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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

help- BFing baby refuses to take a bottle

23 replies

WheresTheAuPair · 11/01/2009 21:40

argh my exclusively BFing baby refuses to take a bottle- just screams and refuses to suck on it. Anyone got any tips?...i've tried avent, tommee tippee bottles to no avail. my evening class starts tomorrow and at this rate baby is going to have to come too!

help!

OP posts:

backalleysally · 11/01/2009 21:45

Have you tried with someone else giving your baby the bottle?

How old is your baby?

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 11/01/2009 21:46

tried that and he went mad yesterday! he is 12 weeks old.

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 11/01/2009 21:48

awwww, chuck him in a sling and take him with you! that's what I'd do anyway

madmouse · 11/01/2009 21:48

your profile says 2months, that right? very young!

mine was like that, a real bottle refusnik, and until I stopped bf him at 11.5 months last Thursday I did take him everywhere. I have done committee meetings while bf/having a sleeping baby draped over my shoulder .

Is it a problem to bring baby? If it is can you feed lo before you go and be back in time for the next feed?

have you tried whether baby will take a bit from a cup?

gruesometwosome · 11/01/2009 21:49

Both my DDs refused bottles. HV suggested trying to let them sip from an open cup or from a spoon. Very time consuming but worth a try (neither worked for me!)

LackaDAISYcal · 11/01/2009 21:50

can he be cup fed? or from a syringe? messy and time consuming but at least you'll be able to go out.

re the bottle, it might just be a case of perseverance until he takes it; we had a fair few goes with DS until we found a teat he liked. first few times DH was actually squeezing the bottle teat to get the milk into DS's mouth.

or it might be the case that he knows what he likes and won't ever take a bottle.

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 11/01/2009 21:51

its a pilates course! i do normally bring him everywhere in the sling but may be pushing it with that

OP posts:

gruesometwosome · 11/01/2009 21:52

Pilates? At 8 weeks you should still be welded to the sofa eating biscuits!

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 11/01/2009 21:52

hmm might try a cup. i'll give it a go in the morning. He's always v.sleepy at the 10.30 feed

OP posts:

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 11/01/2009 21:53

gruesometwosome lol I wish...sob story here but DH left when baby was 4 weeks old. So mission 2009 is to be happy, successful and fabulous

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 11/01/2009 21:53

hmm i dunno, would add to the workout I suppose!
erm, if he's generally well-behaved and might sleep mostly then perhaps they'd be ok with him in car seat at the back?

singyswife · 11/01/2009 21:55

Just go out, he will eventually get so hungry that he will eat. I know how cruel that sounds but it is true. My aunt had to do this with my cousin and eventaully she took it and then my aunt could go out and leave her with her daddy. Have you tried the haberman feeder. It controls the speed of the flow and so is more like the breast than a real bottle.

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 11/01/2009 21:55

he is normally v.chilled but could be a major distraction to the deep breathing or whatever they do in pilates if he decides he wants to come out and play!

OP posts:

singyswife · 11/01/2009 21:56

here

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 11/01/2009 21:56

singyswife will look into that. btw we have tried the just let him go hungry tactic the first time I needed to go out and it failed. miserably.

OP posts:

bzzbee · 12/01/2009 17:06

Hi WTAP

I have exactly the same problem (baby is 10.5 weeks) so please post back how you get on...
I'm going to go shopping for new teats this week but I don't think it will make a difference (she drank from the bottle at 6 weeks so mechanically it has worked for her before).

Best of Luck!

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 13/01/2009 19:39

no joy as yet...

Any ideas as to the best time of day to offer a bottle?

OP posts:

rollercoaster1 · 13/01/2009 21:47

Hi girls, Im new to the site and relieved that Im not the only one experiencing the bottle/BF problem! My son (1st baby) is 3 months and took a bottle on a few occasions around 6 wks old. I think Ive left it too long now and he is doing exactly the same as ' wheres the aupair's' little 'un. like you Ive tried a few different bottles, no luck yet. Just screams his head off and I give in after 10 mins feeling like a terrible mother. I had one MW tell me that you need to introduce the bottle around week 3 so Im thinking I may have a battle ahead!

Original poster

WheresTheAuPair · 13/01/2009 22:06

I guess they know what they like then
I have a friends bday drinks on sat that I really want to go to...ok going to try again tomorrow...wish me luck

OP posts:

nicnic01 · 13/01/2009 22:13

Hi, im in exactly the same situation as you rollercoaster! My 15 week old DD has had the odd bottle (4 in total, 3 expressed and 1 formula) and took them all fine. But that was a month ago and now that I actually want to start getting my boobs back to myself, she is having none of it! I have tried avent and tommy tippee, different people, different times of day, when she is a bit hungry, when she is very hungry, half breast feed then trying bottle. No luck. She either cries or just plays with the teat and spits out whatever makes it into her mouth! I have to say I would be happy to breast feed for another few months if she would take the occasional bottle to let me get out occassionally but no such luck! I joke that I will be still breast feeding her at 21 but seriously its a bit of a worry as I really want my husband to be able to have her to himself occassionally but he cant until we get this cracked. Still quite relaxed about it all, trying once a day, but not sure how long to try for or if she will be even more turned off it if we keep trying. Dont fancy trying a cup yet as I think it may confuse her even more.
I hear what you are saying about feeling like a bad mother for making her cry! We are also trying to get her to go to sleep by herself so I feel I am constantly making her cry which is awful when all you want to do is cuddle them and keep the close and happy and smily and content! Im sure we will get there in the end but will be hanging on for any pearls of wisdom........

bubbleymummy · 13/01/2009 22:48

Nicnic - have you tried letting someone else give the bottle because it's quite common for babies not to take them from their mummy when they want the real thing. In relation to the crying thing for sleeping - you can get them to sleep without letting them cry - Try Elizabeth Patton's "The No Cry Sleep Solution" - you can get it on amazon. It has some good ideas.

rollercoaster1 · 14/01/2009 15:49

hi nicnic - I can totally empathise! Spoke to a couple of BF friends last night. One successfully combined bottle and BF but did both from the early weeks. The other had to physically leave the house while her husband bottle fed the baby - baby wouldnt take bottle when mummy around. They also suggested softening the teats with boiling water and trying the bottle when the baby is sleepy, say at the 10.30 feed as they are less inclined to fight?! not sure if any use but may be worth a try - desperate times desperate measures!

bzzbee · 20/01/2009 22:30

Some good news...we finally got our 11 week old dd to take 2 x 5oz bottles of ebm on Sunday and another 1 x 5oz last night. I hid in another room or left the house while my partner offered her the bottle. We sort of did the cold turkey approach on Sunday in that after her 8am feed she was only offered the bottle for the subsequent feeds. The first bottle was a disaster and my dh had to give up, bath her and put her to bed in the hope that she would wake up in a more forgiving mood (which she did). Then the next 2 feeds were successful. She is still resisting for the first 10-15minutes or so but eventually 'gives in' and then downs the whole bottle like she knows exactly what she's doing(!).

Anyway, just thought I'd post to encourage all of you who are in a similar position. Hopefully in another week or so she will just take to it with no fuss - we are aiming to keep giving her one bottle a day to make sure it sticks.

FYI we are using the Tommee Tippee bottles (but i don't think the bottle/teat matter as much as sheer perseverance!).

Cheers
bb

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