Tips for getting baby to take bottle?

[ZEWatson]

Any tips please for getting 5 week baby to take bottle? She's breastfed since birth. A few weeks ago she would try at a bottle, wouldn't finish it though. But now she just cries or pushes the teat out with her tongue when we try. We've tried it freshly expressed so still warm, we've tried warming it further, tried when she's starving and straight after a breastfeed. We've tried with me out the room, and we've tried mam, tommee tippe close to nature and the hospitals 'standard' teat. We really need her to start taking a bottle soon as I'm not able to stay with her all the time! We've tried every day, but I'm wasting so much breast milk!

I have no advice as neither of my children would take a bottle - some never do but wanted to reassure you on the wasting breast milk front. Although you will of course have to express more, you won't run out as your body will just make more. I appreciate that's probably not directly helpful though.

It might be worth thinking about a back up plan just in case she won't be persuaded on the bottle front.

I want to understand as sounds like you are desperate but I can't. Why at 5 weeks do you need to be apart from your baby? Why didn't you just bottle feed from birth if that was what you wanted?

I'm sorry don't mean to be goady or condescending but baby is so little you've fed her for 5 weeks why can't you continue? I know it sounds like a huge deal right now but in a years time things will be so different and you will be able to leave your baby.

I am continuing to breastfeed. We've tried baby on bottles since we've been out of hospital but we've struggled, she just likes the boob. I intend to breastfeed beyond her first birthday, however I am an athlete and unfortunately if I wish to continue my sport, which I really would like to, I can't have her with me on my long training runs or on race days. These aren't often but I'll need her to take a bottle to be able to continue. I hope that makes sense.
Z

Well sort of I suppose. I'm a club runner myself and I do appreciate that but both times with my children the training had to take a back bench. Easy for me to say but it doesn't last forever. Whilst mine were small I just used to accept that I could only do shorter runs up to 90 minutes. It wasn't all that comfortable sometimes anyway. You can go back to it in a year without missing much even if you are professional.

Hi ..just saw ur post .
I m facing the same issue right now with my 5 month old .
Just want to ask that did anything work for u ?
TiA

At 5 months I'd just use try cup feeding. Will LO drink much from a cup?

Dnt know tbh as i didnt tried yet . But i will start now .
Thinking of using sippy cup from tommie tippee