Refusing bottle- how to get 3 month old to take it

[emmabu]

Hi

DD now 3 months old and due to her being the second DD I have not used the bottle (first DD on EBM for dreamfeed from 4 weeks and very happy with bottle, this time round no time to pump!)

I am VERY tired- I have posted before, DD very fussy feeder (comes off crying a lot at every feed) and this is still not resolved so not sure if she is just not liking the bottle or is actually in discomfort. Seen 2 GPs, 3 HVs, 3 BF counsellors and a Cranial Osteopath and not got to the root of the fussiness, been told I might just have to muddle on- I have had enough- I have now done 100 days without more than a 3 hour run of sleep and am desperate to get her on the bottle.

Read a book that said persevere with the bottle for 24 hour stretch, tried today, DD took about 2 fl ounces between 7am and 6pm and it has been traumatic with constant crying,felt so bad and 'gave in' and breast fed her at 6pm. Book also said keep the bottle in the mouth for her to feed for up to an hour, just read another book (I know too much reading), that said only try for 5 mins and then try again an hour later otherwise you will completely put baby off. Help-so confused and not sure what to do.

Should I try to crack it over an intense period, or should I try a bottle once every day?? If I then 'give in' will I ever get anywhere? Please help!

[chipmonkey]

emma, you poor thing, you sound exhausted! My ds3 was an outright bottle refuser and trying to give him a bottle was a nightmare! This is what worked for me;

1/ stop all efforts for a few days. This allows baby to forget about the bottle.
2/ Try a bottle with a latex teat This teat worked for us in the end. Unfortunately the bottle it goes on to is a disposable system which I don't like using but hey, you do what works!
3/ Walk around with the baby facing away from you with the bottle in her mouth. Sing. ( yes , I know, it sounds ridiculous but it worked!)
4/ If this works, give a bottle daily till it is no longer an issue.

Another recommendation by a friend of my Mums was to wrap one of your recently-worn bras around the bottle to give the right smell.
If none of this works you could try a cup but if using a modern non-spill cup you would need to take the valve out.
Some people have also had success with the Medela Haberman feeder It was invented for babies with cleft palate/special needs but can also work with bottle refusers. Another bottle than some babies will take is the Adiri natural nurser

I hope some of this works. Keep posting if not!

[emmabu]

Thanks chipmonkey.

I am pretty exhausted, we have decided to do just 'nice' things today, as my DD1 also suffered yesterday.

I have a couple of questions:

'4/ If this works, give a bottle daily till it is no longer an issue.'
Do you mean give one bottle a day- i.e. to replace just one feed?, should I go for it all day, or just try for one feed? How long should I persevere? I don't think I can do yesterdays marathon again and stay sane! And my milk is definitely down today because I did not feed for most of the day (but did pump).

If she refuses should I try again the next day or leave it a few days?

[chipmonkey]

Oh no, just one feed, not the whole day, that would be much more exhausting than just bfing and wouldn't help supply.

If she refuses again, I would be inclined to leave it another while because ds3 got to the point where he would scream if he even saw the bottle.

Has anyone welse tried to give her the bottle or just you?

[emmabu]

It was my husband who actually tried most od the time, I had to either leave the house or hide upstairs as I couldn't stand the crying. A great way to spend the bank holiday weekend!

We don't have any family close by so it is either me, or husband at the weekend.

Just realised the title of my thread sounds like I have the answer, rather than the question.

[chipmonkey]

I have to say, ds3 has displayed the same amount of stubborness through most of his life, (he's 3 now) so brace yourself!