My baby won't take the bottle

[shish]

My baby is 4 months old. He was on the bottle when we left the hospital as my milk was so slow to come in. When it came in he rejected the bottle. Now he is feeding more frequently in the night (4-5 times) as he is so hungry. I've been told he needs formula as it's heavier, but he just won't take the bottle. I've been trying for months.. Any tips. I desperatly need help. I can't go on any more!!

there are a lot of expert breastfeeders on here...i am not one of them!!

but

formula is actually slightly less calorific than breast milk...so i don't believe formula is the answer, especially if you want to continue feeding..

hang on in there and help will be along soon.....

i know that its not recommended at this age, but he could need some food, my dd needed to be weaned at 3 1/2 month as she was feeding constantly after she was given food she settled a lot better....im not saying immidiatly put him on 3 meals a day but it might be something to think about.

as for formula i wouldnt go down that route as said below, there are more calories in breast milk so it will have a better effect on him.

hope some more useful information comes soon!

eeeek! please do not wean..especially if you are hoping ths will make the baby sleep more...gut maturity is just not there yet......

milk is more filling than any tiny amount of food you can give.....compare a spoon of baby rice to a 5 oz bottle or a good breast feed....the milk is infinitely more filling...

some babies are hungry & need more milk

he is probably going through a growth spurt too.....

supplmenting may well interfere with your milk supply....try and feed as much as he wants from the breast each day and ....if yo are determined to get him on bottles...do so..but you will prbably end up feeding him a lot even so...

bump

for some of you excellent breast feeding ladies!!!

do you still want to give a bottle of EBM???? I found that the only teats my DS would take (i BF and then mixed fed him) were the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles. My DH fed him initially so he couldn't smell the breastmilk on me ... also i warmed the teats under a hot water tap as he was used to a nice warm boob not a cold teat. Also with the night waking - my DS at around 16/17 weeks had a massive growth spurt and fed like mad and it settled down again.

Did you always have to warm the teat? Did you give the bottle when baby was really hungry or did you get her used to the bottle first by giving between feeds? I have been given mixed advice.

Formula is not 'heavier' - not sure what that means, to be honest. It's about the same in terms of calories as breastmilk. However, it may be digested more slowly because the baby's metabolism has to work harder to break it down.

If your baby needs more milk then it can be breastmilk

There are many women on mumsnet who will tell you that switching to formula or even adding formula does not make any difference to a baby's sleeping/waking needs, which are probably most easily and least inconveniently met by working out a way you are least distrurbed at night. Might mean co-sleeping, for instance.

We have been though this (several times ) so I know how exhausting it is. All I can say is that it does get better (then worse but better). Is it a growth spurt? Or teething?

What you do next is a very personal decision. I was determined to BF so just put up with it. DS refused bottles of EBM & to be honest, it was easier just to BF in a very sleepy state than to faff around with a bottle or lisetn to H struggle with it. But, if you have help - someone who can give a bottle so you can get some much needed sleep, then maybe EBM or formuala would be an option. Personally, I don't believe that formula helps them sleep better but that's just me.

Weaning too is a very personal thing. You know your ds better than anyone but all the current guidelines say to wait until 6 months. I tend to stick to the 'rules' when they involve medical/ developmental things like that. I don't think feeding him solids will help him sleep better.

And are you sure he's actually hungry? Could it be that he's bf'ing for comfort? Maybe he misses you in the night. Where does he sleep? Or maybe he has teeth coming in or is/has been sick?