Sippy cup for 8 week old?

[Tiredandtesting]

Hi, my 8 week old DS is a very slow fussy feeder. Takes so long to take a bottle and fusses so much that the milk needs to be discarded before he's done and he's fussy because he's still hungry. We have tried different bottles, different teat flows, pushing longer between feeds, shorter between feeds, different formula, formula for cmpa and intolerance, all of it. He has a bit of tongue tie so unsure if it's an issue with latching in general but health visitor has advised trying a sippy cup as they won't do anything for tongue tied bottle fed babies. Has anyone here had this problem? Or introduced a sippy cup so early? And if so any recommendations? 8 weeks just seems so little to try a sippy cup and unsure if he'd be OK with the flow as he struggles with slow and medium but fast is too fast for him. Any help would be appreciated as we also have a toddler DS and I feel awful when DP is at work all the time, and I'm constantly feeding baby and there's very little time spare to give him proper attention so the mum guilt is huge!

I’ve no experience of tongue tie with my kids and can’t advise about cups, however I just wanted to check if you’d researched having his tie corrected privately? I have relatives who’ve gone private due to the wait and it’s about £150

free open cups can be easiest but if you want a lid then a free flow tommee tippee (no valve) is best.

www.gompels.co.uk/tommee-tippee-first-cup.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsAAV3OHDE7s3Wrf4BvL8PLJ3UcJS5tJk9RlPcm0v5oYKjwiebzmd1waArefEALw_wcB

No direct experience but when my DN wouldn't latch (on breast or bottle) they used a syringe and then a small open cup. I would hope your HV would be a bit more help though. I am sure they were given a cup to try and support to use it.

Both my ds had bad tongue ties, I personally
Would be pushing back as it causing feeding issues, and would want a referral, shouldn't make a different if they are breast feed or not. I bottle feed both mine expressed milk. So might be your area that has this stupid rule, tongue ties can also cause problems later like speech probs or eating certain foods x

We are looking into private for end of January. That's not too bad price wise actually though so will look into it a bit more thoroughly thank you!
For the meantime I had seen the tommee tippee free flow ones a few brands seem to do something similar so will probably give the tommee tippe ones a try first. Thanks! Just so lost with it as DS1 was a greedy wee thing and would have taken petrol out of a sock 😂 had never even considered trying to give such a small baby a cup

@Tiredandtesting

We are looking into private for end of January. That's not too bad price wise actually though so will look into it a bit more thoroughly thank you! For the meantime I had seen the tommee tippee free flow ones a few brands seem to do something similar so will probably give the tommee tippe ones a try first. Thanks! Just so lost with it as DS1 was a greedy wee thing and would have taken petrol out of a sock 😂 had never even considered trying to give such a small baby a cup

Oh OP it is hard when they're so different! I have to say there were a few tears from all of us seeing this tiny baby drinking from a cup! It is strange.

I had to go private for my son’s tongue tie as all appointments were cancelled due to covid. It cost £140
He could take the bottle and breast so much better afterwards and could actually stick his tongue out.
Tongue tie can cause speech problems when older so it’s definitely worth looking into.
As weird as it sounds- try a shot glass( plastic ones from poundland) smaller rim than a big open cup and they’re 30ml so you can keep track of how much milk is actually being drank.

@boymum88 I really thought they'd do more as well it seems silly if there's feeding problems to just dismiss it regardless of feeding method. Getting a visit to make sure his weight gain is still OK but that's it. It was quite a firm no only breast fed babies get referrals try a sippy cup. He won't even take a dummy and we've tried different brands there too. He wants it but can't keep it in his mouth and just gets frustrated bless him. OK ill push harder when the health visitor comes to check on his weight gain thank you!

Go to the GPs and ask them to refer ds to have his tongue tie cut. Honestly, it is ridiculous they won't do it for bottle fed babies!

MWs used to just snip the tongue with a clean pair of sissors before baby left hospital. My baby didn't even wake up when he had his done.

@Danikm151 is that something you've tried? That sounds mad but if it works it works! Definitely something to consider trying. Can already picture DP saying he takes after his mummy with a shot glass 😂 will add it to the list thanks!

I would get the tongue tie snipped asap. The younger they are the easier it is to do. As previous posters have said it can cause speech and dental problems because they can't clean their teeth properly with their tongue.
It takes seconds to do. We used a private midwife and she did it on the lounge floor.

@mrsbobdylan that worries me too the idea of speech problems etc. Surely it would make more sense to just do it as a baby instead of risk it being a bigger procedure if it causes speech or more feeding issues later on!

Sorry I don't have experience with TT's etc but just as an idea, depending on what bottles you use have you tried a variflow teat?

The tommee tippee tears were either too slow or too fast for our wee boy as we use their variflow teats now and he takes it much better!

Fingers crossed you get something sorted soon!🤞

You can get little cups with a special shaped edge for cup feeding.
www.medela.com/breastfeeding-professionals/products/feeding/babycup

The Ikea free flow cups are good. Also worth trying the doidy cup. I got a nuby cup as a freebie that is also good. www.wilko.com/nuby-trainer-sipeez-easy-grip-beaker-295ml/p/0462563?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqbyNBhC2ARIsALDwAsAjsu10VU0pt8LpWaCqEoV3sXm0B33tcxnIqm9ZSs5oTTGHVUr9NucaAj_aEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
I think it will be trial and error and you’ll end up with a good selection of cups!

My son didn't have TT, but was born slightly early and quite small (less than 5lbs). I had to give him top ups of breast milk in an open cup from a few days old.
I thought it would never work, but it did!
You just had to hold it carefully/ not tip it too much, but he was fine with it.
It was a tiny little cup, more like a medicine measure.
Good luck!

[quote Tiredandtesting]@Danikm151 is that something you've tried? That sounds mad but if it works it works! Definitely something to consider trying. Can already picture DP saying he takes after his mummy with a shot glass 😂 will add it to the list thanks![/quote]
@Tiredandtesting
It was the smallest cup I had to hand and it worked!
Tongue tie is such a a worry so anything that helps is best.

Also when he was older he could hold one easier to drink bits of water.

@Tiredandtesting your hv seem like a right waste of time tbh, if you have a nice gp see if they will do a referral. You shouldn't have to pay private but sometimes needs must. If that's the route you take I would try and get it done asap. It only takes secs and you will see a huge difference within a day or so