Bottle woes - advice needed

[carolinemoon]

DD2 is 10 weeks and EBF. We tried to introduce a bottle of EBM at 2.5 weeks so I could get more sleep (DD1 is 2.2 yrs so no chance to catch up on sleep).

We tried the medela calma first but she didn't really get the hang of it. After about a week we switched to avent, which was better but not brilliant and DD was often unsettled/screaming when DH tried to feed her.

After about 2 weeks we then switched to tommeee tippee which was great for 2 nights (8 ounces drunk) but then the screaming started again. We're now on nuk bottles but she still is very unpredictable, last night she took 2 ounces with no problems but half an hour later was screaming and refused more milk. Poor DH spends most of his time with her while she's screaming, which she doesn't normally do too much of.

So now I don't know what to do, do I try another bottle (mam is next on the list), give it more time (although we've given each bottle at least a week or more) or something else?

I've considered abandoning it altogether for a while but then I'd be getting about 5 hours sleep a night, which isn't sustainable for more than a couple of nights.

DD1 took tommee tippee bottles no problem from 6 weeks, so I really wasn't expecting these problems!

We used Dr Brown bottles which were better for wind - though fiddly. She sounds like she might have wind or silent reflux maybe? Especially if she's hungry but won't eat.

Sorry to be the voice of doom but I bought every bottle under the son including an expensive special needs one, I can't remember it's name but it had a long strange teat that you squeezed. My DS refused every single one... I had to abandon bottles and breastfeed until he was ready for a cup.

Ok. Here's my advice. Stop buying new bottles. Just pick one that has worked in the past. Offer it every day but not as a substitute for a breast feed. Let her take as much as she wants then top her up so you know she's not hungry. Once she's got the hang of it and takes it reliably you can try replacing a feed. I would persevere so at least you can go shopping for a few hours and know she won't be hungry. Refusal is very common. Just build up slowly

Have you tried with the medela normal teats? My DD will only take these

Thanks everyone (even the voice of doom!) I will try offering more often alongside feeds and see what happens. I don't need much time away but with the festive season approaching it would be nice to be able to go out for a while and/or have a drink or two on Xmas day then express away the alcoholic milk!

Liskey - she is very windy even when breast fed (DD1 was the same) but we always make sure to get a burp frequently. We tried the Dr browns bottles with DD1 but they didn't make a difference, so we went back to tommee tippee, unfortunately we threw them away and I'm reluctant to pay out again!

You don't need to pump'n'dump unless you are planning on getting so drunk you'll be in a coma - blood alcohol = milk alcohol - and even if you pump the milk with alcohol in it before the alcohol is out of your system the milk you make after the pumping will have the same minute traces of alcohol in it as before.

Alcohol has a small molecular size (120) and a molecule needs to be smaller than 300 to get into bm. This means alcohol can move freely between blood and milk making pumping'n'dumping futile (unless for comfort) as the only thing that makes milk alcohol less is the passage of time (and the workings of your liver).

Have you tried an open cup to offer a feed?

No chance of getting that drunk, not with night feeds still in full swing! I guess pumping and dumping just makes me feel more "responsible"!

I thought about a cup but a lot of websites say it isn't suitable except for v young babies, so was put off.

An open cup is suitable from birth (you tilt it so baby can lap rather than pouring it down their throat!) and is used as an alternative to bottles on some post-natal wards.