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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

EBF 9wk old won't take a bottle (and I'm supposed to be having my first time away from him next week)

18 replies

Woodenmouse · 16/05/2016 18:30

Ds2 is 9 weeks he's ebf at the moment. He feeds really well and is growing really well massive for his age
I thought I better try him with a bottle of expressed milk before I leave him for a few hours next week. He would not take the bottle at all, just turned his head of pushed it out with his tongue. I'm using tommee tippie bottles. Ds1 took a bottle fine so I don't know what to do. I'm now panicking about next week! I need advise.

OP posts:
Original poster
Woodenmouse · 16/05/2016 21:21

Desperate bump!

OP posts:
Junosmum · 16/05/2016 22:10

He may take one if you aren't there. And he won't let himself starve, so may cry and cry until he has no choice but will eventually take it.

My DS is a bottle refuser- won't take one for me, or if I'm not there. I haven't had need to leave him for more than an hour or 2 so haven't let him get to the point of starving in to submission.

McBassyPants · 16/05/2016 22:34

Have you tried cup feeding?

Sparrowlegs248 · 17/05/2016 14:50

Sorry to say my ds never took a bottle. He started drinking from a sippy cup at 6 months, but only water. I would suggest keep trying every day, get someone else to give the bottle when baby isn't starving hungry or when he is sleepy.

ZZZZ1111 · 17/05/2016 19:31

I had a similar issue with my baby with the tommee tippee bottles. I switched to NUK bottles with a latex teet with success! The flow of milk seems to be slower so better for a BF baby. Also make sure you warm the milk up as your baby will be used to body temp milk. Hope that helps!

FatimaLovesBread · 17/05/2016 19:33

DD never took a bottle. Ds is 6 weeks and we managed to get him to take a bottle twice last week with the Medela calms bottle

Original poster
Woodenmouse · 17/05/2016 20:37

Thank you.
Dh just tried giving him a bottle while I went upstairs for half an hour but ds for distressed. I'm going to try and get some different bottles tomorrow to see if that helps.

OP posts:
McBassyPants · 17/05/2016 22:58

Cup feeding is the same technique as breastfeeding, there are some really good instructional videos on YouTube. Maybe worth a try?

Original poster
Woodenmouse · 18/05/2016 14:13

Thank you pants I've had a quick look and sent some links to dh. He's going to give it a try tonight while I stay out of the way.

OP posts:
McBassyPants · 18/05/2016 18:24

Not all babies get the hang right away and can take a bit of practice but good luck :-)

Writerwannabe83 · 18/05/2016 20:48

I work with breast fed babies and we don't advice the Tommy tippee bottles as the teats are too hard and too short - they are used to nice soft malleable nipples.

We tell our parents to go out and just buy bog standard non-branded bottles from Boots or the local chemist etc as the teats are generally much softer, longer and easier for a breast fed baby to manipulate.

TeaandHobnobs · 18/05/2016 20:59

Another vote for NUK latex teats - I know many bottle-refusing BF babies who have accepted these

Skrewt · 18/05/2016 20:59

I repeat this story often so sorry if you've come across it before but by the time I had my second child I had read several times that ebf babies will not take a bottle/will be confused etc etc. Then DC2 was 5 weeks old and I keeled over in the supermarket and was carted off in an ambulance. I was very sick and the baby was handed to another mother in the shop who gave him the formula she had then a friend of mine arrived, bought whatever bottles she could find (Avent)and ready made formula and then eventually handed him onto my mother who found some expressed milk in the freezer. Anyway it was three days before I saw him and he was fine. He had a rude introduction to bottles/formula/other people but he adapted and I continued to bf with one bottle of formula a day til he was a year and a half. If he had refused a bottle he'd have gone hungry: Friend and mother and dh were too busy coping with other children and me to have been able to worry about a baby who they knew would take whatever he got however he got it if he was hungry.

Original poster
Woodenmouse · 19/05/2016 21:54

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to go out and buy some other bottles and give those a try as I'm getting really stressed about Monday. I'm supposed to be going on a spa day for a friends birthday I don't think it's going to be very relaxing!!

OP posts:
Writerwannabe83 · 19/05/2016 22:16

Don't forget your breast pump because you're gong to need it Grin

Original poster
Woodenmouse · 23/05/2016 21:28

We did it! I went out for the whole day (and actually managed to relax) and Ds2 had lots of bottles! Apparently there were 15 mins of uncontrollable screaming not sure if that was ds or dh! and then he got the hang of it and didn't stop!

I'd spent a fortune on fancy bottle and he will only drink out of the Tesco value £1 bottle!

OP posts:
Ludways · 23/05/2016 21:33

My dd was a bottle refuser, she never took one. I had a night away from her at 5 months old, MIL fed her milk off a spoon poured in her mouth. She hated it but at least some went in.

StrangeDream · 23/05/2016 23:59

Result! Glad to hear it, OP.

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