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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

5mnth DD can't get formula out of bottle!

25 replies

SarahScot · 24/08/2011 21:14

DD has been breastfed until a couple of weeks ago when I went back to work. She's on bottles of formula during the day now and breastfed through the night and in the morning.

When she gets a bottle she will suck away at it for about 15 mins and it will seem like she is drinking but only actually geta between 1 and 2 oz. We have Avent and Tommee Tippee bottles and she seems to be better with the tommee tippee. I'm using the size 3 fast flow teats so surely it should be easy to get the milk out? I've had a go myself and the milk virtually pours out with the smallest of sucks.

I have a very fast letdown - could this be the problem? DD barely needs to suck at the breast at all to get the milk out.

On average she is only managing to get 4 or 5 oz of formula a day. This means that she is up every 1 to 2 hrs during the night catching up on her milk. I'm sooooooo tired and really struggling to keep going.

How can I teach her to get the milk out of a bottle?

OP posts:

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jenrendo · 24/08/2011 21:19

Hmmm I'm not sure about converting from breast to bottle as we had to FF DS, but I do remember having to try out lots of different Tommee Tippee teats to find the ones that were suitable and have the whole collection in my garage :) He has used them all at some point. Maybe the size 3 are too fast and she can't cope? What about trying the variflow ones. DS was on them at 6months and still is at 11 months. Good luck! An expert will be along in a mo...

Nagoo · 24/08/2011 21:21

give her a cup? The 4month tommee tippee basic cups require no sucking.

SarahScot · 24/08/2011 21:22

I don't think they're too fast. I started with size 1, tried size 2, then moved to size 3 and she was rubbish at all of them.

OP posts:

Nagoo · 24/08/2011 21:22

this well minimal sucking

SarahScot · 24/08/2011 21:23

Nagoo, I might be being dim, but do babies not need to suck in order to swallow? I say this because DD has started solids but can only seem to swallow them by sucking her fingers!

OP posts:

tethersend · 24/08/2011 21:24

Does she have milk dribbling out of the sides of her mouth?

SarahScot · 24/08/2011 21:26

No, no milk dribbling out her mouth.

OP posts:

Nagoo · 24/08/2011 21:27

They have to learn how to swallow the food. That's normal, they can't work their tongue to get the food to the back of their mouths at first.

Nagoo · 24/08/2011 21:28

A BF baby pushes forward against the breast with their tongue, IIRC

SarahScot · 24/08/2011 21:33

Thanks for your advice ladies. I can't keep my eyes open now so off to bed for a few minutes of sleep before DD wakes me up! I'll check back tomorrow to see if anyone has a magical instant answer!!

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lilham · 25/08/2011 04:29

To me it sounds like she doesn't know how to suck it too. If it's too fast and she's sucking correctly, milk would dribble out of her mouth. Sorry can't be any help because my DD just plays with the teat in her mouth I've been told breastflow bottles are good, but she plays with that too and not sucking.

Hope someone can come along with some help.

SarahScot · 25/08/2011 20:05

Today between 7:30a.m. and 5:00 p.m. DD drank NO formula at all. Am feeling panicky now.

Going to order a breastflow bottle to see if that makes a difference. Has anyone used them with any success?

Feel so sad for DD and so guilty for not being with her during the day. Why is being a parent all about guilt?!?

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jenrendo · 26/08/2011 10:11

Can you try it out of a sippy cup or just feed her our of a cup yourself? Did she have water or anything else?

SarahScot · 26/08/2011 19:48

Yes, she takes sips of water from a sippy cup, but it gets everywhere. I think if we tried formula more would end up in her clothes than in her tummy. When I'm with her she is breastfed, is just an issue when she's at nursery. If we can't get her to take bottles then I'll have to ask nursery to take the time to syringe it into her I think. I hate having to go to work.

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jenrendo · 27/08/2011 15:45

I know, it's rubbish. Surely the nursery will do as you ask though. Sorry I can't suggest anything else. Good luck! :)

lilham · 27/08/2011 18:51

How old is you DD? I've been told they can start learning to use a cup from 6mo and can get quite good from 7mo.

SarahScot · 27/08/2011 19:12

She's just past 5 months. Have nuby bottle to try and got breastflow one on order so hopfully one will work.

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PenguinArmy · 27/08/2011 20:01

Sounds like you have a few things to carry on trying with.

I know it's hard to do the night feeds with working (DD fed every 2 hours until about 10 months and still on 4 feeds while I was at home at a year - I was back at work at 4 months as well), but it does mean she is getting enough. If your DC was sleeping from 7:30pm to 5am you wouldn't be worried.

DD did well with the valved cups when she had a bottle issue at that age, not sure what you mean by sippy cup. Is she the same with expressed milk?

lilham · 27/08/2011 21:55

Oh ofc, it's in the title that your DD is 5mo. My brain is gone to jellies since having a baby . @PenguinArmy Interesting about the valved cup. My DD is also a bottle refuser and I'm a bit worried about her too when I'm back at work at 7mo. I always thought valved cups are very hard work to suck milk out. But maybe I'll buy one to add to my huge collection of bottles and teats lol.

ShouldersBackAndNoBiscuits · 27/08/2011 22:00

Have you tried a NUK bottle with a latex teat? worked with both of my non-bottle drinking DDs. The teats are softer and a weird shape which seems to work for me. Don't know what it says about my nips though!

SarahScot · 28/08/2011 19:28

Thanks Shoulders, will go out and buy NUK too. Managed to get her to take 4 oz out of the Nuby one today, so is definitely an improvement.

She was very slightly better at drinking expressed milk but it was still difficult to get her to take it. Am too busy at work to regularly express so it's not really practical.

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ShouldersBackAndNoBiscuits · 30/08/2011 09:59

If she's drinking out of one type of bottle I'd stick with it tbh. I tried loads with DD1 and with dd2 I just persisted with nuk ones. Took the same length of time!

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Eglu · 30/08/2011 20:04

ShouldersBackAndNoBiscuits can I just ask how long you needed to persevere with your DD's to get them to take a bottle. We are struggling with DD who is 9 weeks old, and I'm just wondering how long it may take.

HarrietJones · 30/08/2011 20:29

Dd3 still Canf suck a bottle/sippy cup at 10 months. We give a doidy & she still laps. Not sure if that's linked to not being able to use a bottle.

MeriNisipPoissons · 31/08/2011 19:29

Maybe a spouted one cup like this and chunkier in her mouth. I know a EBF baby that does really well with it but not bottles.

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