Looking for a maternity nurse in West London to help with bottle feeding

[Nape77]

Hi there,

We are really struggling with getting our 5-month old to take the bottle and I am due back at work in five weeks.

Can anyone recommend a maternity nurse in West London who might be able to help with bottle training?

Or does anyone know how to find a good maternity nurse for this kind of thing?

Thanks so much for your help in advance.

[VeryPunny]

Save your money - bottle refusal is very common and your DC will get the hang of it once they realise you aren't around during the day - especially if they've started weaning, they may just make do on food or just feed all night to compensate, DD I'm looking at you

Who will be looking after your child? A decent nursery/childminder/nanny will have 101 tricks to try. Have you tried a doidy/sippy cup instead of a bottle?

[Artandco]

There's no need. Your baby will be over 6 months then on your return to work. At this age they can eat food and drink from a cup during the day. And you can breastfeed still morning and evening.

If you leave either expressed milk or formula with whoever is caring for baby in the day, they can make milky porridge and give yogurt during the day for their milk intake, and can offer and type of milk including cows milk in a cup or beaker to save the bottle. Cows milk can be used if not main source of milk ie you will still breastfeed morning and evening.

Have you tried the doidy cup? It's an open cup that you need to help them pour but slanted so the adult can see how much is going in so you don't tip too much at once. They are very good and can be used all through toddler age as they can use by themselves after a while also

[tiktok]

I agree - that would be a terrible waste of money!!

Plenty of tips here:

www.nct.org.uk/sites/default/files/related_documents/Bottle-feeding%20for%20breastfed%20babies%20FINAL%20WITHOUT%20BLEED.pdf

[Micah]

Agree, I had a bottle refuser and went back to work, successfully breastfeeding until 8m/14m.

first one just started taking formula one day about 8m and refused the breast. Second completely refused bottles, so bf morning/night, with yoghurt, cheese or dairy snacks at nursery.

Mine dropped their daytime milk feeds around 8m anyway, so just am/pm, and the occasional night feed.

[Nape77]

Thanks, ladies! I am trying a Doidy cup tomorrow so will see how that goes... We have literally tried everything else though over the last five weeks with little success so trying to line up a maternity nurse as a last resort. Looking to stop breastfeeding altogether when I go back to work. I travel regularly with work and it would just be too difficult.

[Micah]

If you want to stop breastfeeding completely and move to formula here's how my friend did it;

Express, express, express until you have a big freezer stash. Go out for the day, leaving baby with bottles of expressed milk. If they have a dummy, pop dummy in, when they get sucking dribble milk in, then quickly replace dummy with bottle. Let them work up a bit of an appetite, and just keep offering the bottle until they take it. Offering after a nap helps as they wake up hungry.

Once they take expressed milk, swap with formula an oz at a time. so 5 oz EBM, 1 oz formula for a few days, then 4 oz EBM 2 oz formula, etc.

You will need to go cold turkey with the breastfeeding, just stop and offer the bottle. Friend didn't have anyone to take the baby so walked around a shopping centre for hours offering the bottle in the pram. Eventually baby took some, had a nap, then drained the rest when they woke.

[Artandco]

Who will look after baby when you work? They should be able to help tbh.

Otherwise have you tried nuk glass bottle with latex teat?

[Nape77]

Yep, tried pretty much everything and no luck. This boy does not like plastic - he won't take the dummy either despite me trying hard to give it to him. He will just about deal with a spoon because he loves the fruity solids so much!

We will have a nanny when I go back to work, but she does not start until 2 weeks before I am due back. Ideally, I wanted him to be happy on the bottle a good few weeks before I go back so he does not have to deal with too many changes in such a short space of time ie first no more boob and then mum is back at work too 😁 Hope I am making sense!

Thanks for all your replies, ladies. Really appreciate it!

[Nape77]

Micah, yes, I think I probably will have to go cold turkey which I wanted to avoid at all costs... But it is looking increasingly likely that this will be our only option...

[Nape77]

Hence the question about the maternity nurse. The plan would be for my husband to manage it through with the nurse. I can't be around for it for two reasons: 1. I would be an emotional wreck and 2. He is less likely to take the bottle if I am around...

[NewLife4Me]

Wow, so lucky he didn't take the dummy, they look dreadful when you can't get rid of them. Give him a cuddle instead.

Agree 100% save your money and move onto follow up milk with a cup and cows milk.
He'll take it when hungry or thirsty.

[Micah]

Wow, so lucky he didn't take the dummy, they look dreadful when you can't get rid of them. Give him a cuddle instead.

Yeah, so lucky. You don't see many teenagers with dummies so i reckon most do get rid if them at some point.

[mrswishywashy]

I'm a maternity nurse and have helped with a few bottle refusers. Can the new nanny come and do some hours before hand? It will be much easier if someone other than you can do it.

I've just had my own baby so can't help in person but happy to give tips by PM.

[Nape77]

Hi Mrs Wishywashy, thanks so much for your offer to give tips - really kind of you. And congrats on your new arrival :-) Do you know any other maternity nurses that could help by any chance? I think we need somebody to be there in person for a couple of days so they can actually give him the bottle... Thanks again!

[Nape77]

Sorry, forgot to say - the nanny cannot do any hours beforehand unfortunately :-(