Bottle strike in 7 month old - any solutions?

[dinkystinky]

DS2 is mixed fed - breast morning and night (or rather through the night) and, since just after 6 months, 2 bottles (at first of EBM but since I went back to work a few weeks ago of formula) during the day. Its fair to say that DS2 was never the world's biggest fan of bottles of formula - but he would take around 3 or 4 oz at 10.30 and again at 2.30ish in the afternoon. However, over the past 2 weeks he has been absolutely refusing to have his bottles during the day - and has been feeding like crazy at night as a result - which would be fine if I thought my supply was up to the job but it isnt as he's not sleeping as he's so hungry. At first I though it was teething as he got a second tooth the week before last but now he seems to have a total thing against the bottle. We do offer it to him and persist for a few minutes but he just screams and refuses to feed - then is utterly miserable because he's hungry and thirsty. Anybody out there been through this before and have any solutions?

I am experiencing the same thing with my six month old, he is formula fed and has been doing the same thing for around a month. He takes the bottle when he goes to stay at his grandmas! I either sneak a feed when he is drifting off to sleep (which is a nightmare as he is almost impossible to wind). I am trying to now give him a sippy cup with four holes at the top to see if he takes that. Good luck, sorry I don't have a solution.

Thanks Worrier - its reassuring in a wierd way to know I'm not on my own. Just have to hope he'll start taking the bottle again from his nanny - this weekend he has taken a collective 5 oz - over 2 days - in formula, with much screaming and fighting on his part. He also wont take a sippy cup or a doidy cup if it has formula in (believe me I've tried both) - I hope your little one will take the cup for you. At least DS2 is still taking his breast milk for now I guess.

My boy started on the bottle with my expressed milk at three weeks and took to it really well with Dad giving it to him. Than at about six weeks when he was having a growth spurt he started to refuse this went on with varying degrees of agravation up to twelves weeks. I have tried different teats and giving him the feed at a different time with no better result. It is making me feel desperate that he will never take the bottle or a cup when he is older but that I have to persist. I don't know what to do. Help!

I remember reading that sucking on a teat can be quite painful for baby when teething. My bottlefed babies went off the bottle at these times too. I ended up spoon feeding (very time consuming) them just to get milk in them, but then they went back to bottle later. I wonder if your little one is associating bottle feeding with discomfort. Also, I heard some BF'ing mums say that others can bottle feed their babies but they can't. Probably not at all helpful for long term. But I've heard a lot of mums describe this same thing - I think they all got there in the end tho.

Jbucko - DS1 was similar. We spent months trying to give him a bottle of EBM and he spent months refusing it - so we just gave up until it was time critical (2 weeks before I went back to work) when I disappeared for most of the day (reappearing only to express) and DH kept offering him a bottle - he went 10 hours but then took a bottle and then kept taking them. We did this for 48 hours then I wore DH's huge fleece and gave him bottles of EBM for another day then BF morning and night and gave milk during the day - slowly phasing him into formula. And it was fine. Did the same with DS2 but he was different - took the bottle of EBM while I was around (4 oz in the morning) then refused all bottles for the next 22 hours until he took 9 oz of EBM from me the following day at 5 am after howling for hours at poor DH - thought we had it cracked with moving him to bottle and formula during the day but he is really refusing it now and putting up more of a battle each time. He loves solid food (BLW baby and a total gourmand) so all I can guess is that he hates the smell and taste of formula (it has to be really hot for him to take it all - if there is EBM in the bottle he downs it incredibly quickly but sadly as am back at work I cant express for him now). Some babies will not take BM in a bottle and will only take formula. May be worth experimenting?

Thanks newMNer - I think DS2 is possibly associating the bottle with pain but even when we put teething gels on his gums first (to cut out any pain association) he refuses to feed! Am rather hoping this phase passes soon but as he is definitely teething again (drooling, gnawing on everything in sight and refusing bottles again with very hot bumpy gums) am not too sure it will.

Sorry you've got it tough right now. You're trying to move him to bottle feeding and formula, while he's proper teething, but like you say, you really need to do this.
Have you tried giving him calpol about 30 mins before his bottle feed? and of course, use the calgel or teething powder.

All I can really add really is if you're not successful even with the pain relief, possibly mix the milk with food you can spoon feed him (like cereal). It doesn't help with moving him to bottle, but you don't have the added problem of a very hungry (and teething) crying baby, and he's still getting the milk he needs. Also if he doesn't like the smell of formula or just needs time to accept the new flavour/smell, it might be worth giving him juice or water in a bottle to help him get used to the bottle in general?