Please help me interpret my 11 wo's reaction to his first bottle

[Anonymousse]

I exclusively breastfeed but intended to give a bottle to DS2 earlier than I have so I can get back to work at approx 5-6 months plus allow others to do some feeds in the meantime.

So I offered a bottle approaching feed time and he pushed it out with his tongue/played with it. Waited til he was starting to cry with hunger & tried again and he took 1oz. He refused any more - just played with/rejected the teat but guzzled lots of breast milk.

He didn't seem to pull a 'yuck' face as he has at all 4 types of dummies I've tried. I used a size 2 teat. I'm wondering now if that was totally inappropriate? I think I have quite a gushing supply so maybe I need a 3? I was using Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottles, maybe I should try another type?

BTW, should I wait for the sterilising solution to dry before putting the milk in etc?

I would interpret that as 'why would I take that plastic thing when the real deal is standing right there?'

I don't mean to sound glib, but babies often won't take a bottle from their mother if they're BF until that point. See if DS will take it from DP or someone else. They can also be fussy about teats and flow, so you may have to experiment a bit. Nuk latex and breastflow teats/bottles are often recommended for bf babies.

Thank you. Yes I realise taking it from me is not ideal, but DP has left and DS1 (4yo) isn't quite up to the job

I have never heard of nuk/breast flow teats, are they available in tesco/boots and the like?

I have a closer to nature size 1 and size 3 which I would like to try before shelling out on new kit - do you think 1 or 3 would be more appropriate? I have literally no idea!

A lot of babies don't much like bottles to start with, but that doesn't mean they won't take one when their mum isn't there.

I wouldn't bother buying more gear. My bf babies were on newborn teats for their expressed bottles until they were one, when I gave up bf altogether.
Never used sterilising solution so can't help you there.

Yes, you can get nuk in boots and in Ocado. Don't know about Tesco. We use them for my DtD as they used them in special care for her, and she happily goes between boob and bottle now.

I have only used sterilising solution once as I use steam steriliser. I rinsed the teats with boiling water as I thought it smelt a bit but don't know if this is necessary.

Perhaps try to feed him with his back to you rather than facing you? Also although it sounds odd maybe try when he is not all that hungry say 1 hr after bf?