Stubborn 6 month old baby won't go on the bottle

[Domino1]

6 month old daughter will not take the bottle/formula after exclusive bf. I started trying to introduce bottle of formula at afternoon feed at 4 months but not making fuss & bf if it didn't work - it never did! As she is now on solids (going well, 3 meals a day) I dropped pm bf when she took bottle (2.5 oz)one miraculous day but although I have not given bf at this time since, she has not taken bottle properly either. She just sucks a bit, maybe drinks 1/2 oz & then isn't interested but now can manage without it until dinner & then bedtime bf. I am ready to drop all feeds but can't until she takes the formula instead - I did try to drop mid morning feed too hoping she might get the message but she still didn't take the bottle & then could not get thru the day without a bf. Any advice welcome. I have tried different bottles/teats/sippy cut/doidy & 3 different formulas. My mum said she gave us evaporated milk mixed with boiling water - is this an option these days? Should I put sugar on the teat, anything.....
THANK YOU.

[Jojay]

I would try anything if it gets her going - I can't see that evaporated milk would do her any harm just for a day or do, ditto the sugar, but someone may tell me I'm wrong.

FWIW I tried dipping the teat in golden syrup on my Granny's recommendation, but it didn't work, he just sucked the syrup off but no milk went in..........

The only thing that worked for me was to go cold turkey and I didn't bf at all in the day, just morning and night.

The first couple of days he didn't take much, but he was 8 months then and eating a fair amount of solids, so I gave him things like peaches to keep his fluid intake up.

After a few days he was away and now happily downs 8 oz bottles.

I guess it depends how badly you need her to take a bottle.

In our case he really had to, as I was returning to work and I do long days, but it's fine now, and not nearly as traumatic as I thought it might be.

I used MAM teats if that's any use.

Good luck

[Boobz]

I had this problem recently, but DD is not yet 6 months so not on solids yet, so I'm not sure if my experience will help.

I go back to work in a month's time, so DD needs to take both 11am and 3pm feeds from the bottle when she is at child minder.

I started on a Saturday (so DH could help) and dropped the 11am feed onto the bottle from boob (had been EBF until this point) and made myself promise I would not feed from the boob until 3pm. For the first 4 days we had tears and tears and a hunger strike - she did not feed between 7am and 3pm - she just skipped the feed - much like your DD is doing. I had planned to let her "get away with it" until the following Saturday, and then drop the 3pm boob feed onto the bottle as well, so that I was forcing the issue ("surely she can't go from 7 - 7 without feeding?!!"), but as it was, on Day 5, she suddenly latched on and took 3oz! Day 6 she took 5oz, and by the Saturday she took the full 7oz bottle. Hallelujah! From the first day and scream scream screaming she was letting out from her little mouth, I thought she would NEVER take the bottle, but it only took a week in the end. So now I haven't yet dropped the 3pm boob feed onto the bottle, as I still have a few weeks before I go back to work, and I know I'll miss it, so am now the one hanging on to it, not DD!

Anyway, all I'm saying is that if you're consistent, she will get there - I haven't yet heard of a baby who has starved itself by refusing the bottle, but you do have to stand firm.

HTH.

[Jackstini]

Have you tried expressing so dd only has to get used to different drinking method, not a different taste too?
No chance she is lactose intolerant and nneds a dairy free option?
If you are dropping feeds it is kinder/easier to do it gradually - is there a reason you need to drop them all so soon?

[Jackstini]

Oops, forgot to add, is someone else giving her the bottle? if you are doing it she likely won't take as she will smell your bm and naturally want that instead!

[weegiemum]

Please don't listen to your Mum re: evap milk etc ... just totally not safe!

Is there a reason to drop the breastfeeds, like going back to work or anything?

Just wondered as maybe you should be "listening" to your dd about not giving up quite yet - she seems to love bf and not want to stop, and bf is a 2 way relationship. You say you are ready to give up all the feeds, but maybe she isn't?Could you drop the daytime feeds but keep going morning and evening?

A lot of people go back to work at 6 months, give food and water through the day at nursery/CM etc, then do plenty breastfeeds in the morning and evening. I did that with dd1 (but by the time others came along I had given up work for now!)

Hope you can sort it out - its awful when you are stressed by feeding (my dd2 just wasn't interested in solids till 7-8 months and I got pretty stressed by that!)

[Jojay]

Why is evaporated milk not safe Weegie? Just curious that's all

[Ineedsomesleep]

Just wondering why you want to give up?

My DS never would have a bottle, and we tried everything. He was a bit older when I returned to work so ate quite well but I bf him in the morning and then again when I got home. Any other milk he just refused.

He has survived quite well I think, doesn't seem to have done him any permanent damage.

[Domino1]

Hi all - thanks for messages. I just know I am ready to give up now, I am delighted to have done 6 months but that's fine for me - although happy to keep the evening one going for a while longer. Someone else giving her the bottle doesn't seem to make any difference but I have to admit I haven't tried ebm yet as haven't wanted/had time for it but will give it a go (although moving house in 2 weeks so I'm not sure when!)

Jackstini - what made you suggest lactose intolerance & how would I know this?

Not looking forward to cold turkey on this as so far she has dropped the pm feed without substituting at all - little minx!

Also need to deal with bad sleep association soon so I don't have fun ahead - lucky DD is so amazing.

[nannynz]

I worked for a three month old who would not take the bottle while mother was at work. It took six weeks for him to be comfortable on the bottle.

Here are some things I tried:

• many bottles but ended up using the NUK

• the milk needed to be quite warm for him to take it

• i would side track him with tv/stories and put bottle to mouth and wipe it round his lips. If he fussed I put bottle down and tried again after a few minutes. I would do this for an hour and whether he'd drunk anything or not would not offer him any more bottle until the next feed time. He was BF at 7am, then bottles at 10am and 2pm and BF when his Mother came home between 4/5pm. Plus feeding at night when needed.

• He did not loose any weight or show any signs of unhappieness unless he saw the bottle.

-It was a huge struggle at the time but although mother was happy to BF she did need to work so we needed to be persistent.

[mears]

Have you tried juice to drink? Yes I know that usually water is recommended but some really dilute fresh juice, or baby juice can be something different for you baby to take. At 6 months old there is no way I would introduce formula to replace breastfeeds. I always gave juice as a drink at meal times when I dropped a breastfeed. Oldest DS is 22years old and he doesn't have a filling. Just take care of teeth.

[Jojay]

Domino - I tired deropping just one feed a day initially but like yours, DS2 just held out.

It was only when I dropped two feeds that he was hungry enough to take it.

It makes me sound horrid to suggest cold turkey, but with my DS we tried everything.

I'd offered him a bottle of EBM every day for a month to no avail - all that precious EBM going down the drain!

I'd tried formula, juice, water. I tried getting various other people to give him a bottle. I went out for the morning and left DH to it, in case my being around was enough to make him hold out. I tried various sippy cups. I tried every bottle teat ever manufactured. i tried when he was very hungry. i treid when he wasn't hungry. I tried him wide awake, I tried him asleep (dream feed).

Nothing worked, and he had to take milk somehow, as I leave for work at 5.30 am so it was too early to do a morning feed.

Skipping two feeds was the only thing that worked.

It wasn't nearly as traumatic as I though. I kept him busy between feeds, we were out and about, and before I knew it he was taking it.

Good Luck