Hel for a friend please, her DS refuses a teat.

[Birnamwood]

Hi all,

My friend has a ebf 16 wk ds and she is desperate to have some down time but her ds refuses to take a bottle. She's tried various different teats and had some success with a medela teat but he even refuses this now.

Have you any tips for her please?

I've suggested feeding him on his side (as if bf) or trying the medela calma teat. Anyone had any success with this?

Thank you for letting me pick your brains! :)

Sorry, messed up the title, Help

All mine have refused bottles.. generaly it takes the 3 weeks or so once im back at work.. all i can say is that they dont starve....

Both of mine were bottle refusers so won't be much help for your friend but here goes, send her this link as its got some useful advice on it and all Kellymom's information is evidence based so your friend can trust it.

Has she tried a cup too? It doesn't have to be a bottle. We had some success with DD when we tried the juice spouts with the bottles instead of the teats so that might be worth looking into.

What is she giving in the bottle? Is if formula or ebm?

Does she go to a Bfing Support Group? You can usually pick up some good tips there.

Get your friend on MN too, if she has a look in the archives there are lots of threads on bottle refusing.

Many of us had babies who wouldn't take bottles. It isn't the end of the world - and it's possible to get some 'down time' without handing your baby over to someone else.

How about popping him in a sling, packing a very small bag and waltzing out to the cinema/pub/art gallery/shops, enjoying the hassle-free mobility you get with an EBF baby?

Thanks for your replies. I knew MN would help!

Boob (if I may call you that :) )By down time, I mean going out for a couple of hours, she's arranging a baby shower for a friend and I think she wants to have a glass of wine or four and obviously won't be able to bf for a while after. The sling is a good idea, I've got one for my 8 week ds2 so I'll see if she wants to borrow it first.

Jilted Thanks for the link and advice, cup feeding might be worth a try. She's feeding ebm but no to the breast feeding group so I'll suggest that too.

And as for MN, I've sent her links etc but she may be a bit daunted by the nest of vipers [hgrin] I've been here for a while and it took me a long time to join in on a thread and even longer to start one (especially in AIBU or chat)!

All 3 of my dd's refused teats with ebm. In fact dd2 refused teats entirely and only started using a cup with water at about 7-8m. DD3(14m) won't take a bottle with snything in it unless it is a sports bottle or a straw.

I think a cup could be your best bet, failing that a syringe but that woyuld take a long time

At 16wks I'm sure the baby can handle a few hours without a feed. I found as long as my DD is with DH she can settle with cuddling and play by that age. And I will still feed after a glass or two of wine. As long as you are sober enough to pick up the baby she will be fine. Kellymom has a page on bf and alcohol iirc.

It isn't as free as before having a baby. But I just make the best out of it. It's only a few short months when they are completely reliant on mummy.