Weaning a cma baby off the breast

[mowglik]

My 6 month old has a milk allergy. He also won’t take bottles (he’s had bottles on a few occasions but threw the last one up spectacularly when he was 4 months and won’t take anymore).

Can anyone recommend:

1. What milk to wean him onto
2. how to go about getting him off the boob and take bottles

Your gp is the best person to advise which milk to use. They can prescribe suitable formula milk.

I had an avid bottle refuser, we tried her (eventually) with a latex teat (NUK do them) and she took expressed milk and eventually formula no problem. She’s weaned off the breast now taking three bottles of formula a day - she takes any bottle too, not just the latex but at the time they were such a huge help! Can’t help with the formula recommendation but definitely try the latex teat!

nanny I asked my GP and he said they wouldn’t prescribe any formula and that there were options available over the counter.

fanny thanks I’ve heard the latex teat goes down well with bf infants for some reason! We’ve been trying with mam but will give these a go

Anyone else with recommendations for formula for cma infants? He’s 6 months so can’t have soya milk I think

I ended up bf until my DD was two and a half for this reason. I wanted to stop at a year, but she would not take any milk replacement and we couldn't find any vitamins with enough calcium. I tried everything the dietician suggested (cooking rice in 'milk' etc) and just gave up and let her have a feed for bedtime and at breakfast. She drinks a milk replacement now so I have been able to give up bf, but it was a long slog without dairy for me. I have gone nuts for milk chocolate, ice cream etc in the last month!! A friend of mine is having the same problem now.

Why won't your GP prescribe a suitable formula? You can buy them OTC but they're £50 a tin.

Soya formula isn't recommended as it can cause fertility issues in boys.

The formula is disgusting and my DS wouldn't take it, so I ended up breastfeeding until he was 2.

Oh bloomin hell! I was afraid of this.

Not sure why my GP said that maybe he thinks cma formulas are easily available? Might make an appt with another GP.

I need to stop bf for IVF so keen to get this sorted, also I’m convinced desperatehe will sleep better once he is off the breast.

Ok so get formula prescribed - once that’s sorted any advice on getting baby to take the bottle? I will get the NUK teat as recommended above

Aptamil do a lactose free milk that costs about £10 and a pepti (hydrolysed) formula if the problem is cow's milk protein which is cheaper than neocate, but still around £25 a tin. If your child has a medically diagnosed allergy they should be entitled to suitable formula on prescription, I would get a second opinion from another gp.

The prescribed formula tastes disgusting (and smells awful) so if babies haven't been on it from the start they usually won't take it. Mine wouldn't even take the yummy coconut/almond/oatly stuff we tried though. I hope you have more luck!

Your GP should prescribe the formula, a lot of the OTC formula alternatives contain soya which are no good for a lot of cmpa babies. A few of them also claim to be lactose free but NO baby is lactose intolerant and a LF formula will still contain dairy.

We tried nutramigen and then neocate for my DS when he was 5 months old. I don't think you can buy nutramigen or neocate OTC, they cost between £40 and £50 so it would be a huge expense. My son was using a tin every 3 days when he was 10 months.

I think you’re on a hiding to nothing, sorry OP. Getting a six month old to take a bottle when they never have? I would be amazed. I tried every bottle going with DS1 and he was having none of it. With DS2 I introduced one bottle of EBM a day from 3wo, then a sippy cup from 4mo, and he was fine.

Try a free-flow sippy cup instead, maybe? Again, you might be scuppered by nasty-tasting CMPA formula, though (which is available on prescription - don’t know what your GP was on about.)

As one suggestion to try and get your DS to take a bottle - stick it in his gob when he’s heavily asleep a few times, then gradually make sure it’s still there when he wakes up, then see if he takes to it awake. DS1 took a bottle a tiny handful of times when he was around four months old after using this method (MAM bottles, if you’re curious), but rapidly returned to his refusing ways.

Why do you need to stop BF for IVF? Does it affect implantation or something?

The prescribed formula tastes disgusting (and smells awful) so if babies haven't been on it from the start they usually won't take it.

Many babies get diagnosed when they're 2m+ so to say they usually won't take it isn't true. I'm not sure how often babies are prescribed it 'from the start'. Usually you have to wade through the colic/reflux shite which takes a few months of hell.

You can buy nutramigen OTC, I paid £18 a tin in my local pharmacy.

Got an appt with dr tomorrow so will see what he says. Re bottles he has taken bottles but when he was younger, between 6 weeks and 4 months he took it no problem a handful of times. Maybe dream feeding with the bottle will work?

I think with IVF it’s to do with the levels of hormones which differ when you are bf, so less likely to have a successful IVF outcome.