From breast to bottle....

[milkshakes]

Can anyone out there give me any tips on transfering a 2 month old from breast to bottle? I am expressing milk into bottle but he will have none of it!

[BustleInYourHedgerow]

Try the bottle when he's asleep/Dozy...Don't wait till he's very hungry! Maybe half way through a feed?
Is trial and error TBH.

[Loosingmymind]

Maybe try warming the teat a bit? Experiment with different bottles?

[milkshakes]

Thanks for the tips! Will try them tonight and pray for the best!

[MrsSantosisafeminist]

Get someone else to do the trying (gives you a break as well ). Babies can smell their mothers' milk from a really quite surprising distance (can't remember how far but you need to leave the house probably). If they think it is there on tap they may refuse anything else from you.

Whoever does it needs to be patient. Some fathers do not excel at this at first but will succeed if they persist. Other rellies can step in, as long as they don't phone you within 10 minutes saying "it's no good, the baby doesn't want to know". DC2 was a refusenik for a while and ended up grabbing the bottle and swigging the EBM like a navvy as she grew older

Good luck

[Lexilicious]

Ooh I have exactly this problem with my 2 month old. Returned from an evening out yesterday (only 2 hours!) to a near-inconsolable boy in my mum's arms .Bless her she was completely unfazed by it, just comforted him, kept offering the EBM and waited for us to return.

I was thinking of trying different teats and was looking to see if the question had been asked before. Anyone tried a NUK teat? Naturalatch?

[milkshakes]

Tried to give the milk to baby when he was dozy but he just chewed on it for a while before looking for the real thing. Will get hubby to do it next time. Never heard of NUK or naturalatch but by the look on the website it looks good. Has anyone tried and tested it or are all nipples created equal????

[BertieBotts]

I think different teats are like different nappies - they suit different babies

[christiana]

Message withdrawn

[Lexilicious]

Have just gone out and bought NUK, TT and Boots own. (oh and as many wet wipes on 2-for-1 as I could carry to make up to £20 to get triple points - what a sucker I am) (pun not deliberate)

The NUKs are brown because they are latex not silicone, which will make them more flexible but less durable (so I read). The Tommee Tippee and Boots ones are silicone but are supposedly designed for mixed feeding (whether FF or EBM). We shall see.

[milkshakes]

I await your feedback......

[dinkystinkystein]

My DS2 - a bottle refusnik - "likes" the MAM ultivent teats - they're harder for him to push out and more nipple shaped than others I think. They fit into Avent bottles so may be worth trying some of those out.

[TheInvisibleHand]

This was really annoying, but we found DS would drink from a bottle if it was formula inside, but not EBM . So if all else fails, that could be worth a try.

[olivo]

i second the MAM ones as they are flatter. i also use them in the Avent bttles!

[milkshakes]

Wow! I didnt realise there were so many choices! Thanks for all the advice! Its nice to know I am not alone!!!I will try and get some of these teats and see if I can sucker him into taking the bottle that way!

[pookamoo]

DD just chews them all

We gave up and now at 10 months I am trying to get her to drink from a cup...

So I'd say keep trying at 2 months because if you do want to use a bottle eventually, it will be easier in the long run.

[stantonjulie]

I have finally got my dd (12 weeks old) to take a bottle of EBM. I have tommee tippee bottles and had to buy a bottle warmer (on ebay) as the temperature was an issue.

I had her get used to it by giving her a bottle with around 3oz in at 11am (when she was fully awake and hungry) and then rewarding her with boob to finish the feed - once she managed that 3 days in a row I went for the 11pm when she was sleepy and hungry and bingo. She now happily takes 5-6oz. It was really stressful but persevere - you will get there!

[milkshakes]

I read in a book that if you dont introduce the bottle by 5 - 6 weeks then they become hooked on the breast. Hence my desire to try and get him on the bottle.
I quite like the tommee tippee bottles ( especially their storage pots that fit right into them) but having difficulty getting used to warming up the milk. I am so used to just whipping out a breast.....
Perservere i must, i guess.

[Lexilicious]

well, the NUK teat is not really going down all that well this evening. Or is it. I can't tell. Is he wriggly just because he had plenty of naps earlier today and has lots of energy? Is he excited about the resolution of tonight's CSI? He's not bothering much with the EBM anyway. I've realised I don't really know how to offer the bottle to the mouth - worried about shoving it in too far and hurting the soft palate.

[milkshakes]

Thanks for the feedback! I am still trying with the regular teats but am still not getting anywhere. I too am worried about shoving the teat too far down his throat. Am ready to throw in the towel.... Tired of throwing away milk and sterilising half used bottles...