Argggggh bottle drama!

[Hanz88]

Arghhh I'm experiencing bottle drama! My 19 wk old daughter will not take a bottle. It is extra frustrating because she had regular bottles in the early days, because it took us a while to get her latch right and my breasts were so sore but now she just won't.

We've tried different brand bottles and a sippy cup; warmed milk, room temp milk; trying when she is relaxed and when hungry; when she's out and about and at home; and having both others and I giving them to her but nothing is doing the trick. We've also tried letting her lead and grab the bottle and just helping her hold it rather than pushing it in her mouth.

Please...someone must have been through this before and had some success..if this is you or someone you know, or you just have a tip please share.

She's a stubborn little thing and thinks nothing of not eating until she sees me if we are apart, she did a good 7 hours the other day but was miserable Ann's it was horrible to see.

Thanks in advance x

hi have you tried different flowing teats? It may be too slow or fast compared to the breast.
I would try getting someone else to feed baby with you out the room. So they can’t smell you or make the connection. But have them held in the exact position that you feed it.
Don’t wait until baby is really hungry as they won’t have the focus to try. Just try as it’s nearing feeding time.
A dummy may help them get used to feeling something foreign in their mouth too.
Perhaps feed somewhere different to where you would breastfeed.
If all else fails trying different bottles is your best bet. One may suit. Latex teats I think they are, the more yellow ones? Are meant to be good too.

Hi, yes sorry i should have said (fear of an ultra long post) i've tried her on TT 1 & 2 teats as she used to take the 1s no problem up to about 10 weeks old when she suddenly stopped.

My husband (when i'm not home) and parents (at their house and i'm not home) have both tried giving her bottles and she just went hours without food until she next saw me, though i'm not sure what position they had her in.

She used to take a dummy but stopped taking that too probably around the same time now I think about it. She occasionally will have a few sucks now but then spits it out and the bottles she just chews or tongues.

It doesn't seem to make any difference whether they are silicone or latex teats I have tried both and likewise, warm/ cold, breastmilk / formula...nothing seems to make any impact. I am at a complete loss now.

I'm sure every baby is different, but my DD was a staunch bottle refuser until we started weaning (at about 5.5 months). We tried pretty much every permutation of bottle/ teat/ milk temperature/ position, but in the end I think it was just a case of her being willing to accept food from a source other than me! I hope it works sooner for you - and do keep trying despite how deflating it is when it is rejected - but hope it's helpful to hear our experience. For what it's worth, she eventually first accepted pre-mix formula in a MAM bottle which hadn't been warmed up, from me  good luck, I know it is so hard!

I forgot to mention, another friend who had a bottle refuser had success by persisting every day with her baby sat in a bouncer/car seat, with a baby tv program on for distraction! It took a couple of months to go from refusal to enthusiastic drinking for her, and I think she used the NUK bottle with normal silicon teats.

I had a very boob obsessed boy. My hv suggested the cheapest bottles I could find so tried pound shop bottles. They have really long teats so resemble nipples a bit more. It took about 12 hours of persisting but by the end of day 1 he was happily chugging away holding the bottle himself. Plus if it doesn't work you've only spent a £1

I think we cracked it by having ours sit bolt upright on his dad's knee and completely distracted watching in the night garden. After a few goes we managed to drop the TV, but he would definitely only take a bottle from an upright position. Wasted a third of every bottle, but small price to pay!!! Also gave up trying to feed expressed milk and just used formula. Cracked it around 5-6 months while we were weaning.

thanks for all of your tips! After a straight refusal yesterday of the TT? bottle (dd wouldn't even open her mouth) we had some progress today where we 'played' with the nuk bottle for a bit in front of the tv. She opened her mouth and had the odd suck. I decided to push my luck and try the tt bottle because she finds it easier to hold and the silicone teat didn't seem to bother her and she took an ounce of formula. So good knows what is going on there but we'll be playing in front of the tv some more tomorrow. fingers crossed

Funnily enough I thought about grabbing some cheap bottles, will definitely give this a go too. I just want the flexibility her taking a bottle gives..oh and for DH to take up some night feeds lol x