle-refuser. She kept refusing, although eventually cracked after three months (went back to work at 6mo).

Until then we did a big bfeed morning and on pick-up.

She ate food such as baby rice mixed with formula and purees to start, and then went onto yoghurts and cheese to get through the day without milk.

We all survived, she didn't go hungry, although I have a lot of extra grey hairs to show for it!!!

What I would say is not to stress too much about it, as the stress about this really blighted the last couple of weeks of my mat leave and, as it turned out, the nursery were very relaxed about it.

ThePowerOfCake · 04/09/2014 21:07

DD is 5mo and I go back to work just before she hits 6 months. She hasn't got a clue how to suck on a bottle teat and won't tip a sippy cup even with help but gets on really well with a straw cup. It's a bit messy as she takes a bit too much then lets it dribble out but she is improving daily. Possibly worth a try if you haven't already! We got this

Good luck!

LimesMum · 06/09/2014 07:02

Thanks for all advice

Power of cake, we have tried this bottle but as it's a straw when she tilts or turns the bottle up she then can't get any out?! Was your LO able to drink a whole feed from it? Were they able at 6 months?

OP posts:

ThePowerOfCake · 08/09/2014 18:21

She is 5 months now and isn't coordinated enough to hold the cup independently. If I sit her on my lap and hold the straw cup upright she can get her mouth round the straw and suck. She can empty it, but I'm not sure how much goes in and how much of it goes all over the place! Just in the few days since my last post she has got a lot better though.

LimesMum · 08/09/2014 18:23

Thanks again! She sits and holds it and plays with it but just can't seem to suck on it! It's stressing me out now as just want to be able to leave her with someone else for more than 3 hours

OP posts:

LJBanana · 08/09/2014 22:58

I'm in exactly exactly the same boat! But I go back to work TOMORROW!!! I have actual real life chest pains!!!
My DS is 5.5 months. Last night he miraculously took 7 ounces out of a bottle, then today had complete memory loss and refused more than ever before!
No longer know what to do, but I am with you on that boat, no in fact I'm driving the boat that we are all in. Driving/sailing it into a big hole of hell!

LimesMum · 09/09/2014 06:59

Oh dear!! I'm sure if he took 7oz yesterday that if you are are gone and he is hungry enough then he will have to take a bottle?? Is he on any solids yet? Have you tried a doidy cup?

OP posts:

LJBanana · 09/09/2014 22:28

At 4am this morning he took a bottle. Then continued to do so twice more, but only from me. I had to go in the end to work and just had to hope that he would take them from dp, and thank god he did. I was stressing out! I just have to deal with the lumpy bricks for boobs that I have now!!

museumum · 09/09/2014 22:36

My ds rejected bottles around 3months and I was so stressed as was going back to work 3 days a week at 6mo. We started weaning at 5.5mo and gave porridge made up with formula which he loved. After 6mo we introduced yoghurt and cheese for snacks and very wet foods like melon and cucumber and kept allowing him to play with the TT sippy cup with water.
He was totally fine.

He kept a night feed till 10.5mo when he stopped waking himself and it was concern about his milk intake that stopped me trying to night wean earlier.

It took about 6weeks for him to fully master the cup but by 10mo he was having bedtime milk in the cup and all his water.

If your LO takes to food well, eats lots of dairy and has no issues with being underweight then I think they will be fine without milk feeds during the day. Mine was. I wish now it hadn't stressed me so much at the time.

LimesMum · 09/09/2014 22:53

Great news ljbanana!! Wish mine would be the same!!

Thanks for reassurance museumum!
I am really stressing about it, she also keeps waking at night so having to re start a dream feed much against my will as no way will anyone else be able to do this as I can't really hold a sippy cup to her for the 2-3 sips she takes!?

Maybe need to just persevere with different cups then....

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LJBanana · 10/09/2014 15:16

The bottle that mine eventually took was nuk with te silicone teat. I had tried this one previously but it was on the long list of one's he refused. It's so stressful. You really need iron will to crack it. I'm definitely a bit grey-er for it.
Another thing I tried was slipping it in when he was asleep to see if I could kick start the sucking process before he was awake enough to realise it wasn't me he was feeding from. Perhaps as your dream feed you could try it?
Good luck.

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