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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Anyone starved a BF baby onto bottle - how long did it take??

28 replies

Bluegirl · 20/06/2005 20:46

Has anyone out there ever starved their breastfed baby onto a bottle? If so, how long did it take - did someone else do it for you? Back to work in less than 2 weeks and nothing else is working. V.stubborn DS is point blank refusing all bottles he is presented with. Have tried all tips on here. Am getting v.desperate.

Oh, and if you did starve them onto the bottle, did you ever breastfed again or was that it???

OP posts:
edam · 20/06/2005 20:51

Ok , you've tried all the tips ... but just in case you didn't hear this one, worth seeing if he'll take an interest if you wrap the bottle in a bra you've been wearing and make sure your dh/dp/someone else gives him the bottle while you are not there!

Sorry if you've already been there, done that, but it worked for us when ds was refusing.

Mama5 · 20/06/2005 20:55

It took me twekve hours but he gave in eventually!

Libb · 20/06/2005 21:02

I was panicking quite seriously when DS still wouldn't take a bottle properly and he was due to start with the CM in two days. We finally found that he liked NUK bottles and Gow and Gate formula for those back up bottles.

Buying a second breast pump was the clincher though, the day I bought he took all the formula given - I realised I wanted my boobs back a bit and so we struck a deal. A feed in the morning, formula during the day and a feed at night. We then dropped it completely when he had a course of antibiotics and I wanted a glass of wine after a bad day at work! he didn't bat an eyelid, not sure what that says about my milk though!

chipmonkey · 21/06/2005 02:04

Bluegirl, here's what worked for us!
1/ take a break for 3 days, so baby forgets what he was fighting about!
2/ Give your usual feed in the morning.
3/ after 3 hours offer a bottle. It may be rejected. Don't force, but try about every 15 min. The bottle should be warm.
4/ Do not give in and offer the breast. I found he took the bottle after 6 hours with no milk.
5/ when feeding the bottle, rest your fingers against his cheek
6/ Walk up and down and sing while giving the bottle. This may puzzle him so much that he forgets he's getting a bottle.
7/ Feed in a different room from where he usually gets a breastfeed.
8/ If he takes an ounce or so, leave it at that, don't keep pushing it.
9/ When he takes some or all of the bottle, then you can offer the breast.
10/ From then on, offer the bottle at the same time daily, and try to increase the amounts he will take.

MAM teats were the ones that worked for me. Also, it was always me who gave him the bottle. No one else had the patience or perseverance to do it. But now he will take it from dh as well. "starving " the baby also worked for fletchie here on MN which is why I persevered. Good luck!

chipmonkey · 21/06/2005 02:06

oh and ds is still breastfed just apart from that one bottle a day. He loves the boob which is really what all the fuss was about!

bobbybob · 21/06/2005 03:37

How old is your ds and how long will you be working for each day? Sometimes you don't need to do the bottle thing at all. Nurseries and CMs are also very good at getting babies onto bottles, so it could just be less stressful to wait and let them do it.

nailpolish · 21/06/2005 08:44

it took my v patient dh sitting upstairs with dd and a bottle a whole 2 hrs of screaming and crying, before dd took a bottle. i was sat downstairs sobbing, so if i was you and its the plan for dh to do it, go out for a wee while

lots of luck x

ps it was no bother after that for dd to mix bottle and breast

Original poster
Bluegirl · 21/06/2005 10:07

Thanks all for replies. DS is 5 months and will be in nursery all day as I will be working full-time. Have also been trying doidy cup and he will take about an ounce from that - so if bottle fails he can choose to have drinks from doidy and solids during the day and I will feed him morning and night - just think he would be better nourished/hydrated on bottle but he may gradually take more from Doidy as he gets older. He's in for a heck of a shock either way!

Edam - haven't tried the bra but that is def next on list - cheers!

OP posts:
chipmonkey · 21/06/2005 10:20

Let us know how you get on, Bluegirl, its such a nightmare isn't it? But I think if they're hungry enough they will take it, eventually, hard though it is!

hannahsaunt · 21/06/2005 11:50

If in doubt, express milk and drive it over at lunch time. That's what I ended up doing after starving ds2 for 12 hours a day every day for a week and failing having done all the things you're supposed to do to try to wean to a bottle. It wasn't that long before he dropped his lunch feed anyway and we carried on quite happily with morning and night feeds until he stopped naturally at 13mo. HV reckoned that he would have managed happily w/out the lunch feed anyway and would have compensated morning and night as he would take water from a teaspoon through the day. Worked out just fine and I was v happy that he wasn't on formula.

hannahsaunt · 21/06/2005 11:51

Meant to say that he would take the expressed milk either from a teaspoon or from a cup (proper cup - just didn't do the teat/sippy cup thing at all). Nursery staff were v patient and dedicated.

fletchie · 21/06/2005 12:57

I really feel for you, bluegirl, but chin up - you will crack it! I agree with chipmonkey, leave the bottle for a few days then try again - it worked for us. Also, my little darling likes the milk warm so I usually find that I have to reheat mid feed. She also likes to take the bottle bolt upright and be walked around at the same time - which is a bit of a killer but I just have to look at it as a good way of keeping 'dinner lady' arms at bay! Is there anyone you could leave him with for an afternoon? Good Luck!

BarbaraX · 21/06/2005 13:11

the gentle approach and tips (expressing, all the money spent on different formulas or teats!!) werent working and like you I had to go back to work. so once I was sure that she knew how to drink milk from the bottle, I decided that she was just being stubborn. It took me 1 - 2 days of offering the bottle when she wanted feeding or at regular intervals, cant remember in details, i think I just follow my instinct. she would refuse altogether or drink a very little amount and ask for the breast. she got the message. that proved to me that I shoudl have done that to begin with although it was heartbreaking. I could have done with a bit more support instead i was made feel like a bad mother. A couple of days with little food will not do any harm.

nailpolish · 21/06/2005 13:13

bluegirl, have been thinking about you this morning and wanted to add that have you thought of bypassing the bottle? as i said earlier we had a bad time with dd1 accepting the bottle, then not much later we had to go through the whole shenanigans again to try and get her to drink from a cup. i wish i had gone straight from boob to cup, like a beaker with a spout i mean.

hth x

LOOBYLOU2 · 21/06/2005 13:45

Hi Bluegirl
My DD took the bottle at the eleventh hour of returning to work!!
I know how you feel
I tried everything - virtually all the tips listed below
As far as teats go - the horrible brown very soft ones in Boots worked for me - and believe me I tried the lot!
It was my DH who eventually got her to take it
I continued the bed-time feed for about three weeks after returning to work and then stopped
altogether

crumpet · 21/06/2005 14:10

I second the horrid brown teats too - we tried the lot and these were the only ones that worked. We also gave dd an empty bottle so she could play with it and familiarise herself. Part of the problem I think was that she had no idea what she was supposed to be doing - took us about a week to really crack it.

BarbaraX · 21/06/2005 14:45

oh yes, I forgot about that . the latex brown teats! they were the only ones that she was happy with! i tried them all I think even expensive feeding systems from the US that advertised themselves as closely mimicking the breastfeeding ! what a waste of money

snailspace · 21/06/2005 18:05

Message withdrawn

Issymum · 21/06/2005 18:35

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at OP's request

LHP · 21/06/2005 18:47

I did this, it worked a treat and nowhere near as stressful as I had been led to believe. DS was about 6m and I was due back to work in a couple of weeks and had tried everything else, working us all into a right tizz. I gave him his last night feed at around 3am then just offered the bottle (normal advent one) at 6 when he woke up, then every couple of hours after that. I did A LOT of walking with the pram, went to mum and tots and just kept offering bottle everery two hours, but not forcing it, then back out with pram again. He finally cracked at 4pm and had 5oz straight back. He had a couple of night breasst feeds after that, but milk dried up pretty quickly. I always recommend this method, far less stressful than 2 hourss screaming every feed time. Good luck, I feel for you.

chipmonkey · 21/06/2005 19:09

As long as baby takes some feeds the milk shouldn't dry up. My sister's dd eventually decided she preferred the bottle though, so that was the end of that for her!

Original poster
Bluegirl · 22/06/2005 12:19

Oh thanks everyone, really appreciate hearing how it went for you. I am steeling myself to do it next week - really have no other choice at this stage . God I hope it works. Will try and leave him with relatives for part of the day at least as I know the temptation to cave in will be too great.

LHP - good idea to start after 3am feed - think I will do that - and the pram will be out a lot that day I am sure.

Will keep you posted on what happens. Think its gonna be a hellish few weeks ahead, BIG changes for the wee man . Fingers crossed....

OP posts:
chipmonkey · 22/06/2005 14:47

Bluegirl, it shouldn't take weeks, once he takes the 1st one or possibly the 2nd one, then you're laughing!

chipmonkey · 22/06/2005 14:48

Barbara X , did you get the breastbottle as well?

Original poster
Bluegirl · 05/07/2005 10:17

Just an update - DS (5 months) continues to refuse all bottles and sippy cups - did a 'trial' work day when I fed him in the morning and left him with my sister and she gave him his fruit and veg purees throughout the day and offered him the bottle or milk from the doidy cup - and, yes, he chose the Doidy cup and would have nothing to do with the bottle. So I am now back to work full-time and he has chosen to survive on fruit and veg purees and few ounces of milk from doidy in the day (am sure he will gradually take more) and wait for me to feed him in the evening. He is perfectly happy with the arrangement and wants nothing to do with a bottle! Am just so happy to have at last resolved this issue as I spent the last 2 months of my maternity leave worrying about it! Thanks all for the advice. I have a very stubborn, determined DS who has kindly compromised a bit!

OP posts: