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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Getting her to take bottle - sugar syrup?

24 replies

littlefrenchonion · 08/07/2015 16:24

Hi,

My DD is a little pickle when it comes to taking a bottle (EBF currently). She screams like we are hurting her and I am finding it so stressful! I'm going on a spa weekend in a month and her daddy is really quite excited about having her for the whole weekend (without me clucking around him!)

When she was first born she had a lot of blood tests and they used a sucrose solution which she sucked on to keep her happy and calm. She loved it.

I'm now wondering if it would be a good idea for me to dunk the teat in a tiny bit of sugary water to encourage her? Is that ok to do? She's 10 weeks.

Thanks!

OP posts:
RattleAndRoll · 08/07/2015 16:53

Have you tried a selection of bottles / teats? Babies can be picky and may only drink from one type.

CultureSucksDownWords · 08/07/2015 18:41

They give sugar water in hospital as its shown to have a pain relieving effect, it's worth it when they're facing things like blood tests or lumbar punctures. To persuade her to take a bottle? Not worth it. You could cause issues with any budding teeth and decay, risk her getting used to sweet flavours and have issues when weaning, not to mention that a little baby doesn't need any sugar in their diet.

Have you tried a variety of bottle and teats? Milk at different temperatures? Given by your DH when you're not in the house?

You may have to accept the risk that your weekend might be interrupted if she won't take a bottle.

Alibabsandthe40Musketeers · 08/07/2015 18:45

How are you going to manage to be away for a whole weekend? Your boobs will be like rocks and you'll be leaking all over the place.

She will also just be hitting the 4 month growth spurt when they want to feed more and need to increase your milk supply.

You need to be prepared to accept that your weekend away could be the end of your BFing - which is fine, but you need to be aware that it could be an unintended consequence.

I wouldn't give the sugar, really not good for her. Try some different teats and bottles, try you leaving the house while your DH feeds her.

lanbro · 08/07/2015 18:47

My youngest never ever took a bottle, and we tried every teat available, but she did manage a sippy cup from a very young age. Other people swear by doidy cups. Both worth a try, good luck!

lanbro · 08/07/2015 18:49

You can easily express when you're away, I doubt 2 days will inhibit your supply when you're well established! Either pump and dump or if your room has a fridge just keep it, certainly doesn't mean the end of bf!

broomy123 · 08/07/2015 18:54

I went away for a weekend when mine was four months. Had an amazing manual pump (medelas about £30!) didn't affect my supply in the slightest and I wasn't leaking. Just express when you feed its not rocket science. However, if you can express milk on advance it will make it easier for her.

There are loads of bottles you can try MAM and Nuk seem to be a BF babies fav so try those. I would try every day with it, starting with when she's asleep as mine took it so I knew she could and that gave me confidence! Maybe do a test run and leave her for an afternoon before so you're not there confusing her. Good luck, it's tough but you'll get there! X

BellaVida · 08/07/2015 18:56

The only teats all of mine would take from breast to mixed feeding were NUK.
www.nuk.co.uk/category/products/bottle-feeding/teats/

jugglingmonkey · 08/07/2015 18:57

Have you tried giving the bottle as a dream feed? It was the only thing that worked for us.

Boosiehs · 08/07/2015 18:59

I went away at 4 months and just expressed. Carried on for another 4 months!

What nonsense that you'll have to give up.

Medela swing pump was aces.

Finola1step · 08/07/2015 19:01

I would avoid the sugary solution. With my two, I tried lots of bottles and tests but that wasn't the issue. Neither of them would take a bottle from me but would from dh. I suppose they could smell my milk. Makes sense really. Try having your dh offer a bottle feed with you completely out of the way.

TheEagle · 08/07/2015 19:03

There's some fancy new bottle called mimijumi (no link sorry) that is supposed to be good for BF babies.

It's expensive though. No experience so I can't help there! But agree that sugar syrup is probably not the way to go.

CultureSucksDownWords · 08/07/2015 19:03

No one said the OP would have to give up breastfeeding. There is a small chance that supply could drop (expressing isn't as efficient as a baby etc), which could lead on to a reduction in breastfeeding which could lead onto stopping earlier than intended. That's all. Not "2 days away=the end of breastfeeding". Just a small risk. Not likely to happen if supply is well established and the OP is prepared to express as often as she would feed, and assuming expressing is fairly effective.

girliefriend · 08/07/2015 19:03

I don't think 2 days away will affect your supply that much Hmm I had to stop bfing for 4 days or so when dd was 2 weeks old (had to have an emergency operation) and went back to bfing fine. Its not all or nothing!!

Anyway no to sugar water but I would keep trying her with a bottle, agree try different teats. Are you trying her with expressed milk or formula?

TheEagle · 08/07/2015 19:06

mimijumi.com

lanbro · 08/07/2015 19:32

'You need to be prepared to accept that your weekend away could be the end of your BFing - which is fine, but you need to be aware that it could be an unintended consequence'

I read this that the weekend away could be the end of bf, silly me

NerrSnerr · 08/07/2015 19:35

We just offered bottles every day and after a few weeks she finally accepted one. MAM bottles were the best for us. Just remember to take a pump as your boobs will be solid (and mine leaked like buggery when I went in a sauna!)

Alibabsandthe40Musketeers · 08/07/2015 19:36

Blimey people there is no need to get het up - I'm just being realistic.

There is not a shred of a chance that I could have been apart from either of my babies at 14 weeks old without it seriously impacting my feeding them.

We tried and tried to get DS2 to take a bottle, and he just wouldn't. He would drink from a cup at 5 months, but only water, not milk. Milk he would only take directly from me.

StrawberryMojito · 08/07/2015 19:38

Mam bottles with the formula warm worked for us. It took a couple of months of trying daily with lots of different bottles/methods tho. I'm sure a small amount of sugar solution just to get her going won't do much harm but if you've got time to try a few other ways maybe do those first.

BeautifulBatman · 08/07/2015 19:42

OP, is it just you offering the bottle, or gas your DH tried? Sometimes it's more acceptable coking from someone that the baby dues not associate breastfeeding with.

BeautifulBatman · 08/07/2015 19:44

Good grief, typo city.... Blush. That was meant to say....

OP, is it just you offering the bottle, or has your DH tried? Sometimes it's more acceptable coming from someone that the baby does not associate with breastfeeding.

Original poster
littlefrenchonion · 08/07/2015 20:00

Ive been using my expressed milk only. She had a tiny bit of formula in hospital (she needed top ups due to a bad case of jaundice) but hated that - even the midwife threw in the towel. I've tried different teats, warming the milk, putting teat in my bra for a little while before, DH having a go without me, b'fing her first, not bf'ing her first, trying when she's hungry, trying when she's not... She either pushes the bottle away and cries, or if I manage to keep her calm, she sort of chews on it or rolls it around her mouth without sucking.

Just managed to get 20mls in without tears but it took about an hour spread across two sessions.

I will persevere. I've seen her take a good 3oz EBF via bottle once or twice when she was about 3 weeks so I know she can do it!

Have a medela swing which is very efficient so pumping and dumping is not a problem while away.

Thanks for all your advice!

OP posts:
Momzilla82 · 08/07/2015 20:07

I have had one bottler refuser and managed to crack the second DS. What I did took a few weeks. Basically you replace one feed a day at the same time with a bottle/ boob combo. You have to make sure they're hungry.

You start with 1oz in a bottle. They drink that they get as much noob as they like.

Repeat for week 1. Same feed. Same rule. Preferably freshly pumped.

Week 2: 2 oz
Week 3: 3oz

You get the picture- until they're satisifed by the bottle at that feed and don't want boob.

Once you've done this (IME) they quite happily take a bottle and it means you know how much to pump to fill them.

It takes patience, perseverance and consistency. Good luck OP. Mine is 11 months and I'm still waiting for a spa dayGrin

JinglyJanglyJungleBigGameTours · 08/07/2015 20:20

She's not collapsing the teat is she? My friends DD seemed to be sucking forever and no milk was coming out and she realised her DD had sucked the test flat in her mouth so no milk could get out.

Original poster
littlefrenchonion · 08/07/2015 21:26

Mumzilla that sounds sensible. I will give it a go - thankyou!

She is currently having a boob feed and grinning up at me with milk dribbling down her chops Grin

jingly I don't think so - she's not really sucking at all. Just playing with it in her mouth.

OP posts:
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