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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Ebf baby refusing to try bottle :(

12 replies

Scotmum83 · 11/10/2014 17:04

My lg is3months old and is ebf. We tried a bottle a few weeks ago which she took ok but is now refusing to take it :( think I've left it too long but can anyone suggest anything that will help get her to take it. I gave her expressed breast milk but she screams her head off and spits it out. Was hoping to giver the occasional bottle so I could leave her with hubby for a few hours now and again but have a horrible feeling that's not going to happen!!

OP posts:
Timeforabiscuit · 11/10/2014 17:50

First off don't panic, three months is still very young.

Second get someone other than you to feed them, preferably you'e 5 mins away having a cake coffee and news paper. The trick is to have them hungry enough to take it but not so hu gry or tired that they scream themselves silly.

If your husband is doing a feed, rub some milk on the teat and check the number of holes in the teat to see how quickly the milk comes out the bottles - they get very frustrated if the holes are too small but do choke a little if the flow is too fast.

Also, do a really good job of winding them after.

Good luck, it may be a few times to get it but just keep gently trying.

bronya · 11/10/2014 17:54

My DS did this. Nothing worked until he took milk from an open cup at about 4 months. Still wouldn't take a lot but was better than nothing!! Good luck, this is quite common though so it's not your fault at all!

mrsmilkymoo · 11/10/2014 18:47

I was just about to post the very same question...dd is 10 weeks and won't take a bottle either. I really want her to so I can make an appointment to get my hair cut! We've tried it when she seems really hungry, a little hungry, and not hungry at all, but no success. I've always been there though so we will try again with me elsewhere and dh giving the bottle.

Original poster
Scotmum83 · 12/10/2014 17:37

Thanks everyone. Think we just have to keep trying.

OP posts:
NerdyBird · 14/10/2014 19:06

My dd is refusing too, we're trying a nuk bottle next. But if it's any consolation I took her when I got my hair cut and she slept the whole time. Think it was the warmth and the white noise of the hair dryers!

Heatherbell1978 · 14/10/2014 20:23

DS1 is 7 weeks and we've been trying since he was 3 weeks (my milk) so I can have a break occasionally. It's not going perfectly but we're at the point he'll take a bottle if he's hungry which is the main thing. Things that have made a difference to us 1) we were trying every evening with DH giving it and he constantly screamed - when we realised he is always grumpy in the evenings anyway we offered it at different times of the day....it worked so we've stopped offering it in the evening for now 2) we tried a few bottles. Didn't like Avent, liked Tommee Tippee but went off it again. Now we're on NUK and it seems the best. 3) Make sure milk is warm. Even warmer than yours would be. When he wouldn't take it at room temp, I warmed it (in microwave - I know you're not meant to but I always shake it vigorously) and that worked.

PuppyMummy · 14/10/2014 21:44

im having the same problem! mine is 4.5 months and took a bottle a few times but now refuses.
we have tried offering at different times, offering when im not there etc etc.

I am worried as I'm back at work in December...
I hav just bought a cup (with a spouty bit?) so will try that, then maybe an open cup.

ill keep watching this thread for tips!

PuppyMummy · 14/10/2014 21:44

im having the same problem! mine is 4.5 months and took a bottle a few times but now refuses.
we have tried offering at different times, offering when im not there etc etc.

I am worried as I'm back at work in December...
I hav just bought a cup (with a spouty bit?) so will try that, then maybe an open cup.

ill keep watching this thread for tips!

TwoLittleTerrors · 15/10/2014 03:40

Don't beat yourself up. I gave DD1 a bottle from very early on. Maybe 3 or 4 weeks. She took it fine until about 3 months or so. Basically she learned to refuse the bottle at some point despite having one multiple times a week. I think some bf babies just got smart as they grow up and learned to tell if it's a breast! I went back to work at 7mo and it wasn't a problem at all she was a bottle refuser. By theat time she had solids and it was a completely different thing. She learned to suck on a bottle which she hold herself within a week at nursery. I think to her the difference is that it's part of self feeding. By 10mo she fed herself formula with a tommee tippee free flow first cup.

This time round with DD2 I don't bother with pumping and bottles at all. It was all too much hard work. I know DD2 will sort it out when I start weaning. I will just offer her a cup with every meal. puppymommy your little one would be similar age to my DD1 when I went back full time. It will just work out.

TwoLittleTerrors · 15/10/2014 03:44

My tip would be DD1 never managed any of the valve cups. I have a huge selection and tears and sippy cups! She only got on with the NUK brown teats and the tommee tippee free flow flip tops. I hear good results with breastflow bottles too from other EBF babies.

rootypig · 15/10/2014 04:06

Try it warmer than you think it should be (i.e. warmer than skin temperature).

TropicalHorse · 15/10/2014 05:04

After a few introductions with mixed success, my DD took a 10pm dreamfeed from a bottle while sleeping! It really worked well, and after a while she was happy to take a bottle awake too!

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