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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Convincing a 5 month old to take a bottle

20 replies

Hillijx · 08/09/2015 21:15

I have so far ebf but would like to introduce some expressed milk and/or formula so that I can escape children for more than an hour (I have 3!)

Baby is not keen on this idea Hmm

How long did it take your baby to accept a bottle and any trick. I realise this has probably been asked a hundred times but would like realistic time idea so I don't start stressing when it's not happening after a week?

OP posts:
Dylan118 · 08/09/2015 21:23

I got my husband to feed the baby the expressed bottle the first few times.

Original poster
Hillijx · 08/09/2015 21:28

Tried it.....she is still not convinced....how long did it take? We have been trying daily for about 2 weeks?

OP posts:
Dylan118 · 08/09/2015 21:40

He took it straight away but my baby is a bit of an oink! My mother in law ,who is also a midwife suggests trying a beaker to she if she might sip from it. It might be a bit messy but worth a try.

RiverTam · 08/09/2015 21:55

Mine never did, sorry! Tried for about 6 weeks but then gave up.

Doublebubblebubble · 08/09/2015 21:57

My DD never did either. Breastfed for 19 months.

FuckyNell · 08/09/2015 22:02

Good luck with that op!

Yellowpansies · 08/09/2015 22:07

It took me about a month of trying daily. DS was about 5/6 months I think and spat it out every time, then all of a sudden got the hang of it. Best when they're a bit hungry but not frantic, and not tired, which can be a narrow window. I vaguely recall that latex teats were preferable to plastic for babies that are used to the breast.

Writerwannabe83 · 08/09/2015 22:40

Mine was 9 months old before he took a bottle Confused

WorzelsCornyBrows · 08/09/2015 22:45

One took to it after an hour of gentle coaxing, the other flat out refused all bottles except for the first feed of the day - was a good sleeper so woke up really hungry and would have drunk from anything - it didn't really help me because that first feed of the day really needed to be a breast feed as I was so engorged and leaking milk every morning.

MiniLop · 08/09/2015 22:59

Mine took 2 weeks to start taking anything! Started trying at 4 months, by 5 months he was taking 1 bottle of formula per day. My method: offer the bottle just before I'm expecting him to want a feed (maybe 15 minutes earlier). Lie him flat with his head to one side so the milk doesn't just drip into his mouth without him sucking (I think this was the biggest problem for him to start with). Let him have as much as he wants (even if it's only 0.5oz) then don't offer the breast until he wants it next (if he only had 0.5oz that might only be 10 mins away!)
He would only take Dr Browns at first. I tried several bottles and several teats! Good luck!

Original poster
Hillijx · 09/09/2015 23:21

I'm only going to focus on the ones that succeed here!! I tried again today and it was melt down city, she was so enraged that she stayed grumpy for the rest of the day!! I will try again tomorrow......we have a night away booked at the end of November so that's the deadline and really wont leave her unless she is taking a bottle. Thank you though, it's good to know that some do take it even after refusing it for a long time, Im having visions of feeding a 10 year old Confused

OP posts:
Sparrowlegs248 · 11/09/2015 02:03

I'm about to start expressing and hoping for husband forgive a bottle of ebm to DS. He's 7 weeks so plenty of time but i worry about him refusing a bottle. What happens if/when you return to work?

jobrum · 11/09/2015 02:45

I had success with a Haberman Suckle Feeder. The teats are designed so they have to work the milk out, it doesn't just pour into baby's mouth. Dd refused a bottle until around 5 months when suddenly decided she was fine with it. Stillprefers breast but nice to know sge can bottle feed if she needs to.

Have you tried giving it in a sippy cup? Mine would much rather that than a bottle.

Baconyum · 11/09/2015 02:49

My milk dried pretty much instantly due to a medical condition. Had similar problem but obviously more urgent! Mum suggested switching to old style latex soft teats. Rather than hard nothing like a real nipple silicon ones. Hope you get sorted.

figginz · 11/09/2015 04:01

Mine surprised me by suddenly being ok with a bottle at 7 months after refusing at the age yours is now. I just kept offering but not every day as too lazy. I think warming the milk up helped. And weaning probably helped too - lots of new tastes and getting used to water in a cup. And my mum offering the bottle - not me or dp. Don't panic - November is ages away!

Original poster
Hillijx · 12/09/2015 12:35

Figginz....we are going with this hope, keep trying daily until she takes it but try not to stress, I have plenty of milk and she's happy, my dh may not be so happy if we have to take the baby with us in nov though!!

She isn't really ready to wean and can barely get her hands to her mouth let alone a cup so think I may try cup once we start weaning, that's going to be a whole new kettle of fish!!

Notta, I never returned to work so I wouldn't know but people I know have and babies were weaned, if they didn't take a bottle they just had milk before and after work and food in between but I guess that depends on age of baby when you go back.....I'm hoping the ones who totally refuse are rare and most take it in the end Hmm

OP posts:
Flingmoo · 15/09/2015 15:35

We had no success with bottles. In the end, what worked for us was 'training' him to drink from a normal open cup, which we gently tilted at his mouth, sounds a bit odd but the baby takes the drink from it in a similar way to taking food from a spoon, rather than tipping it into their mouth.

Then after a couple of weeks trying that occasionally, we tried a sippy cup with a soft, clear flexi spout very similar to a bottle teat. He seemed to make the connection between the open cup and the sippy cup and was able to drink from the sippy cup with no issues. He never really wanted milk from it though, only water. I went back to work when he was 11 months old and he was fine with mostly water. However, once he was old enough for cows milk, he loved that, although it was only at about 14 months that he started to drink a whole 125ml cup in one sitting.

The annoying thing was that when we'd finally got him to drink from the sippy cup and given up on bottles, I was packing away all the unused tests and bottles into their boxes to go in the loft in case we have another one, he was crawling around and he picked up a teat which was not attached to anything and started happily sucking on it! I was like FFS, great timing, now you've figured it out!?

Original poster
Hillijx · 16/09/2015 19:52

Wow that sounds like a lot f work mam, really hope she just figures out the bottle Confused

OP posts:
Snakesandbastards · 17/09/2015 13:37

DS was a complete refusenik! I think 5 months is far too late. We managed a few mouthfuls at a few weeks old but he soon realised it wasn't good enough (exbm) and refused. We relied on starvation to get that far! Starvation is longer than 3 hours in our house.

Funnily enough he spotted an old baby bottle and walked around happily sipping very dilute squash from this bottle. He is now 2.

Original poster
Hillijx · 17/09/2015 22:01

Dd2 started at 5 months, after 1 refusal she took to it and actually realised she preferred it and started fussing with me and rejecting the breast. I left it this long with dd3 in case she did the same and ruined breastfeeding at the start. I think we can say she doesn't prefer the bottle!

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