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Infant feeding

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

Breastfed baby suddenly refusing the bottle - CRISIS, please help!

9 replies

EssieAStarInBethlehem · 09/12/2008 23:35

Baby is almost 6 months old.
He would happily take a bottle of ebm once or twice a week (to give me a break).
Last week we started topping him up in the evening with a bottle of ebm to help him go longer at night (it worked!).

Saturday he refused the bottle, and has done so consistently since then.
We have tried:
bigger teats in the Closer to Nature bottles (rejected)
Dr Brown bottles with teats 1 and 2 (rejected)
Tommee Tippee bottle to cup thing (too hard to get any milk out)
Tommee Tippee easiflow teat cup-type thing (didn't like it when the milk came out)
Tommee Tippee little cup with a pop up spout (no sucking involved, didn't like it when the milk came out)
A cup with no spout at all (he wouldn't swallow).

We've also tried him playing with the bottle/cup which he likes doing, but the moment it goes in his mouth, it's crying time.

That was all ebm; we've also tried formula milk, and that was also a no.

We've tried it with me offering the vessel, me out of the room, DH with him in another location altogether, someone other than DH.

I'm in a flat panic because it means no more nights off for me - he doesn't sleep through - and I also need to go back to work in January.

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NewKnickersFromSantaOnMaHead · 10/12/2008 01:22

Sorry I havent any advice but bump for you.

prettybutterfly · 10/12/2008 01:24

Not much you can do ... he doesn't want a bottle and you can't force him.

jumpingbean1810 · 10/12/2008 09:07

I am experiencing exactly the same problem. Baby was happily taking a bottle of EBM from 2wks nightly at 10.30pm and suddenly stopped a month later. Again, she will play around with teat in her mouth but won't actually drink the milk. Any advice on how to get her drinking from bottle again, much appreciated as her nightime sleeping routine has now gone out the window and as a single parent I need other people to give the bottle occasionally or I will go insane if I never get a break!

EssieAStarInBethlehem · 10/12/2008 10:09

Same here jumpingbean (secret bump! ) I need others to be able to give the bottle. How on earth would I explain that one to my male boss? I'm having horrific thoughts of 'Bitty' here, and breastfeeding at an 18th birthday...

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Werdna · 10/12/2008 21:41

I think some babies just cannot combine taking milk from the breast and from the bottle. My 3 and half month old was exclusively breastfed, but did take a bottle occasionally when she was less than a month old (I was expressing for her as she had sometimes had trouble latching), and I kept her on a bottle a day. But from around 6 weeks she starting refusing bottles. Maybe once every two weeks she would take one. Then suddenly one day at around 3 months she just went on a 12 hour hunger strike and wouldn't take from my breasts. I saw the doctor he gave her some ranitadine for possible reflux, but then she started taking the bottle, and only the bottle. So now I express and give her formula as well as I can't keep her with her needs only by expressing. I'm changing gradually now to all formula as it is so tiring to feed her a bottle and express at every feed....

rockingaroundthechristmastree · 10/12/2008 22:26

Maybe try MAM bottles - the teat's a bit flatter (supposed to be shaped more like a breast) and has a silkier feel...

DD is much happier with them than any others I've tried....

Good luck!

Ninkynorkstuckinthexmastree · 10/12/2008 23:48

DS would only take MAM bottles. He would also only drink Hipp Organic ready-made formula which has a slight vanilla flavour. There is a version which can be used from 6 months so you could try that.

I do feel for you. Was very smug about saving money on formula then spent a fortune trying every type of bottle, teat and milk on the market!

HTH

Jic · 11/12/2008 00:18

You could try "breastflow" bottles from "First Years" which is apparently very close to how breastfeeding is because it;s the ONLY one my baby will take. They have to "latch" on to it and DS is quite happy to take EBM in it having refused all the usuals. They sell them in Mothercare, you can't find them everywhere and this is the only place I've seem them on sale. Hope he comes round!

Pob lwc!

EssieAStarInBethlehem · 11/12/2008 23:17

Thanks all, diolch!
We are now having a holiday from bottles altogether, as the stress was getting to us all. But next week we will sneak one in in the middle of the night when he's tired and confused!

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