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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Bottle battle

37 replies

shish · 29/10/2006 11:04

I know I've asked before, but I'm desperate. My baby is 19 weeks old. Was mixed fed when we came home from hospital, but rejected at bottle at about 10 days old. Have been battling since then to convince him to take it, but with no luck. Please help!! Any tips hugley appreciated.

OP posts:

sallyrosie · 29/10/2006 15:04

which bottle are you using? I like the tommee tippee closer to nature ones. Dr Browns also have v soft teat and easy for them to latch onto.

Sorry, no more tips...hope it works out

NAB3 · 29/10/2006 15:06

Tommee Tippee nuby ones are quite good as they have little bumps on to mimic the breast.

Original poster

shish · 29/10/2006 17:37

I just went out and bought that one today - No luck. He liked this one even less.

OP posts:

lulumama · 29/10/2006 17:38

my sister used tomme tippee closer to nature teats which were much larger and more 'breast like' when she stopped breast feeding.....

Mum2FunkyDude · 29/10/2006 17:40

There was another thread about a month ago and someone suggested a Adiri breastbottle

Original poster

shish · 30/10/2006 09:11

you wouldn't believe it, but I've tried all of these!! It's really getting me down.. Thought I'd just stick with one to avoid confusing him now. The only one he's ever considered is the avent

OP posts:

louismummy · 30/10/2006 09:55

I've just gone through this so know exactly how you feel. We used the haberman bottles as recommended by the baby whisperer (bw). They are the most similar to the flow of breast milk, because of the special valve. ( but dead expensive) Anyway bw suggests to hold them under the chim and get a lot of skin contact as per breast feeding, and walk round with them. since they can't concentrate of 3 things at once i know hard work but worked with our 24 exclusively bf ds. aAlso he hadn't eaten for 15 hours this was our 3rd attempt. with him going 13 and 14 hours before i cracked last time....try and get someone else to do it for you as he will just smell you. hth

jezmond · 03/11/2006 22:12

OMG, this was my dilemma a month ago! I think I bought every teat/bottle on the market. The one that cracked it for DD was MAM bottles and teats. The teat sucking action is very breastlike and is more realistic in shape and the bottles have an antic colic system with little holes in the bottom to let air out. And they come in pink and blue!

Jackstini · 03/11/2006 22:19

Are you giving formula or ebm? (Just in case it is the product, rather than the method he is rejecting and you may need to try alternatives)
At 19 weeks you could also try a cup instead - hope something works for you

oops · 03/11/2006 22:24

Message withdrawn

Original poster

shish · 05/11/2006 09:55

I do like breast feeding, but he's feeding so much more at night now.. I'm also worriedabout how I will ever get him to accept any other way of feeding and wean him off the breast.. How did your 2 take to the cup. Do you give it at meal times when they are on solids or on demand or what...? I don't know how that works.

OP posts:

BIGlilBUBU · 05/11/2006 09:59

Do you give him expressed milk in the bottle?
Could it be the taste of formula he doesnt like rather than the actual bottle?
Have you tried going out and letting someone else feed him? Perhaps he can smell the bf and knows thats what he wants.
I'd try giving him an expressed bottle if I were you, if that fails then get dh/dp to feed him when your not in the room. HTH.

Ellieorange · 05/11/2006 10:00

well it took me till he was 10 mths to take a bottle! in the end i think it was because my milk was drying out, so he finally took it. i got very exasperated for those 10 mths, tried the 'boob' bottle and everything. in the end, he took a 'nuk' teat, but tbh he took a cheap asda one straight after. once he decided to do it, anything was fine.

everytime i told anyone about my 'problem', they would say, why do you want him to take a bottle anyway?! truth was just because everyone else's was. and i guess it is a compliment that your baby enjoys breastfeeding so much. they will take when they are ready to have it. in the end it was true. he took it when he wanted, and i am glad i was 'forced' to wait.

Original poster

shish · 05/11/2006 10:05

BIGlilBUBu - I've tried everything - expressed and formula - he just cries.. Lots of different bottles and teats, nipple shields when breast feeding.. and I've had everyone try - my parents, in-laws, dh, even my nan!! Ironically, I've had more luck than any of them..

Ellieorange - how did you do it in the end. Did you try givng when he demanded feed or did you offer in between feeds?

Please help

OP posts:

BIGlilBUBU · 05/11/2006 10:11

Ok have you tried {http://www.poshmums.com/breastfeeding/medela-haberman-feeder.htm?gclid=CKX6r6vSr4gCFRGXFQuodHFJNiw\this}

BIGlilBUBU · 05/11/2006 10:11

NO didnt work
ill try again.

BIGlilBUBU · 05/11/2006 10:13

{http://PoshMums.com\this}

BIGlilBUBU · 05/11/2006 10:13

Why isnt it working

BIGlilBUBU · 05/11/2006 10:15

{http://www.PoshMums.com\this}

BIGlilBUBU · 05/11/2006 10:15

Grrr ok not working. Try that website and try the haberman feeder. Its ment to be good for bf babys. Goo luck.

Ellieorange · 05/11/2006 17:13

sorry, been out all day. i did try on and off from about 4mths to try and get him to take a bottle. like you, he took one fine as a small baby, but i stopped as had too much milk as it was. i always demand fed, but it got to a point when on solids where he wouldn't demand so i would offer as it seemed he wasn't drinking a lot. i was giving him a bf at 7am, 11am and then leaving it till 3pm before another feed when i would try a bottle (he would have water in beaker in between, though not too good at drinking that either). for a week, i tried this (when he was 10 mths) and some days he would take 1 ounce, some days just cry. he screamed and took nothing 2 days running (i always caved in after 10 mins or so and bf him). i was about to give up AGAIN, but the next day he did drink the whole 4 ounces of it. and the next day! i was SO EXCITED!

2 of my friends had similar probs. one did the same thing, battled for a weekend when her ds was 6 mths, then on the Monday he took it and she stopped bf overnight. the other just kept trying on and off and her baby took it from the 'boob bottle' (from her mil) and finally took it from her and progressed to normal bottles (at about 8 mths). so i guess everyone has a different story. another friend can't get her baby to do bottles, and she has gone onto beakers as she drinks quite well from a beaker. another is just bfing morning and eve (as she works) and the baby gets water and yoghurts at nursery (baby is 7 mths), as well as formula in her food.

my ds put on one ounce between 8 and 10 mths, and i was convinced it was because he was not getting enough milk as he is not really bothered about drinking. sure enough once i got him to bottles, he is still only on two thirds of recommended daily amount, but is putting weight on again because it is easier to measure. sorry for long post, but just to know you are not alone.

i am 100% behind bfing and did it for 1 yr despite a lot of problems. but the BIG SECRET is that if you exclusively bf it is a fight to get them to take bottles which for one reason or another (eg. going to back to work, or want to go out and leave baby with your mum/ dh). now i always recommend people to give one bottle a day (and not to stop) even though it is hassle, it will be less hassle later. 2 friends have younger babies than me and have done this, bf fine and transition to bottles been a lot easier. i will do this next time!!! good luck. i know it is hard, as it is difficult to go out and leave them for more than a couple of hours. hope something works in the end...

Original poster

shish · 05/11/2006 17:47

I agree with your reccomendation ellieorange. My ds was topped up with formula when we came home from hospital as my milk took 7-8 days to come through. Then one day he rejected the bottle and I didn't really think much of it. Next time I tired EBM he wasn't having any of, which was a few days later. I wish I know there could be a problem cos then I would have done what you're saying. They never warn your baby won't ake the bottle, they only talk to you about breast feeding.

Now I've had this battle since he was 2 weeks old!! If I ever have the courage to have a second one I will give at least one bottle a day.

But for now, I have to convince this one to take the bottle!

OP posts:

jezmond · 06/11/2006 21:23

I also 100% agree. It took me a good 2 months to get baby happily taking a bottle (DD now 19 wks old). Next time (if there is one!) I'll be introducing a bottle daily much earlier!

soph28 · 07/11/2006 15:22

I have exactly the same problem ATM with dd (16 wks). TBH it seems to make no difference how early you give a bottle. With my ds I gave him a bottle of expressed from week 2 and he always took a bottle or breast happily (expressed or formula was fine too). I thought I'd cracked it and introduced a bottle with dd on day 2. Occasionally she will take the bottle no problem at all but most of the time she screams blue murder. Have tried expressed and formula, Avent and TT closer to nature- makes no difference. What annoys me is that I know she CAN take a bottle fine- she just doesn't want to!

Original poster

shish · 07/11/2006 16:01

Exactly!! My ds is the same - Knows how, but the little monkey doesn't want to. It's so frustrating

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