expressed milk bottle refusal

[JenAT]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to mumsnet and keen for advice. Sorry if this topic has been discussed before.
My baby is 3 months, fully breastfed. Initially seemed to take a bottle of expressed milk ok.
Now she totally refuses, goes mental,screams or jut pushes teat around in her mouth, or gags.
I really want to be able to leave her with my husband so I can go out and let him give her a feed occasionally.
Tried avent and tommee tippee bottles, tried warming teat, and milk.
Tried when she is hungry, also when not hungry, tried when sleepy or awake, nothing seems to work. Tried different positions ie in car seat, rocking chair, facing away from me. She also refuses bottle from my husband.
Any suggestions would be very helpful.Has anyone tried any different bottles or teats and had success? or anyone else out there in a similar position??

I'm not sure I have an answer, but did experience this with my first. I started giving him a bottle at 6 weeks old of expressed milk and he was fine with it, then a HV told me that he would start to prefer it as he could get his feed quicker so I stopped . When I then wanted to leave him he wouldn't take a bottle - basically did the same as you tried several different bottles and alot of perciverance. Eventually he did take a bottle but it took several weeks.

My top tip would be to get your husband to try the most and try when your not around so she doesn't have a plan b option. I seem to remember mothercare doing a bottle with quite a small teat that worked for us.

Good luck!

Thanks pippylongstockings,
will persevere and get my husband to keep trying. I agree that if I go out she has no other option but to take the bottle,or go hungry. It just means a pretty stressful night for him.

Hi yes I am in the same boat. Trying Tommee Tippee bottles but no luck. She used to take it fine, I don't understand. Has anyone else got any further advice?

My DS takes Dr. Brown bottles....I think they are fantastic.
I think the key is to persevere. DS has started to get funny with taking his nightly EBM via bottle (is 12 weeks and has taken bottle every night since about 5 weeks old). But I am hoping that is more to do with the fact that he is zonked. I want him to continue taking at least one feed a day from the bottle so that he stays used to it.

He never took to the avent or tommee tippee bottles though. HTH.

Right now off to buy some Dr Brown bottles. Wish us luck, this is driving us mad!!

My DD also took Dr Browns after refusing Avent. However she's still not mad keen - she'll drink from bottle but will want to finish off with a nice bit of breast!

Have you tried a doidy cup? Worked for us after all bottles failed! Good luck.

Dr Brown failed tonight but will keep trying. I had a brainwave tonight and wondered if it may be to do with pain from her teeth as her refusal of EBM coincided with lots of dribbling and one very red cheek...

just echoing some of the other posts. My DD will only take ebm from my DH. She won't take it from me (but will take formula ), and won't take it from her GPs either.

She obviously associates me with breast, and him with expressed.

A doidy cup might be worth a try; my DD has been happy to sip from a cup since about 13 weeks.

Have you tried rubbing teething gel on the teat? That worked for us.
Have had this problem with all three of mine and what worked in the end was perserverence, and having the bottle at the same time every day. I started ds on bottles straight away so he would always be used to it, as well as breast, and he's still fine with either at 6 months. My girls were pickles but I waited longer to start the bottles as people said it would put them off breast, but it actually just made it harder to get them to have a bottle !

I had a WEIRD one - similar situation - DS1 took bottle at three months then didn't and screamed blue murder if anyone came near him with a bottle. I was reading through some La Leche League literature about bf and returning to work and it happened to mention that a tiny proportion of women have/lack an enzyme in breastmilk which makes their milk taste soapy when chilled and rewarmed. Had a little taste and sure enough, once it had been in the fridge it was DISGUSTING! The solution to that is to heat it to near boiling point and allow it to cool before sticking it in the fridge and it is fine. Never heard of it before or since anywhere else but it saved me!

For bottles we liked the Playtex nursers with collapsible disposable liners (4 ounce ones for breastmilk, not 8 ounce!) The liners mean babies don't take in much air and the teats are supposed to be most breastlike .

Good luck with it.