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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

***ABSOLUTE DESPERATION*** Switching from breast to bottle, Expert breast to bottlers please!

44 replies

Pinions · 18/06/2007 19:34

Please can ANYONE help.

Have been exclusively breastfeeding for last 10 weeks and now want to switch to do both.

I have tried absolutely everything but NOTHING seems to work and am really starting to panic, because do not want to be bf solely for the next 12 months.

We have tried the "boob" type tommee tippee bottle, the boots nipple shield type things which are supposed to "stick" to your boob but which do not work at all, and have just gone off and bought even MORE bottles today from boots, their own brand of "boob" type bottle with a rough nipple type teat.

Tried warming the teat first.
Tried DH feeding instead of me.
Tried giving milk when ravenous.
Tried giving milk when not really all that hungry.
Tried giving it first thing/last thing. Tried giving milk through a dropper type thing.
Tried giving it through a cup/bottle lid. Tried 3 different type of formula feed. Tried EBM. Tried dripping it into the mouth first.
Tried "tricking" bb and slipping it in in the middle of normal feed.
Tried sitting up/lying down.

GOD I AM AT MY WITS END PLEASE HELP !!!!!!!

OP posts:
jorange5 · 18/06/2007 20:10

it sounds like it is the baby not the bottle. After having lovely boob for so long it is not surprising really!

DD wouldn't entertain using a bottle at first and like you I tried every trick and every bottle. In the end after trying a bottle at the same time every day and letting her chew on it for 10 mins or so she eventually started sucking merrily away. It took about 2 wks of gentle persuasion.

She would use any sort of bottle after that but she would take the most from the breastflow ones you can get from mothercare. All my BF friends use these bottles now. You can see that the baby drinks from them a lot like they do a boob.

doggiesayswoof · 18/06/2007 20:19

TBH I would choose a bottle (avent was fine for us, but have also heard good things about the mothercare one) and persevere for a couple of weeks with the same one. All the changing from one to another method is bound to be a bit disorienting.

It may take a few weeks, just keep at it.

Try letting dh or someone else do it when you are not in the house at all.

I'm not sure why you are so desperate though - your lo is only 10 weeks. Surely it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things if it takes a few more weeks?

If you are relaxed about it, lo may be more relaxed too

Good luck

yogimum · 18/06/2007 20:19

DS would never take a bottle from me until he was 10 months. He reluctantly took one from other people as long as I wasn't in the building! It just means persevering I'm afraid. I bought every bottle under the sun but found the tomy tipee ones the best. It make take months.

doggiesayswoof · 18/06/2007 20:20

Should say I am not an expert but hope it helps anyway

cathcart · 18/06/2007 20:28

After 3months of trying and failing to give dd a bottle, she has decided the time is right for herself and now happily takes a bottle of ebm from dh most evenings while i have a bath etc.
Iused to get so upset and worried about when i have to go back to work.

Stick with ebm if you can, and like others have said, persevere with one particular teat (we used MAM). When you try to give the bottle, stop as soon as ds gets upset.
How about offering the bottle whilst ds is sat in his chair?

Perhaps give yourselves all a break for a couple of weeks to relax a little. I'm sure he will take it when ready.

nuttygirl · 18/06/2007 20:28

Hey Pesha, I know I didn't manage to bf but I have to agree with DSW about sticking to one type of bottle/teat. I know when we change the teat with Erin (for a faster flow) it takes her a few days to take to it...I think the more she uses them the softer they seem to her and it takes a few bottles to get used to the flow of the milk. Also you might want to think about how quick your let down is and try to pick a teat flow that will be similar. (e.g. if yours is quick, try a faster flowing teat)

FWIW Erin is 9.5 weeks old and is on Avent number 3 teats.

HTH

ratfly · 18/06/2007 20:35

I tell everyone this, but we got most success from a variflow teat. I think it works a bit more like a breast where he gets more the harder he sucks, but it doesn't drip on him if he's not sucking(having said that last bit, maybe it's not at all like a breast )

thejelly · 18/06/2007 21:02

Playtex bottles with disposable liners (which collapse as baby sucks so no air gets in) were the only type my fussy DS would accept (and I tried LOADS). The teats are quite nippley. He's almost three and a half and STILL has one at bedtime

deaconblue · 18/06/2007 21:35

Am just sending sympathy vibes. Know exactly how it feels but can't offer much advice as ds was 6 months before we finally persuaded him to take a bottle. It is very stressful you poor thing

banthambabe · 18/06/2007 21:39

I had this exact same problem with ds. In the end gave up with the bottle as he would not take it. At 5 months started him on a beaker ( not a non spill type) and he took to that, he had that exclusively from 8 months. Though it was hard work at the time it has meant I havent had the hassle of getting him off the bottle. ( Though for ages when he was at his chldminder he had a bottle which i dint know about I just assumed he had a beaker.And he wouldnt drink unless she held it for him while at home he had fed himself for months!!!!)

MuddlingThru · 18/06/2007 21:51

I will be watching this thread with interest. We introduced a bottle when dd was 2 weeks old but she has never happily taken one, she is now just about to turn 8 months. We were consistently offering her a bottle at about 10pm when she was much younger but eventually decided the nightly battle just wasn't worth it (we went through various teats). Since then we have occasionally offered a bottle in the hope that she would have changed her mind but she just gets very cross.
However I now really want to get her taking a bottle/beaker. I have kept clear a weekend in July and the plan is to not give in and hope that by the end of the weekend she will be converted. If anyone out there has done something similar and can share their experience that would be good.

popeye123 · 18/06/2007 23:25

Hi Pinions,
For what its worth - you're not doing anything wrong. Sometimes its just a matter or trying all of the tricks. sometimes its timing, sometimes you just need to stop trying so hard. But Don't panic. Its early days and just because baby isn't opting for a bottle now doesn't mean it will always be that way.
The only other thing I can suggest which I don't think anyone else has gone into, is to check how you are positioning baby. I suggest neither you nor your DH craddling the baby in the same way you normally bf. Try having bb sitting up on your lap facing outwards. If that doesn't work then still facing you but away from the breast area as much as you can. I know the advice is normally to get someone else to try and that normally does work, but if bb associates you wth feeding then maybe IT (is it a DD or DS)is just upset and confused about that and not the bottle itself. You could also try not to smell of milk - maybe try once you've gotten out of the bath/shower.
Other than that, I'd go straight to a cup - a slanted one, can't spell it though - a doidey?
To be honest, at 10 wks, I'd chill out, even if its just for a week or so. You've got plenty of time ahead of you to fight these battles, its still early days so try to enjoy it.

weston · 19/06/2007 08:59

i made a transistion a few weeks ago i used trick her by starting on breast and then as soon as there was a natural pause put the bottle in..sounds a little cruel but it works!!! once u do this a few times then u can gradually move over to just bottle

Ettenna · 19/06/2007 09:35

I've had the exact same problem with my LO. This week he's taken fairly happily to a mothercare 'bottle to cup' trainer thing (it has a yellow top and had a picture of an elephant on the side!). I don't even know why I picked it up but thank goodness because I have to return to work in a week and was getting frantic! He seems to like the hybrid teat/spout thing it has, which seems to be latex rather than silicone.

fearscape · 19/06/2007 09:48

No advice really but my ds didn't start drinking happily from a bottle until we were well into weaning, probably about 6-7 months - I think then it was just one more thing in his mouth and he didn't bother about it. So at least if you can't get her to take a bottle now it doesn't mean you have to bf until 12months!

moominsmummy · 19/06/2007 10:05

My DS wouldn't take a bottle and eventually we noticed he was sucking madly in his sleep - we sneakily took out the dummy and replaced it with a bottle - he drank the lot!

repeated this a few times then he suddenly decided he would take the bottle whilst awake - don't know if would work for you - good luck anyway

fluffyanimal · 19/06/2007 10:10

Totally sympathise Pinions, but your lo is still quite tiny. Trust me, you won't be bf forever and you will get your freedom back.

I can second the advice to pick one bottle/teat and stick to it, religiously, at exactly the same time every day, and don't get upset if lo won't take it, just take it away and try again the next day. Eventually it will happen. Patience, calm and perseverence.
I'd also recommend doing it with ebm until bottle feeding is fully established, if you can.

Katy44 · 19/06/2007 10:10

Sneaky moominsmummy!
We don't have a problem getting T to take a bottle, but might try this to get a last feed into him at 11ish if he's gone to sleep at 8!
Although I suppose it's dream feeding, and last time we tried it it went everywhere, might be easier now he's a bit bigger though.

Original poster
Pinions · 19/06/2007 18:53

Hi just wanted to THANKS to all of you.(Hi katy).

Some great ideas and opinions and overall really positive stuff.

I think like most of you said just to stay calm and patient is the best thing. Just to add this is my second "baby", with ds1 I only managed bf for 3 weeks then went onto bottles for a variety of reasons but mainly cos i was struggling so much.

This time I get through the "hard" part and now find it really easy, but would love to be able to hand over baby every once in a while.

Well I will give it a break I think and keep on trying. Any fresh ideas are greatly appreciated too.Particularly liked the trickster one, where the bottle is slipped in whilst half asleep,am liking it!! Definitely will be giving that a go. Also we keep swapping teats which I suppose is really confusing aswell. Also holding baby in a different position.

The midwife/HV don't warn u that they might not go to bottles after being bf.

The reason I am trying it now is cos i keep thinking if i leave it any longer there'll be absolutely NO chance of bottle feeding at all.

Anyway had a total nightmare day today, with 3 year attempting to play frogger with the traffic, so sorry if none of this makes sense.

OP posts:
liz2388 · 19/06/2007 19:43

i am going through exactly the same thing with my ds and she is approaching 6 months! i have tried all manner of different teats, soft feeder cups, cups with valves, doidy cups etc etc and all to no avail. eventually i have got her to take milk from a heinz baby basics cup. i havent been able to find a stockist but for some reason they're on ebay (brand new (!) packs of 2) if you just search under the name. the advantage with them is that they are really small and, best of all, have no valve. this means that the baby doesnt need to learn a different sucking technique - you effectively just tip the milk into their mouths. the next hurdle is getting them to swallow it !!! good luck

MuffinMclay · 19/06/2007 20:47

Might be worth trying the Dr Brown's bottles. They were the only one ds would use when I went from bf to ff. They're quite pricey, so it might be worth just trying one to start with.

Could the milk be too warm (or too cold)? Took me ages to work out that ds didn't like warm milk at all.

Katy44 · 19/06/2007 22:17

Hi Pinions!
If T stays asleep for much longer I might have to go and manically express to dream feed him! Either that or lean over and try to squirt in the right direction!

Original poster
Pinions · 20/06/2007 08:38

Morning Katy.

Well am gonna start to try again today got 3 bottles all ready and wil try different temperatures (hadn't thought of that one thanks) and also different times.

TBH what usually happens is that he sees the bottle coming and starts to paddy before it even goes into his mouth and then has a full scale baby tantrum.

But we'll see how it goes,will keep you all posted x

OP posts:
Original poster
Pinions · 20/06/2007 08:39

Cathcart after 3 months of trying, shit really that long help!

OP posts:
Katy44 · 20/06/2007 09:07

pinions, can you stick it in his mouth while he;'s screaming? That's what I do when T is having a paddy with my breast, but then i suppose that's what he wants. Is it cruel to do it with a bottle? Can you squeeze milk into his mouth from it?
Hope MM's temperature suggestion works, good luck!