Any tips on getting your baby to take a bottle and breast? H

[flapjackaddict]

Hi

I need to get my baby used to the bottle. He is breastfed and I want to go into work for some keeping in touch days but unless he takes a bottle of expressed milk I can't do it.

I have tried for 4 days twice a day. Tried a couple of different teats too. Is it a case of perseverce and he'll take it eventually? If so I will carry on but I just wanted to hear other people's experiences and how they got their baby to take the bottle?

My son is 12.5 weeks old. He just cries when the bottle goes in his mouth. He uses a dummy fine no issues with feeding and dummy.

[CrackersandCheese]

Hi. I've just cracked this with my 19 week old. I found breastflow bottles worked and making the milk really nice and warm.

What bottles have you tried?

[KatAndKit]

Have you tried getting someone else to give the bottle? If it is you doing it then he is right near your breast and can smell the milk and therefore might not accept the bottle and demand the real thing instead. If you are out of the house or at least out of sight it might work better. Also offer bottles when he is not starving hungry and upset, and not tired either. If he is in a good mood he might play around with the bottle a bit and then eventually drink some.

[soon2bmumof3]

Could you try someone else giving the bottle rather than you? Not that it worked for my DS but I think it does work for some! Baby can smell the lovely breast milk on you and is snuggled up expecting to get the breast so more likely to take it off someone else who isn't lactating!

[pregnantpause]

My dd refused the bottle for so long, I was desperate. Tried loads of tests/bottles. In the end it turned out to be heat. I wasn't warming the milk enough. I warmed it, but she liked it hot. Not scalding, but cup of tea hot. She was nearly 5 months when we figured that out, I managed to carry on bf and expressing another 9 months later. Good luck.

[BedHog]

What worked for my children was making sure the milk was nice and warm, laying them across my lap with their head on a pillow, staring into their eyes (in a friendly way) and making noises as if I was drinking the milk myself. Sometimes I had to start the feed by rubbing the teat on their upper gum.

[chocolatetester1]

Had this with ds1, turned out he needed a number 2 teat as the number 1 was too slow a flow. Good luck.

[CrackersandCheese]

Yep- what pregnantpause said. I think that was our main issue x

[flapjackaddict]

Ah thanks. It's seems warm milk is common. I've been making the milk skin temperature warm never "warm" I will try this. My mom and his dad have been the ones trying to feed and I have stayed out the room too. We have tried when he is due and a feed and when he isn't but will try when he is happy and content too and make it playful too.