My baby wont take the bottle... Help!

[MammyShirl]

My little girl is now three months old and has been breastfed since birth. I am going back to work part time end of August and her grandmother will be taking care of her. I need to start weaning her off my breast and onto a bottle, i have tried every day for the last couple of weeks to introduce a bottle a day around lunch time but she will not take it. She cries so much i think she will have a fit. My partner and friends have tried giving her the bottle but it has not worked. Now when you even bring the bottle near her she screams. I dont know what to do, can anyone please advise me. thanks!

I really wouldn't worry about it yet, you've got two months before you go back to work and babies change a lot in that time. Personally, unless you really want to stop breastfeeding now, I would forget it for a while, particularly as she is getting so upset and just enjoy the time you have together. Later on, maybe a couple of weeks before you go back you can try again with a soft spout or another bottle or even a cup.

My dd was fine for the most part when I switched from breast to bottle - on the odd occasion she wasn't interested I held her one her side as I would for breasfeeding and put the bottle next to my breast - hey presto! worth a try maybe but as aloha says, there's plenty of time yet!

Ooh, sorry aloha, have to disagree. It took me a good two months of trying to get dd2 to take a bottle, so I would definitely persevere.

Try as many different types of teat/formula as you can - the combo that worked for us was the MAWS variflo and Hipp Organic baby milk.

Leave it for a few days then try again, when shes hungry but not starving. Definitely a good idea to get your partner to try.

Try not to get too stressed, as aloha says you've got plenty of time - but do keep trying, if you try gently every day eventually she will get the message.

mammyshirl I had this problem when I went back to work and found this

My ds never really loved bottles when I went back to work, but a feed in the morning and in the evening seemed to keep him going with minimal feeding in between. And he was actually much happier with the Boots sippy cup (not an anywayup cup as these are harder for young babies to drink from. If you plan to wean at four or five months (I know it's not recommended but a lot do) then you can offer yoghurt etc to make up the milk/fluid element.

I have to agree with aloha, I think you should just leave it until closer to the time. I don't think babies have more than a week or so memory at that age, so she will hopefully have forgotten her fear of bottles by the time you try again. And she will definitely drink from a bottle if she is hungry enough....don't worry she won't starve herself to death. At the moment she knows she has a choice and is choosing the breast...don't blame her really, it's attached to mummy and is so much more comfortable.

Thank you for all the advice. Bozza - i checked your link out and think i will try out a bottle and teat from boots. bit annoying really, i invested in avent bottles - waste of money now. hoefully i can make her get used to them soon. i really dont fancy depriving her of my breast until she takes the bottle. when she gets upset, it can get scary, she goes all red and looks like she is about to have a fit. she's a firey little one!!! it i staring to make me feel bad, half of me wants to breast feed exclusively and the other wants my body back. maybe i could give her bottles only when i am working and breast feed the rest of the time. i dont even know how much i will need to express. right now she sleeps 10 hours at night goes to bed 9.30pm, i wake up at 4am and express each breast for 5 mins and produce 4 ounzes or more. she normally feeds about 10-20 mins on each breast, surely she cant be drinking 16 ounzes each time?!?!

Don't need to try so soon, honestly. You have plenty of time and an older baby may only need to use a cup. Leave it for a while before trying again - you will only put her off for life.

I can definitely recommend carrying on breast feeding mornings and evenings when you are working. Its lovely to get home from work and re-establish that bond by feeding your baby.

I too recommend breastfeeding when you're not working. I did it and it worked really well. A five or six month old baby is very different to a three month old. I really think you should both take a rest from this stressful business. You may never actually need bottles at all.

I went back to work when DD was about 6/7 months old and went through that whole expressing/leaving bottles of breast milk at nursery for her. However she never really took to it so most of the expressed milk was wasted. As she was still having a good breastfeed in the morning and when I got home, and probably at bed time as well, she was getting plenty of milk. I couldn't get her to drink from a bottle so there was no point worrying. As she was on solids by that stage at least she wasn't getting hungry. She gradually dropped the breastfeeds and gave up at 11m. However she would never take breast or formula from a cup or bottle. It is only in the last few months (she is 18m now) that she will have a cup or 2 of milk a day (fresh whole organic cows milk). I gave her lots of milky things like yogurt and custard and cheese but didn't worry too much and she's fine! Good luck!

Agree with most on this thread. No need to push the bottle on your dd now. It may be a bit cruel to her grandmother, but if you wanted to you could just let her deal with introducing the bottle. I went back to work when DD was 4 months old. I had expressed 2 small bottles (approx. 10 ounces) and left them with the nanny to give to DD. I know our nanny had a hard time getting DD to take the bottle, but when she was hungry enough (actually probably near starving after not eating for approx. 5 or 6 hours and crying a lot during that first day), she finally took the bottle, drank the entire thing, and after that day, she didn't have a problem with the bottle at all. We started off with the Avent bottles, so just because your dd isn't taking them now doesn't mean she won't take them later. I also expressed at work once a day, and breastfed in the morning and numerous times in the evening until DD was 9 months old. Good luck! Everything will work out in the end.

I had similar problem to you and got very emotional about the whole thing, I was going back to work and also wanted to ease off breast feeding to give myself a break. I got so down about it I went to see GP and he gave me best piece of advise ever!He said get out of the house and that was it! If you take the baby outside with less familiar smells and sights around she may be less phased by the feeding change. ALso, to help the process I mixed expressed milk with formula (about half and half to begin with) so the taste wasn't such a shock. I hope this helps, it's got to be worth a try!

I had the same problem with my DS and when I went back to work at 7 1/2 months he still would not take a bottle/cup of any kind. I would feed him in the mornings and then he would be desperate to feed when I picked him up at the end of the day. Wouldn't touch water out of anything either so to keep up his fluids during the day he just had lots of watered down purees.

As he got older and was eating more solids he got thirstier and would then take water from an Avent soft spout but never really took milk from a bottle until 10 1/2 months when he decided he no longer wanted to breast feed and then loved a bottle.

I had a similar thing when I went back to work when sos was 7 mo. Tried all the usual millions of different bottles/teats/formulas, roping in random aunties/grandparents to try, and in the end I (well, sos) went "cold turkey". It took 12 hours, 3am last breast feed, then from morning offering bottle every hour or so (no solids) until finally at 3pm he guzzled down a full 6oz er and never looked back. I'd been dreading it but it really wasnt that traumatic. Remember your breast pump if you try this though,(!) and you might want to check ds's weight first with your hv if you worry about that kind of thing. Good luck! She will take it eventually I promise!

I went back to work when my dd was 5 months. Up til then she would not take a bottle and hated the avent bottles, their teats and expressed milk. So 3 weeks beforehand I dropped a feed and gave her formula in a boots bottle with a latex teat. I arranged it so that for the first 5 days when she was offered the bottle that I went out the house for 4/5 hours. When I came back it was time for her next feed. When I eventually gave her a bottle on day 6 I fed her at arms length and it worked.The next week I dropped another feed and then a 3rd one on the last week.

I then breast fed her in the evening till she was 8 months and continued with the morning feed till 11 months.

I waited till I had no choice and could make myself do it.

I am now onto the battle of stopping the bottle and taking a cup

I can really sympathise, I had this problem, it took ages to sort out. In the end I tried the latex teats orthodontic and it was like magic. They are much softer than the Avent ones.

God, this thread is as if I have written it! I had problems getting my dd on to bottles and got really down about it. I wasn't on a deadline to get back to work as I had been temping but was looking at around 5-6 months being back at work, but basically I wanted my body back!

My dd was VERY stubborn - went nearly 10 hours without a feed when I tried to 'starve' her into going onto bottles - I tried the Avent with no luck and somone recommended the NUK range which worked but only after a lot of trying, not sure if it was the NUK bottle or the fact that she had just started to be weaned on to baby rice mixed with formula and recognised the taste? Not sure.

I got very upset at times when dd was screaming and red in the face and felt like a bad mother etc, all I can say is don't get too stressed like I did as it does spoil your last few months of breastfeeding. Good luck, it will work eventually!

i have given my daughter a break, i am due to go back to work end of august. we are going on holiday 19th of July for a week (booked a long time ago) - bad timing!!! i think i will wait until i return before i try again, do you think this is a good idea? i think i will try with a boots bottle and latex teat. i am still trying to decide if i will put her onto formula end of july or supplement with formula and breast feed mornings and last feed at night. if i decide to still breast feed twice a day, will my breasts adjust or will i have to express 4 times a day (she feeds 6 times a day). i am not sure how it works, i see a lot of mothers said they breast feed when at home. im worried that if i do have to express as well that it will tire me out. i also think i would get sick of it. AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! this is driving me mad and this is only the beginning... ill be back with my weaning problems!!!!!!!!!!!!!
not really, i love being a mammy, i prefer it to anything in the world, i just wish somethings where easier.

Mammysgirl - I think you have made the right choice. When I returned to work part-time I had stockpiled expressed milk in the freezer before returning. That meant I expressed at work ( by baby no. 4, I found hand expressing the quickest thig to do). On my days off I just breastfed as normal. Have you considered doing that? My babies had bottles when I wasn't home to do it. I didn't introduce a bottle till the week I went back to work (age 14-16 weeks). I personally did not want to give formula so was determined to express. My last baby did not start solids till 6 months, so it can be done.
Depends how you feel about breastfeeding with regards to formula. It is not needed, but perhaps you want to scale feeding down. I personally loved feeding so did not want to jeopordise it by introducing formula. There are lots of mumsnetters who have mix fed so I am sure you will get good advice. In the meantime enjoy your holiday

Mammyshirl, your breasts will adjust over time. You won't be able to feed one day 6 times and then only twice the next day. You definitely won't have to express 4 times. It's odd, but the first day of work when I went back, I nursed right before work, then I had to express twice during the day at work. You'll definitely be able to tell when because your breasts will become rock hard, painful, and leaky. Eventually, I think a week later, I was able to cut down to just expressing once a day, and then eventually cut that out. I hope this helps. Good luck.

oh - also like Mears, I didn't introduce the bottle until I went to work. Actually, DD's nanny introduced the bottle to her. Mears, I'm amazed that you were able to hand express. I don't know anyone who has been able to do that and get anything but maybe one ounce. I used the Medela Pump-n-style, which was fabulous and portable. I highly recommend it.

7 oz at a time, tinyfeet. Honestly once you get the knack

Have to say that working on labour ward at the time probably helped my let down. Sometimes shifts were too busy too express and I would hurray home only to find that the baby had just had a feed. AAARRGGHHHH. Had to express the rocks but that would give more than enough milk o cover my next shifts. Oh how I actually loved those times Youngest child is 9 years old - will never experience breastfeeding again

My hat is off to you, mears. I will be coming to you for breastfeeding advice if I need it with my next baby (due at Christmas).