HELP!! How can i breastfed baby to take formula?

[mumove]

I have just been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid, so need to stop breastfeeding earlier than planned. My little boy is nearly 5 months old and although we have been giving him expressed milk in a bottle (Tommee Tippee) since he was 2 months old, he has never really taken to it and it has always been a battle.
I have started to try to give him Aptimil but he hates the whole process of being bottle fed. The health visitor just says persevere and cut down a breast feed every 2 days. I'm not happy with that as he is only taking about 1-2 fl oz (which is not equivalent to a breast feed) and that takes anything up to an hour! If I drop any more than the 2 feeds I've already dropped, the poor little thing will be starving.
He gets very upset as soon as I start giving himn the formula- which is upsetting for me as he's normally a very happy little boy.
What can I do? Have tried changing flow size of teat & have tried a different brand of bottle/teat today. Should I switch milk brand? I don't think I would be so worried about it but the doctor has said I need to stop breastfeeding as soon as possible so they can put me on medication.
Has anyone had the same problem, and if so what did you do?

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mumove - do you want to stop bf? If not, then it's certainly worth getting another opinion on whether you need to or not.

Medication for hyperthyroidism is not normally a reason to stop - obviously it will depend on your exact drugs and their dosage, and your own feelings about it. You might find something to discuss with your doc here:

toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/f?./temp/~b0fwwp:1

Sorry if I am prying but are you certain that you need to stop breastfeeding him?

I have no personal experience but my SIL suggested that I send this link. She was able to use some of the advice and only had to stop BF temporarily.

Sorry if it is unhelpful.

www.kellymom.com/health/thyroid/thyroid-links.html#bf

mumove, Tiktok often says that it is very rare for a breastfeeding mother to have to wean before mediciation is given.

Look at the bottom PDF about Throid Medicication

"Propylthiouracil (PTU) is the drug of choice in a breastfeeding mother. Only small amounts are secreted into breastmilk and reports suggest that levels are too low to produce side effects."

It seems if you wish to continue to breastfeed you can.

HTH

x-posted with Cadmum and Tiktok.

Thanks Sunnytimes, tiktock, Cadmum and Babies everwhere.

Doctor seems to think I do need to stop, but am seeing him again next week so will read the links and ask him. I need to stop by September anyway, as I'm returning to work, but if things carry on like this maybe its a good job that I started the weaning onto a bottle so soon. Reckon I'll splash our £18 and try the babyworld bottle/teat suggested by 'Sunnytimes'. Thank you all for your help. (Feeling a bit more cheerful today - maybe because my husband is able to take over the bottle wrestling sessions at the weekend!?)

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I've heard of a contraption that is like a tube that you attach to your nipple, with a bottle the other end. It's meant for people who don't produce enough milk. I'm wondering if you could block your milk with some kind of nipple shield and use this, which might fool your baby into thinking he's still breastfeeding.

Otherwise you could try cup feeding - a bit of a slow process but my son managed it at 3 days old!

Also have you tried different brands of formula - maybe he doesn't like the taste of Aptamil! My baby is mix fed with Cow & Gate Stage 1 as well as breast milk - my health visitor advised I don't get the hungry baby stuff as it slows digestion and makes them constipated.

Ingenious, cuppatea.....but this isn't gonna work I can assure you (because of the way the Nursing Supplementer device and shields are made. The tube is taped right next to the nipple, and there is no such thing as a 'blind' nipple shield).

Cup feeding a five month old is (prob) not going to work either - five month olds can use cups with help, but the amount of milk that's needed is more than is needed with a newborn and getting that amount down the baby of that age with a cup (his entire needs) is unlikely.

Sorry about the dampners on your ideas

Mumove - I hope your doctor isn't saying to stop for no good reason....

I second Tiktok. Someone on my Peer Support course was gutted to find out when her baby was six months that she didn't need to have given up feeding her baby. She'd put off starting her drugs as long as she could too, because her baby was premature.

Not many doctors are up with breastfeeding and will often say to stop doing it because they a. don't know if it is safe and b. don't want any come back on themselves if anything happens. I highly recommned you do some research for yourself and go to see your doctor armed with as much print outs as you can. I've done it myself and just seeing me sitting there with a pile of papers made them realise I was serious.

Also, starting work isn't a reason to stop breastfeeding, he will probably be on solids by then and will adapt his demand around your availability.

(and I meant Tiktoks first post)

Who needs a health visitor when I have the mumsnet discussion mums to advise me. Have printed off the links and had a good read. Am going armed with the paper (as suggested by Tinkerbelles mum) when I go to the hospital. Also, do you really think I'll manage to breastfeed when I'm back at work, Tinkerbelles mum? I was really hoping for him to have a bottle during the day but to breastfeed for the first and last feeds of the day. I'd given up on being able to do this after talking to the doctor, but you've given me hope? Do you think it would be possible/practical? Don't really want to be back at work with Jordanesque leaking boobs!

Could you express at work, mumove? I have breastfed 3 babies till at least a year by doing this. I express twice a day at work and the baby gets that milk the next day in nursery. Morning and evening feeds are breast as usual. Guidelines for companies say you should be given a private room with a locked door and a fridge.
BTW, my ds3 was a bottle refuser and we eventually got him to take Playtex disposable bottles with NaturalLatch teat.

Your body will adapt to the feeding patterns as will your son. What often happens is that they hold out during the day - especially when already on solids, but some who aren't do too - until Mum gets home and then make up for it when she comes in. It gives Mum an excuse to sit down and do nothing for awhile which helps to relax a bit after work.

Things are getting much better. My little boy seems to be getting used to taking some formula from a bottle. We've stuck with the Tommee Tippee bottles but changed to 'Cow and Gate' and he's taking about 3fl oz in one go. Makes me realise that maybe even when he was breastfeeding he is a 'snacker' and only takes little and often. The best thing is that he is not crying when I feed him with a bottle - things have become more calm and settled thank goodness. Have decided to aim for getting the bottle feeding completely sorted by the time I go back to work in September and am not rushing because of the thyroid. I've read lots of the articles that you all recommended and am going armed with paper as suggested. I'm hoping to keep the morning and evening breastfeeds going even when I return to work. Thanks everyone for your advice and support - it really helped getting it off my chest and knowing that you were all out there with words of wisdom. This was the first time I've posted a discussion thread and I've found it so helpful I'm sure I'll use it again. THANK YOU!!