Help! Calling all those whose babies rejected the bottle outright

[musicmaiden]

Hi
After I religiously followed the rules about not introducing a bottle until 6 weeks due to confusion, and trying an EBM bottle every day since, my son is just refusing to take it.

I am now trying to come to terms with the worse-case scenario that he will never take it.

My questions for you, then are:

• Is the advice not to give a bottle too early actually rubbish? All my friends who are started giving EBM very early on are having no trouble at all... feel like I buggered up my chances simply by following the guidelines.

• Did you manage to ever go out without your child again?!

• I was going to stop bf at 6 months and go back to work at 9 months. What happens if baby won't take bottle at all? Can they really drink from cups or whatever this young?

Sorry for naiveity of questions - am a very frustrated first-time mum and need to hear light-at-end-of-tunnel stories!

xx

They can drink from cups, even preemie babies can drink from cups. I think it just takes a bit of practice.

DS1 never had a bottle. I to go back to uni when he was 4 months and he got EBM in a cup. He was completely fine with it. I'm going back to work when DS2 is 5.5 months (don't want to, but I have to) and he'll be getting EBM in a cup too. I'm not even going to bother trying with a bottle .

kelly mom has info on alternative feeding methods.

DD never had a bottle (not for want of trying!) and I went back to full-time work when she was six months. She was able to sip expressed milk from a doidy cup, so don't worry too much.

Don't give up just yet though - sometimes they'll take a bottle / cup better from someone other than the owner of their current milk source. Can someone else help?

My little darling took a bottle of expressed/formula milk now and again if I wanted a couple of hours to myself until he was about 4 months old. Then, he starting screaming at the sight of a bottle and wouldnt take anything but the breast.

To ensure I was ready to go back to work (12 months), from about 6-7 months, I started to try and drop feeds by extending the time between the morning feed and the next feed by as long as I could. So, 8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm (for example) became, 8am, 1pm, 4pm, 8pm then 8am, 230pm, 4pm 8pm etc. until the one before 4pm disappeared. Then I extended by time between 8am and 4pm to 8am and 6 pm, 8pm. So, by 9 months, he was having 8am, milk/water/juice in cup/finger foods/purees etc all day and then a feed at 6pm. I did not have to upset him and it was a very natural slow, although well planned, transition.

Good luck!! Some breast fed babies just end up hating the bottle, some never like it. We tried many different teats/milks also. He saw the bottle, and screamed before it even got to his mouth!!!!!!

If you think the above option is a good idea, you end up with all day to get about and are needed as a mum at night feeds only. This made my life very manageable. I wish you look in your quest for a happy baby and happy, working mum!

My dd now 2yrs 5mths would never ever take a bottle in fact up until she was 18mths old would not drink from any cup either so yes I was totally tied to her. Im pleased to say that she now drinks water from a cup and doesnt have to have breastmilk during the day but she hasnt dropped her morning and nightime feeds or her 2.30 am and 4am feeds either If you let someone else do the feeding during the day with ebm with a cup im sure it is achievable with some patience I wish you good luck and dont waste money on bottles we spent loads on them every shape size colour etc and none worked.

Has somebody other than you tried to give a bottle?

My DS1 would refuse a bottle from me but if I was out of the house and that was the only food avaiable then he would take it. I think the first time was when he was 6 weeks. My mum baby sat so I could go and have my 6 week check up in peace and he took a bottle from her but refused it the second I was back in the house. That pattern continued for a few months although I didn't do it often.

By 7 months he would take it from me as well so I introduced an afternoon bottle for him so I had a bit more freedom. Of course he was on solids by then so used to different things in his mouth.

There is light at the end of the tunnel - just because your baby won't accept a bottle now, doesn't mean he never will.

haven't read all the posts, but did you warm the milk? my DD kept refusing and i realised she likes the mik really warm. she will now, at nearly 10 weeks, accept and finish a bottle of ebm, after me thinking she never would!
good luck!