Easier to introduce bottle after weaning has begun?

[tintinenamerique]

I've just started trying to introduce my nearly 5-month-old to a bottle of formula a day (just so that I get a break). He was fine taking a bottle of expressed milk in the early days but I let the habit slide and now he won't take one. I'm finding it painful, frustrating and incredibly upsetting every time I try and am wondering if I might have more luck coming back to it when he's started weaning and is used to food coming in different forms than just the boob. Or is the answer just to persevere and hope one day the sobbing (from us both) stops?
Would appreciate any advice

Ah OP

Have you tried someone else giving him the bottle? they're canny wee things and I think sometimes don't want to take the bottle, lest you think the breast is unwanted .

My other top tip is to vary the temperature of the milk - some babies like it cooler than body temp, some warmer. I would say go a fraction warmer that you think is right, see if that helps.

Also try him with it at a time when he is not very hungry i.e. midway through the feeding cycle.

Thanks for the top tips - alas I have tried them all. I think it's just a matter of perseverance. I was hoping there was a chance it would all click into place at the magic 6 months (when he will also sleep through the night).

My bottle refusing baby started taking a bottle when I went back to work at 7.5m and I think that was the 1st time we'd tried since the start of weaning. He had been having water in a bottle with a straw for a couple of months. It's a bit of a guess (based on a sample size of one!) but I think the straw helped him with the transition from boob to bottle. I know you said you'd tried all the tricks to get him to take a bottle, but have you tried other containers like a sippy cup?

I've managed to get him to have a few sips of ebm from a sippy cup. Most importantly he didn't scream when presented with it. Any reason why I shouldn't abandon bottle entirely and go straight to sippy cup?

No reason at all as far as I know; it'll mean you don't have to wean him off the bottle in a few months. It might be a bit messy until he gets the hang though