WWYD? DS won't have a bottle. Would you perservere?

[pinkspottywellies]

DS is 20 weeks and ex breast fed.

We have tried to give him EBM about half a dozen times though and although he did drink it once, more recently he has a huge screaming hissy fit if dh or I try to put a bottle in his mouth.

He usually goes to bed by around 7.30 so I can go out after this, but it was on a couple of occasions when I have gone out and ds has woken up again that DH has got a bottle out and the screaming has ensued (for about 2-3 hours until just before I got home!!)

The thing is, I don't really want to go through the process of trying again and again and upsetting all involved, but I think it would be useful for him to be ok with a bottle. But I don't want to express for the sake of it (to get him ok with a bottle), for the very occasional time where it might be useful.

I have also tried a cup - again DS not impressed.

So I just wondered what other people thought.

Thanks in advance

[RuthChan]

I too tried to get DD used to a bottle just in case I needed to be away from her. From 6 weeks she took expressed BM without much problem, but after a gap of a few weeks she refused and never took one again. I'm sorry to be pesimistic, but you may find that 20 weeks is just too late to start. It's possible that he won't accept a bottle until he's old enough to take a sippy cup/straw/cup. Maybe someone else will have more constructive advice.

[pinkspottywellies]

Thanks. As I say I don't really mind but just wondered if anyone would have a reason to keep trying that made me think it would be worth it!

[Builde]

I never succeeded in getting either of my two to take a bottle. I left it too late and probably didn't think that it was important enough to perservere.

I also had a husband who went away every other week so - since babies aren't good at taking bottles from their mothers when they can smell the breast - it didn't seem really possible.

The second one at six months started using a cup and grew to love formula so much that they were still drinking it at almost two. However, still breastfed her for 9 months.

The older one - after I had weaned her at about a year - never really drank any milk again!

I just gave up on the long nights out until they were both about 6-7 months old.