Help Please - Introducing Bottle to Breastfed Baby

5 replies

MorleyMummy · 02/08/2017 19:44

Hi,

This is my first post and looking for some advice, if there is any...

We have a 21 week old baby girl who has been breastfeed from birth and has never had any issues feeding. After 4 or 5 weeks we introduced a bottle of breastmilk which she took fine and did this on 4/5 separate occasions when I was unable to be around to feed.

Formula was also taken in a bottle at this point without a problem.

Following a month or so without having a bottle we have now been trying to introduce a bottle on an evening which is outright refused and she refuses to even put it in to her mouth. We have tried on several occasions without success and are running out of ideas on how she will look to take the bottle to relieve me so that daddy can give a bottle at times when I am unavailable.

So far we have tried:

Different times of the day
Daddy trying with Mummy not around
Different types of teats - Tommy Tippee / Nuk etc.
Different size teats
Formula / Breastmilk / Water

It appears to be that she doesn't want the teat in her mouth rather than the content or the teat type but this is proving quite restrictive for me.

I accept there will be no straight answer here and whilst we will persevere she may never take to the bottle but I thought I would ask to see if there are any other suggestions, success stories, feedback or general advice.

Thanks in advance for reading.

OP posts:

MelinaMercury · 02/08/2017 19:49

We had the same issue with my daughter, eventually we realised she would take from a cup, think medicine cup rather than a big one with a spout, we just held her slightly reclined and held the cup to her mouth with the milk at her lips and she would sip or lap it up like a cat :o and also did the same using a teaspoon.

Of course this took forever but it did for emergencies!

MoHunter · 02/08/2017 22:07

Not sure if this is any use but have you tried faster flow teats? The ones with more holes in the teat.
Also squeezing some milk out onto the tip of the teat before putting in baby's mouth?
I'm sorry to say I do know some babies just never accept bottles no matter what. Maybe a cup will indeed work better, I think most are 6 months+ though but could be wrong.

Rumamama · 02/08/2017 22:13

My DS was like this and flat out refused every type of bottle. When MIL had to have him whilst another DS had an appointment, she used a syringe to slowly give him milk. By about 6 months we tried a Doidy cup and he would happily use that.

Rumamama · 02/08/2017 22:14

I think the cup is from 3months+

ninecoronas · 02/08/2017 22:15

We had much the same around 8 months. I went out and when I got back found a wailing DD and a desperate DH saying "thank fuck you're back, she won't take the bottle, I've tried everything!". We did all those things that you tried but she just let dodging the bottle and screaming. I was bricking it because I had to go back to work the next week and up until then she'd been fine...so I had to get her to have the bottle again.

So I just persevered. Sat there at feeding time and offered it again. And again. And again. While she flapped and screamed and dodged and clamped her mouth shut. I'd stop and calm her down then try again. Probably went about an hour but eventually she took it. It was more like half an hour the next time. But she got there in the end. I guess just keep trying? It's the only thing that worked for us!

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