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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

MY DD WONT COME OFF THE BREAST...

20 replies

laneydaye · 13/03/2005 13:36

MY DD IS 20 WKS OLD AND IVE BEEN TRYING REALLY HARD TO GET HER TO TAKE A BOTTLE!
ITS BEEN ABOUT 8 WKS NOW AND IM REALLY FED UP SHE STILL FEEDS EVERY 2/3 HRS THROUGH THE NIGHT
IM TOTALLY KNACKERED AND RUN DOWN ID DO ANYTHING FOR DP TO GIVE HER A BOTTLE THROUGH THE NIGHT
ALSO THERES THE GOING BACK TO WORK THING, LOOKS LIKE ITS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.....I DONT MIND EXPRESSING EITHER BUT SHE STILL DOSENT TAKE IT...
LOVE TO HEAR WHAT WORKED FOR YOU.......

OP posts:

pixiefish · 13/03/2005 13:39

Can you leave the room while dp gives her the bottle? If you're in the vicinity then she'll prefer you. Also sit her up more than when you bf. Otherwise she'll turn her head for the breast

crazy · 13/03/2005 13:41

she will do it, it just takes time, your dp will have to give it to her rather than you, choose a time, preferably in the day to try, when she is quite hungry, it sounds silly but it may help for him to wear or lay over him some item of clothing of yours, so your dd can smell you, and then its just peserverance, I'm afraid with yourself staying out the way. Make sure the milk is slightly warm, and your dp holds her quite similiar to the way you do. Sometimes I have found feeding whilst standing up and rocking often does the trick , don't know why!

good luck

Original poster

laneydaye · 13/03/2005 13:41

TRIED THAT TRIED ABOUT 10 DIFFERENT PPL GIVING HER IT........ ALSO TRIED HER IN THE ROCKER, PRAM, CAR SEAT.....

OP posts:

tiktok · 13/03/2005 13:52

Laney - whatever you are doing, stop

You will get nowhere if it is already resulting in a fight.

Leave the whole thing for at least a week - preferably 2 - and she is likely to forget she doesn't like the bottle.

Then choose a moment when she is not hungry. If she won't take a bottle try a cup, even an egg cup.

(Oh - and lose the CAPS LOCK - on forums CAPS means SHOUTING and it's harder to read )

scottishmumto1 · 13/03/2005 14:12

laney. the way i did it a couple of weeks ago was gave her breast in the morning and only offered her bottle rest of day. she wouldnt take it until 5pm that day cause she was so hungry. she is now on the bottle full time but i was giving her both but my milk is nearly gone.
give yourself a couple of days and remember it will be hard. it certainly worked for me, by day 2 of the bottle she was taking it no bother at all. i had tried the bottle before but she just wouldnt take it.
good luck

HUNKERMUNKER · 13/03/2005 14:15

DS (11 months) will still only take EBM very very warm - it needs to be body temperature for him to entertain it. When I initially started giving him a bottle, he wouldn't take it until I discovered this. Then he'd only take it from me initially

morningpaper · 13/03/2005 16:00

I also tried everything - nothing worked.

I discovered that I had a 'lipase' problem with my milk - basically after expressing the milk went 'off' and tasted like soap after 10 minutes.

Tried every kind of formula, in the end I gave up I'm afraid.

Might be worth investigating and seeing if that's the problem though? (I'm assuming you are feeding her expressed milk)

Original poster

laneydaye · 13/03/2005 16:16

tried both ebm and formula, the thing is im so bloody tired my routine has gone to pot i dont know the last time i fed her and how much she had, ive lost the plot i think(ha ha ha )
just waiting for gina ford and tracy hogg books to come gonna read them and see what happens...
how can i get her into a routine when she just seems hungry all the time?

OP posts:

pixiefish · 13/03/2005 16:32

laney- is she going through a growth spurt- i seem to remember one of those at about 4-5 months. If so it will pass.

Are you desperate to go back to work or can you stay off a little while longer. My dd became much better at being away from me and taking ebm from a beaker at about 7 months. My dd would never take a bottle either. In the end I tried her with a beaker fom Boots- just a free flow type- they're £2.

Listen to Tiktok and leave her for a couple of weeks and when you come back to it she'll be better

Original poster

laneydaye · 13/03/2005 16:43

will do thanks....
thought she had a growth spurt a couple of weeks ago so im not sure

although i feel so much more chilled with baby no2.... im finding it so bloody hard.....

OP posts:

pixiefish · 13/03/2005 18:29

it does get better- remember that. and well done you for coming this far. Also I should imagine that with no 2 it will be harder because you've also got no1 to contend with

Lorralaffs · 14/03/2005 16:19

Hi Laneydaye, I had the same problem when my ds was 4 months old and I had to return to work. I was also faced with unsympathetic health visitor who said she had never come across the problem before and that there were new laws entitling me to breast feed at work, but as I work 40 miles away, this was useless.
It was hellish. What eventually work was this? I took him to my mother in laws and left him there with a bottle. I don't spend much time there (!) so he couldn't sense me about. I didn't return 'til he took the bottle.
He cried and battled against it for about ten mins then took it from mother in law. Once he took the first bottle, we had no problem. Dd is 2 months old and had 1st bottle yesterday using the same ploy. It worked just fine.
Good luck x

fredly · 14/03/2005 16:31

just keep trying. I had the same problem, until one day I was completely fed up and decided to go shopping while dh was taking care of the matter. When I came back she had taken the bottle ! After months of battling. We've never looked back. I know it's hard but perseverance is the key.

Original poster

laneydaye · 14/03/2005 17:05

well gonna take tiktoks advice and leave it about 1wk or so....then can start again all nice and refreshed(ha ha ha)

didnt realise how big a prob it was till i discovered mn.... got a nuk teat from my hv so will try that aswell

OP posts:

jenkel · 14/03/2005 17:59

I had this problem with dd2. I breastfed dd1 unitl she was 1 year old, but she would also take the bottle form 2 months old, this is what helped make it such a good experience. I could feed herself myself or give her the bottle, 90% of the time I fed her myself but it just took the pressure off me.

Well, expected something similar wtih dd2 and how wrong I could be. Tried a bottle at about 6 weeks, plan was to do a similar thing, probably feed her mostly myself but wanted the option of her having a bottle to take the pressure off. But there was no way that she would take, over a period of a few months I tried every type of teat,cup etc and still no luck. Went out for a entire day and left her with my Mum, we thought that would work but it didnt, she didnt have any milk from 9 to 5 and didnt even seem that bothered.

I then totally gave up, as soon as she seen a bottle she was getting stressed, I was getting stressed and it just wasnt working. Left it for about 1 month and then just tried a bottle and couldnt believe it, she took it no problem.

I know of so many mum and babes that seem to go through this problem, out of 8 of us that breastfed, this happened to at least 3 of us.

Original poster

laneydaye · 14/03/2005 18:20

crumbs hope i get her off breast b4 shes 1.....

i never dreamed id do it this long to be honest, after day2 i was ready to give up....
then suddenly afgter about 2-3 weeks she started refuseing the right nipple so nearly gave up again.....

but i persevered and still only feed her on 1 side but shes doing fine, just never thought it would be so hard to get her to take a bottle....

OP posts:

bmh · 15/03/2005 10:09

hi laney,

i am new to mumsnet but joined to try and find tips on giving breastfed baby a bottle.

I really know how you feel going through exactly the same thing DS (4 months, feeding 2/3 hours all day and night ) refuses point blank to take any sort of bottle, have also tried a million different teats, bottles, positions and people, to no avail. He has taken 2 bottles over the last 2 weeks when i have caught him as he has just woken up before he has realised what was going on he had gulped down 6 ozs so i know he can do it but this method is very hit and miss.

I have a couple of months before i return to work so a little longer than you but i'm beginning to get a little panicky.

Good luck i will keep you posted if i find a solution. Other than just "he will take one when he's ready" which i'm sick if hearing as I'M READY NOW!!!!

Tanis · 18/03/2005 21:44

My DS2 has exactly the same aversion to a bottle - I found that she really didn't like the Avent teats as they are quite hard but i have had limited success with Nuk teats - the rubber ones - as they are very soft and more nipple like. Like bmh I did find the 'surprise' element works if you catch them before they are starving hungry and I then i have to stand up, sway and sing! I too am looking for an anwer to this obviously common bf problem...

bmh · 21/03/2005 20:05

A couple of people have suggested the NUK teats i have tried (and failed) with the silicone ones but have just bought some of the latex (rubber) teats, Hadn't really wanted to use these due to risk of allegies but i'll give anything a try. WIll keep you posted!!!!!!!!!!!!

janx · 22/03/2005 21:03

I had the same problem - I only had to put a bottle within eyesight and my dd would scream the house down. We tried everything and then left it for a while and then one night when I was really ill with a terrible stomach bug my dp gave dd a bottle which she wolfed down - now no looking back. Good luck -I know it is really hard

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