Breast for 3 months now trying the bottle with no luck!

[Mummy0786]

My daughter is 14 weeks old and I have breast fed up until now, as I an going back to work in January I want her to be on formula by then. However we have now had a week of trying the bottle with formula 3 times a day with no luck! I have also tried expressing so she has the same taste but just in the bottle but this still is met with the same reaction ... She just wants breast!
I know it's only a week, so will it get better in a few weeks? Has anyone got any other ideas of what may work?
Thanks x x

Many babies refuse bottles if they aren't introduced soon enough (guidance is between 3-6 weeks). You may have to go straight to a cup in January, when she'll be on solids and starting with a cup anyway.

I had this as I did not persevere with a bottle and day and bf until 7 months. I found that NUK teats worked as the hole is on the side of the teat not the top so it mimics the action of breast feeding ie pushing tongue up to roof of mouth rather than sucking iyswim. It was tough before I discovered those teats though - she would not have a bottle! I did not learn my lesson with dd2 and she was the same - nuby teats worked for her. You may have to just experiment with a few. Good luck.

I tried absolutely everything (multiple different teats, feeding him hungry, feeding him not so hungry, getting DH to try and feed him while I was out of the house, trying to slip the bottle in while he was on the boob etc) as my DS refused a bottle for weeks from the time I introduced it around 9 weeks old. The only thing that finally worked was a Mam bottle with a newborn teat, stuck in his gob when he was fast asleep. I think I knelt there for about half an hour before he finally started sucking and downed 5oz of EBM. I did this while he was asleep a couple more times then, I think, muscle memory just kicked in for him while he was awake and he started taking a bottle. Personally, I'd stick with EBM if you can until he'll take a bottle consistently, then introduce the formula so you're not trying to get him used to two things at once.

Get HER used to two things at once, sorry.

sorry but you might be too late. i was with dd and nothing worked. she now has a cup or a sports bottle.

There is no research showing by when babies should have a bottle - you will hear all sorts, none of it evidence based.

Babies can take/resist taking a bottle at any age - no guarentees at all.

Google nct bottle feeding for breastfed babies for a factsheet with loads of tips.

Having said that, January is 3 mths away. By that time your baby will be able to take a cup and will be having solids, anyway.

But if you feel you want to use a bottle, leave it for a couple of weeks and try again.