2 hours and dd will still not take the bottle! Any advice?

[MissTea4Me]

DD is 5 months and after a rocky start with bf has been bf exclusively for the past couple of months. Now I've got mastitis and really can't bear to feed her on the afflicted side but she will not take the bottle. I've been cowering in the corner for 2 hours while DH tries to get her to take it and she howls unconsolably. She's been feeding on the other side but weeing/pooing very little the last few days and I'm worried she's not getting enough. Any advice gratefully received.

Can you just feed her from the side that is ok? You will not run out of milk, your body just keep producing it. It may create a bit of a supply and demand induced imbalance tomorrow but you can sort that out. Might be the best option you have atm? I have had mastitis so you have my full sympathy.

I feel so bad for you - it's so painful but it's actually really important for you to feed from the affected side or the mastitis may get worse.

Are you expressing from it instead as that will do (though not as effective as feeding)? Have you sought advice about the mastitis - a few days is a long time for it to be painful like this .

Have you tried using a cup to feed from instead of a bottle?

Bean, I've been feeding her from just the OK side for a few days but I don't think the supply has gone up enough as she still seems pretty hungry and the reduced wee/poo thing-- am quite worried about dehydration.

Shona, I fed on the bad one as long as I could but it's just too agonising now, all blistered and bleeding (sorry if TMI) so I'm just expressing (not very much is coming out and (TMI alert again) it's all mucussy.) I had mastitis twice early on and this is way, way worse; it's not really clearing up after 5 days of antibiotics so I went to the GP this morning who's put me on a double dose.

I was planning to start mixed feeding at 6 months anyway so I'd really like to try and get her to take the occasional bottle now but she's a strong-willed little number! Amazing given that she had loads of bottles in the first 2 months when I was having troubles.

Is she old enough to try a cup? Doesn't sit up unsupported yet. Can I try just a normal cup or does it have to be a baby one? (Actually am at my dmil's at the moment and there may be some of the other grandchildren's kiddie cups about).

Oh crap that sounds sore . If it doesn't get better over the weekend get your gp to take a swab as I had a nipple infection that led to mastitis and blocked everything up. It wouldn't respond to penicillin - needed erythromycin [sp]. I'm sure he'll do this anyway.

When it started to clear I had disgusting gloopy milk that side and strings coming out - ming ming ming!

Hope you feel better very, very soon - ps I've just remembered that the abs upset ds quite a bit so that could be contributing to your dd being a bit off.

Try the lid from a feeding bottle - very tiny babies can manage a cup (you holding her and the cup and not so easy when they're big enough to grab it!). Somthing smaller might make it easier not to spill it!

I hope it's ok to feed them that goop-- it looked like dd took in quite a bit of it before I took her off that side.

OK, am off to try the bottle lid; will let you know how I get on.

It's completely fine

and thanks!

I've been told by a breastfeeding counsellor that the more you feed on that side when you have mastitis, the more quickly it will clear. Um, you might not want to hear that but it seems to have worked for friends of mine. Hope you feel better soon and your baby gets on okay with the cup!

She takes the cup! I'm quite amazed. Not sure how much we've actually got into her vs. down her front (we have had 2 changes of clothes) but she is much more cheerful now.

Lucicle, I did try to feed on the bad one as much as I could but it's just gone so painful and disgusting I've reverted to the pump. I'm sure she's much more efficient at emptying it (especially with the gloop) as I'm not getting much out with the pump.

Yay! I know what you mean about the clothes changes!!

That's with a bib, too.

Just a quick update: I persevered with the cup feeding for a while and then when dd went for a nap I passed out from exhaustion. When I woke up dmil was calmly feeding her a bottle and when I asked how long it had taken to get her to take it she said, 'oh, a couple of minutes.' !!! Anyway, thanks for the cup advice, shona, but I think I'm going to wait til she's a bit older, if only to save on laundry!

Get a doidy cup from John Lewis - not sure where else stocks it. They can use it from 4 months and the top is slanted so they can see the liquid. Really sorry to hear that you have such bad mastitis. It must be awful and you're very brave for even trying to feed through it, if you ask me!

Thanks MB, I'm not really near a John Lewis but I think I've seen them in a catalogue.

Well it's much easier with a bottle that's for sure.

I had huge problems with bf at the start and was having to feed ds expressed milk when he was a few days old. I was advised to avoid a bottle due to nipple confusion which is when we used the bottle cap, but after a few days when most of my hard-gotten expressed milk ended up down his front I cracked and gave him the milk in a bottle with much weeping - I was sure that would be the end of bf. But I was wrong and he didn't have any problems that way!

I hope your mastitis is better.

Very similar here, shona, I had lots of trouble at the start and dd was on more bottle than boob in the first weeks-- so I couldn't believe it a few months on (she's about 5 1/2 months now) when she refused the bottle.

They're contrary wee things aren't they . (That's a grin or gritted teeth depending on how I'm feeling at the time when ds decides to change his routines yet again...)

Oops , just read on another thread I'm not supposed to say 'boobs' so that should read 'dd was more on bottle than bazooka in the first weeks.'