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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Anyone tried the medela calma?

29 replies

Neeko · 06/08/2010 16:04

That's about it really. I have a 4.5 month old bf DD who won't take a bottle. We've tried all sorts, all ways at all times. I've just seen this and wondered if anyone had tried it and if it worked.
Thanks.

OP posts:

bettydoc · 06/08/2010 21:48

We've got one. I thought it looked like a great idea but our 8 week old son doesn't appear to agree. He'll take a Tommee Tippee CTN without any bother and isn't too bad with an Avent bottle but he just can't manage with that one. It does state on the bottle that it's something a baby has to work at so I will continue to give him a wee go with it. He is still v. young so your little one might have more success.

If it's any consolation we tried all sorts with our DD (now almost 5) and she would not entertain anything other than boob so I know what you're going through.

Good luck!

Original poster

Neeko · 07/08/2010 07:58

Thanks for that. She doesn't like anything (other than skin ) in her mouth so I suspect that it's not the magic answer I'm looking for but think I'll give it a try. Hope your DS gets the hang of it soon.

Anyone else?

OP posts:

Original poster

Neeko · 08/08/2010 20:45

bump

OP posts:

Phillie · 18/08/2010 09:55

have you tried it yet? Having bottle fed EBM once a day from about 4 weeks with my first, for some reason I didn't do this with my second. Tried a bottle at 4 weeks and had no problem so stupidly left it, thinking it would be OK. Then at 3 months she was having none of it! Today, however, I tried with the Medela Special Needs Feeder from the first feed of the day and she has only a little reluctantly taken 5 oz :) Would quite like to use the Calma instead though as think is similar but it at least has a teat cover and is cheaper!!

Original poster

Neeko · 18/08/2010 20:39

Well done on the 5oz.

I haven't tried it yet as they were sold out on the website and I haven't had a chance to get to Mothercare. Doubtful that it'll work for me though. How does the special needs feeder work?

OP posts:

balletmoo · 05/01/2011 00:03

My LO was born 6 weeks prem in September weighing just under 4 lbs. Because of his size, I struggled with breast feeding, but because I wanted to work round to it, I purchased the medela calma so that he had a bottle that would make it easier to transfer to breast feeding later on.

It took a while to get him using it, but they have been a god-send. After 8 weeks, I was able to start properly breastfeeding, and use the Calma for night feeds with EBM.

I doubt I could have achieved this without the Calma, so I can't recommend it enough.

That said, he's now 18 weeks, a bit of a guzzler and lazy too, so he can't get the milk out of the Calma fast enough so I may change to NUK, TT CLN or Dr Browns, but the Calma was great.

Hope that helps!

japhrimel · 05/01/2011 19:17

We've got one and its great as it encourages more natural suckling and makes the baby work for food like at the breast. It is quite a stiff long teat though, so you have to be very careful to get a good latch - wide open mouth, tongue down - every time.

Probably not the answer for babies that bf fine and don't like bottles though, unless they;re sicky or gagging with even a slow flow teat.

fifitot · 05/01/2011 20:59

I have one which is one of many different bottles and teats I have collected over the last 5 months. DS refuses them all.

I don't like the Calma it seems complicated to be. The one that he dislikes least (i.e doesn't imediately spit it out) is the Nuk rubbery one. Don't know if that helps.

interscholar · 05/05/2011 23:29

I bought the medela calma for all the reasons others have listed - mimics the breast feeding mechanism, less likely to get nipple confusion, allow interchanging between bottle and breast etc. I did wonder if it was just a new gimmicky thing, and just how robust the evidence was but I thought it was worth trying out.

DS is now 7 weeks and EBF. I have a hospital appointment next week and will have to leave him at home for a few hours. This week I have been trying him with expressed milk using the calma teat once a day just to get him used to it. On the first day he seemed to take to it and drank an ounce. On the second day I made the mistake of letting him get too hungry and worked up, and he would not entertain it. Yesterday and today he drank two ounces with little drama. He seems to be able to cope with the calma, despite the rather long and stiff teat. Normal teats make him gag and splutter, invariably upsetting him (and me). I have noticed though that a lot of air seems to enter the calma bottle and this results in uncomfortable wind for him at both ends. I'm going to try tightening the lid more to see if we can overcome this problem.

So far, he has only taken the calma bottle feeds from me, the next stage is to progress to someone else feeding him...

LoopyElly · 20/03/2012 10:52

You can always cup feed a child who refuses a bottle - just watch out for their arms spilling the cup. You can buy special cups for this, but I just used a normal cup which I sterilized with my first child.
I am going to give the calma teat a go this time, but I don't expect to have much luck myself as she will prefer breast over teat I should imagine, but being as she knows her dad doesn't have breasts she will take it easier from him when I am not around. I will let him introduce it when I am out of the house, a half hour walk to the shops should do it. That way I won't get upset at her crying and she won't expect me to feed her :)

MNmommy13 · 28/02/2013 01:48

I recently bought the medela calma bottle for my 6 wk old because he was collapsing other bottle nipples and since he bf's well, I thought he would be a natural. My first attempt at giving him the calma nipple he choked and gagged on it. Does anyone know if it can be shortened by just snipping off some of the teat? I would hate to ruin it for how much I spent on it...

MooseBeTimeForCoffee · 28/02/2013 01:58

I tried all manner of bottles and teats, including the calma and DS refused them all. I've since discovered that my breastmilk has an enzyme in it that makes it taste horrible once frozen. Because I would have to scald the milk before freezing I gave up pumping as it took up too much time.

Forgetfulmog · 28/02/2013 02:10

Dd just didn't seem to know what to do with the calma - that said she's never taken to bottles anyway so probably not the most reliable tester!

Emi06 · 16/05/2013 09:19

Hi everyone!

I'd like to ask you if anyone has tried and had success in using the Calma (or any other type of teat/method) not for going to breast to bottle but from bottle to breast?

I really want to breastfeed my son (now 6 weeks) but since they gave him the bottle at the hospital shortly after his birth, it's very difficult to make him take the breast. He'll latch on but I think he only sucks air which gives him an upset stomach afterwards and just makes him cry. I've tried all sorts of different ways to get him to take the breast but the trouble is he's now too attached to the bottle which is obviously much easier for him.

I wondered whether it might help to get a bottle like the Calma one which might help him learn to suck more like at the breast first? Has anyone else had this problem and been able to solve it?

Thanks so much for your comments! :-)

abigboydidit · 16/05/2013 14:16

Can't help am afraid but you may get more replies if you start a new thread with a title more specific to your issue? Hope someone comes along who can help soon. Good luck!

ExBrightonBell · 16/05/2013 16:35

Hi Emi,

I used the Calma bottles for exactly what you're trying to do, although earlier than 6 weeks. My ds was in SCBU for a week and initially fed by NG tube. He was not keen on latching on as he was used to instant gratification from the tube. We used the Calma teats to help him learn to suck properly and to help him latch. He did initially get a bit irritated by the lack of instant milk but after persevering he got the hang of it. We then moved more towards breast rather than bottle, and I am still bf now at 10 months. I am convinced that the Calma teats helped, but that is just my own unscientific opinion.

dontlaugh · 16/05/2013 16:44

My ds (now 11 months) was bf exclusively til 6 months old but started hospital admissions and NG tube feeding progressing to PEG at 8 months. The speech and language therapist tried everything, and this bottle looked like the answer, but no, he never took a drop from it. She told me of all the bf babies she's tried it on (a children's hospital) not one baby took this bottle. I think it's a faff tbh.

ExBrightonBell · 16/05/2013 17:45

Well, dontlaugh, my one baby did take to it...

Emi06 · 16/05/2013 17:57

Thanks for your replies. I'm at my wit's end really as my milk supply is getting lower every day (no support at home, life is very lonely and the housework just keeps piling up!), getting tired...

I'll try a new thread as you say ExBrightonBell. How old was your baby when you tried the Calma? Thanks!

ExBrightonBell · 16/05/2013 18:07

My ds was 5 days old when we first started using the Calma, after using the ordinary teats that we were given in hospital. We then used it for another 4 weeks or so until I felt that I could stop bottles and just breast feed.

Emi06 · 16/05/2013 18:14

I'm glad you were able to do that ExBrightonBell. If only I'd known about the other options before... It's really heartbreaking to have your baby refuse you...

ExBrightonBell · 16/05/2013 18:17

I know what you mean. Ds in hospital would scream and claw at me whilst trying to arch away from me. I felt useless, especially as he was stuck in SCBU and I couldn't look after him properly myself. It was my DH who found the Calma teats after doing some Internet research - how he came to find them I don't know but I'm glad he did.

adagio · 16/05/2013 18:23

I used it in early days with my LO and I believe it helped teach her to suck more efficiently- she lost a lot of weight and was really slow to regain birth weight so I was expressing after each feed. After we swapped from the teat that I was given by the lactation consultant with the loaned pump to the Calma it seemed the baby picked up how to suck efficiently at the breast too.

In my stupidity, I got lazy and stopped bothering with expressing/bottles once her weight was gaining and i had a stash in the freezer (boob being easier) and now at 5 months she refuses all bottles, preferring boob. As I have a three day course coming up with DH doing daycare this could be an issue?

Emi06 · 16/05/2013 18:30

Hi Adagio, thanks for your comment. I'm a bit worried that I'm a bit late in trying to introduce the Calma but I suppose I won't know unless I try. I just hope that the milk supply will gradually increase if he does take to that bottle (he's already drinking 150ml every four hours - this cow can't keep up with that at the moment!!!)

ExBrightonBell, what was the turning point for you when you had enough confidence that baby was taking to the breast well? Mine will latch up but only swallows air I think. He starts to frown and it irritates me so much when he finally gets the bottle and a look of bliss comes over his face! Sigh!

ExBrightonBell · 16/05/2013 18:40

Hmm, it was a difficult time. It was when he was latching on ok and persisting with suckling without getting cross or falling asleep. We were tempted to give top ups all the time after a feed, or to give a whole bottle in the middle of the night to get him to sleep. But then I realised that my supply would never pick up if I kept doing that, so I just bit the bullet and decided to only offer the breast. There was a few days of very frequent feeding and then we settled into it. His weight gain did slow, and he went down the centiles but eventually this stabilised and he picked up again. My HV was very supportive and understanding if what I was doing.

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