HELP! On holiday and baby will not take bottle

[HLBug]

We're in Portugal and I'm sitting here in tears. DD (4 months) will take 1 or 2 sips of her bottle - which is made with fucking boiled Evian water no less!!!! - then starts crying and pushes away. I've tried swapping bottle and dummy etc etc but no luck. Any ideas??? DH is already saying we should never have come away and I just need some help...

Try a different brand?

Boil tap water? The mineral water might taste funny and I don't think it's recommended for babies anyway.

How was she feeding before?

If its too hot maybe she would just like some water?

Do any shops near you sell thre oremade cartons?

She's on Neocate so no ready made available. Tap water (even boiled) not recommended in Portugal I don't think? Evian and one other local brand all I have access to.

I didn't think mineral water was supposed to be used for babies.

Is she usually bottle fed? (Is she refusing because she hasn't had a bottle before). If not maybe it's the heat?

I do have to agree with your husband. Babies and holidays don't mix because they can't control their temperature. however they might if the person breastfeeds because the milk is always just right for them taste and temperature wise, but even then the chance is small. So maybe go back to just breastfeeding if you are doing both

Watch for signs of dehydration - can you syringe some milk into the baby?

Could she be teething? Mine would always behave the same when her front teeth came through, it was too painful for the bottle. Try some calpol and see if that helps?

It's advised to use low sodium bottled water for making up formula abroad so OP is doing nothing wrong. Will she take a little plain boiled bottled water so at least she is getting some fluids

Is it Evian that's meant for babies? The regular Evian is too mineraly and shouldn't be used.

Wet nappies?

Oh and the French use Evian for baby formula as it is one of the lowest for sodium content.

I think normal Evian is fine. Here are the guidelines for choosing suitable water:

How can I manage bottle feeding while we are on holiday?

If you'retravelling abroad with your baby, you can continue to give your baby her usual formula milk. However, it may be best to use bottled water instead of tap water tomake up a feed. This is because the tap water in other countries may not always be as clean as the water here in the UK. Tap water abroad may also have different levels of minerals and purifying chemicals, which could give your baby a tummy upset.

When buying bottled water, check the mineral content of the water. Steer clear of bottled water with a high mineral content, and try to use still water that’s low in sodium. Look for Na on the label, which means sodium, and choose one that contains 200mg or less of Na per litre. Check the levels of sulphate (SO or SO4), too. The sulphate levels should be no higher than 250mg per litre.

Some bottled waters are labelled as suitable for baby feeding, so go for these if you can. Make sure the seal around the cap is intact. This way you can be sure that the water has not been tampered with.

Bottled water is what NHS recommends when you can't count on tap water. Attached is NHS guidelines re mineral / sodium content and another photo showing that Evian is well within the range. She has never been breastfeed.

Are you only just there? I would imagine she is just out of sorts. If you are stressed you will be communicating that to her. Can you maybe just stay quietly in your room or villa and keep it cool and slightly dark and calm? Give her lots of cuddles. I reckon she will drink her milk eventually once she is more relaxed and you and your DH are calm. Offer boiled water as well as milk. Hopefully she will settle down to feeding soon

She had her last UK water feed at 12pm. Has had two ounces very grudgingly since then. I've sleep deprived and reaaally not coping.

You must be very worried. How are her nappies?

Still wet, thankfully. We've been inside / in the shade most of the day so she's been kept relatively cool.

Success for tonight though in that I've just managed to get another 5oz into her as a semi-dream feed. So that's something. She's ridiculously overtired having been rudely awoken at 3.45am to go to the airport and start the day, so I'm hoping a 'good' sleep tonight may help.

I've sent DH to the shop to buy wine different bottled water (still within NHS guideline amounts) to see if that makes any difference at all.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow... Thanks for the hand hold everyone.

Any type of thoroughly boiled water should be fine. Don't stress as baby will stress. I live in a very warm country and babies cope better than adults. Prob just out of sorts with a change in routineand flight. Baby might have had ear pressure from flight too. Try get back to your normal routine and try dream feed or be ready for feed when baby wakes. Have a wine and try to relax have nice holiday.

I am glad she has had some milk. She will be fine and hopefully you can enjoy your holiday.

You haven't been cold water sterilising since getting there with Milton have you? My son started refusing bottles and I worked out it was because I'd started using Milton which he could taste and didn't like

She took her morning bottle

Oh yay! Hope you're getting on ok, I'm sure she'll settle down and adjust.

Great news.