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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

4 month old breastfed baby refusing bottle. Desperate to get her on the bottle. Help

29 replies

annaspanna · 27/07/2007 16:20

She last had a breast feed at 6.45 this morning. Has refused every feed from the bottle since. Have only offered expressed milk. She has had and accepted the bottle before on occasions & a couple of formula. I really need to wean her to the bottle. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have come this far now i feel if i give her breast I'll be bfeeding until she weans herself which i really don't want.

I imagine i'll be up all night with her due to missed feeds whether she has a bottle now or not?

OP posts:
milfAKAmonkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/07/2007 19:06

No advice but bumping for the evening lot

Not helpful to you but my DD never took to a bottle after months of trying and she self weaned at 15mths. Once they can drink from lidded cups etc it is easier to wean.

crokky · 27/07/2007 19:09

My friend's DD did this. She said it helps if someone other than you gives the bottle (whether it contains expressed milk or formula), then DD can't smell you when learning to take the bottle.

FrannyandZooey · 27/07/2007 19:10

Why do you think you'll be breastfeeding till she weans herself, if you don't wean her now?

There are different ages when it seems easier to wean. Of course it varies from child to child, but about 10 or 11 months can be an "easy" time to wean for many people. Why do you feel you have to do it now?

milfAKAmonkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/07/2007 19:11

Seconding the weaning at 10-12mths, many of my friends have done this and have found it painless. Why do you want to wean? Can you wait or have you had enough?

paolosgirl · 27/07/2007 19:14

I'm in exactly the same position - trying to get a 4 month old to take a bottle with not much success so far! Our other 2 were the same, but we just perservered, and they eventually got used to it. I was able to mix their feeds, which was needed when I went back to work (never got on with expressing). Have you tried experiemtning with different teats? Getting someone else to feed them is a good idea - I think they can smell your breast milk if you do it, and hold out for what they know is very near by!

Chirpygirl · 27/07/2007 19:20

Bets thing to try is to either not be the one that offers or wear a sweatshirt/jumper (ie, something thick) of your DP's so that she can't smell your milk as easily.

Also, have you tried her with a tommee tippee sipy cup or something similar, she is old enough to go straight onto one of these and bypass a bottle if she takes to it.

harpsichordcarrier · 28/07/2007 07:30

annaspanna, why do you need to wean? if you are both finding it hard then can you wait a while or cut down more gradually? cold turkey can be very hard on both of you. engorgement &c for yuo is a problem.
self weaning is wonderful but it isn't all or nothing, there is a middle way

Original poster
annaspanna · 28/07/2007 13:30

Thank you for all the advise.I'll try and explain why i need to wean.

I really want to be able to go out without my baby. At the moment i have to take her everywhere which is difficult as i have to take her with me to visit my dad in hospital because she won't take a bottle. I also (in a couple of months) need to go back to work. I am ashamed to say i have never enjoyed bfeeding and really need it to end to keep my sanity. The fact that i have managed to keep going for 4 months is a miracle & although i am proud to go this far i've really had enough. The hormones also aggravate my psoriasis & tendonitis. These both miraculously disappeared when i weaned DS. i would happily continue breast feeding if she would only take the bottle once a day. I must sound really selfish. I know a lot of you are unselfish & bfeed until your baby is ready but i really am struggling to go on.

I eventually gave her baby rice watered with breastmilk at 6pm to see if she would try a spoon. she wolfed it down. Then bfeed before bed & she slept til 4 which is unheard of. Have tried bottles again today but she still point blank refuses. I think its the teat she doesn't like & I've even tried the new breastflow ones. Tommy tippee, feeding cups avent - none do the trick. Haberman feeder too!! i have given up trying for the time being but will need to get her to take milk by another means soon when i go to work.

OP posts:
quiveutmabonnebaguette · 28/07/2007 13:35

Try the nuk teats, it did the trick for my dds ! These teats really looks like a nipple !

sazzybee · 28/07/2007 13:41

My 4 month old likes Dr Brown bottles, he won't (or can't) drink from Avent.

FrannyandZooey · 28/07/2007 17:09

Would she take plain milk from a spoon? Messy but a possibility...

you don't sound selfish at all, and yes it is a big achievement to have fed for this long feeling that you don't enjoy it. I know some people find the intensity of breastfeeding lessens around 6 months when they start to give other foods. Babies also become more able to grasp and put things in their mouths at this age, and it can be a good time to try introducing a bottle, as they are more inquisitive and curious to try new things IMO.

I hope it works out for you.

Gemy · 28/07/2007 17:26

You could try giving her a "dreamfeed" with the bottle, and perhaps unconsciously she'll start accepting the bottle and then this may continue to when she's awake?

Also, for formula, my DD would only ever take ready made - she never would take the powered make-yourself stuff (which was nice and easy for me!)

Helennn · 28/07/2007 17:34

I had this with my ds, even went to the Dr's because he so resolutely refused to let the teat anywhere near his mouth. The Dr. just said that when he is hungry/thirsty enough he will have it - so not much help there, (although it was true!!). The only other advice I can remember was as somebody else said - get somebody else to do it, even to the point of you going out for the day and leaving baby at home with someone you trust. This is a hard thing to do I know, but if the baby knows you are hanging around, (and your boobs come helpfully attached), they can be very strong-minded. If you have gone out with your coat on and handbag it can sometimes make a difference, (even if you are only hiding around the corner). Hope this helps, .

mears · 28/07/2007 17:53

Have you tried Tommy Tippee wide necked bottles? My neice has them and they are very breast like.

fruitymum · 28/07/2007 18:14

I had same prob with DD and managed to give her expressed milk from a feeding cup with soft spout and non return valve(soft floppy plastic bit on inside) removed . Tried all sorts of bottles/ teats combination with no success.

harpsichordcarrier · 28/07/2007 18:37

have you tried warming the teat? some babies find it a bit chilly

pieceofcake · 28/07/2007 20:36

Hi annaspanna I'm doing the same thing... she's not 4 months yet but refuses bottle off everyone. She will take from cup but not from anything with a spout...far too messy. also they miss the comfort of sucking. have you tried the first feed of the day? I'm going strict from monday and will sit through the tantrums, they take it eventually. Keep going!

scattyspice · 28/07/2007 20:41

Same prob with DS just persevere. Offer bottle first, but still BF if no good. Took about 1 mnth.

NB use high flow rate teats as sucking is different.
Also DS never finished a bottle of feed, always drank less than instructions (so fed more frequently).
Good luck

Monkeybar · 28/07/2007 20:57

Hi annaspanna. I can't remember how we got ds to take a bottle but I seem to remember that it took AGES to get him onto one. It was necessity in th eend as my dad was ill in hosp and I was bfing, but it was a 3hr round trip and I went every day, alone. DH was on his own and gave ds a bottle when he woke from his afternoon nap and we stuck with that, even after my dad died.
We tried every different teat going, including some latex ones, and in the end he settled on MAM teats, they are flat and wedge shaped, probably more like a nipple than the round ones. I found the MAM bottles a real pita, though, and was very pleased when I was told that you could use the teats on any wide necked bottle. Also if you are going for formula, it might be that your dd doesn't like the brand that you're trying - a couple of friends had a similar situation where their lo refused point blank, but accepted without fuss once the formula was one that they liked. Good luck

bdevine · 28/07/2007 23:28

i do know the feeling annaspanna.. my dd is 6 months old - i've just managed to increase the bottle feeds to 3 a day! we tried all bottles, all teats, all members of the family, every hour of the day, etc. it happened one day when i tried the NUK bottle - guess it's the latex teat... she still doesn't take any other bottles, but is happy with formula, regardless of the temperature or brand. give it a go, you can get them from greenbaby.co.uk - hope it helps you too.
i also find the morning feeds easier and not holding my dd - she is more happy to take a bottle when she is sitting in her bouncer chair.
best of luck to you.

indiemummy · 29/07/2007 13:37

Have you tried a doidy cup? My dd 7 months won't drink from any cup or bottle - we have tried loads - but will drink ready-made formula from this open cup with surprisingly little mess.

I haven't left her with anyone yet but feel much happier that i could if i needed to, just leave the doidy cup and a carton of formula.

good luck, don't worry, it'll happen soon xx

vino4me · 29/07/2007 13:44

what bottle are you trying anna??

Original poster
annaspanna · 30/07/2007 14:23

Wow so many replies. Sorry not to get back to you all sooner.

The reason i feel so crap about it is because we did used to dream feed her occasioally with a bottle. It was wide neck tommee tippee & she also has this awake in the day & 3 times with formula milk sma gold from ready made carton. It was 2-3 weeks ago she point blank refused expressed milk. She has never took a dummy either and i tried from birth on a daily basis until about 10 wks!!!

I do feel she may be teething? Could this have an affect? I will try to get the doidy cup indiemummy & thanks for the suggestions about nuk teats & latex teats. I will also try a feeding cup with the flow thingy removed!!!

MONKEYBAR - just want to say the situation with your dad is similar to my problem I'm having now. I'm visiting my dad in a home type hospital now & i am forced to take DD with me.i really feel for you in your situatiopn it must have been terrible. Sorry about the loss of your dad

If DD had never took a bottle i wouldn't feel so desperate as i would accept it more i think. But to have succeeded & be complacent & not offer the bottle enough i feel i've caused the problem & hence missed the opportunity now.

OP posts:
pieceofcake · 30/07/2007 21:53

Don't dispair! we were the same- she decided she just preferred me. today we had a boob amnesty! it tooks 20 mins of DD messing with the bottle in her mouth and me walking away every few minutes, before she realised she was getting nothing else and went for it. she's even had a dummy today which is a first. doidy cups are fine but she will miss the sucking. it has taken me weeks to get this far and every little one is different so keep trying. it will be worth it for an afternoon off.

Jackstini · 30/07/2007 22:01

Don't worry Anna, I'm sure she will take something soon. With my dd it was all a matter of perseverance amd took a few days on and off (I know - it is easier said than done!)
There is a breast shaped bottle you can try if desperate. Here is a link but they also come up on Ebay sometimes. www.poshmums.com/breastfeeding/Adiri-Breastbottle-Nurser.htm?gclid=CMXv986V0I0CFRFjYAodBBFhIg
Good luck to you and best wishes for your Dad

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