Baby won't take bottle or formula - advice sought

[Marybobs]

My six month old has never had a bottle and will not take his formula. He has a cows milk protein allergy and is just on three meals a day and 3 milk feeds plus a night feed. Unfortunately he has developed 4 teeth in the last 4 weeks and is making me so sore I cannot carry on B Feeding. I am so worried as he will not take the soya formula from any cup, trainer cup or bottle. He has even started refusing water in his training cup. He cannot have yoghurts, or other dairy products due to his severe allegy. (He ballooned and was covered in hives after only a mouthful of normal formula). The last 4 days I have not B-fed his morning or afternoon feeds- only one at bedtime and then one in night. I feel so guilty as I want to feed him. He cannot settle to sleep and is having difficulty going to the loo. His routine is out the window. All the while my supply is diminishing! Any advice welcomed.

The teeth issue does improve after a while. My Ds was a proper little biter for a little while but it stopped. Have you search on here for biting related threads ?

I cant offer any advice about the formula, i never managed to get my ds to take it.

Got both my boys onto formula for day feeds at 6 monthish as was returning to work and they werent fully established on solids - it was really hard work and to be honest, if I didnt have to do it I wouldnt have done. However, what worked for me was (i) starting off with bottles of expressed breastmilk warmed up (so as much like drinking from the source as synthetically possible) (ii) getting someone else to try to give it to them (needs to be someone they know and trust) (iii) trying different bottles and teats - DS1 liked fast flow Avent, DS2 likes slow flowish MAM teats (iv) keep the milk warm (you can buy flasks to put hot water into warm milk) when you transition to formula and (v) be patient and stick at it - we had to do 48 hours of bottle only with both boys before I moved back to bfs morning and night.

If it is teething that is the issue, you could express (which will keep supply up) and try giving ebm in bottle until his biting phase is over. However if you want to give up bfing totally, unfortunately you do need to perservere with bottle battle and sadly routine -and happy baby - will go out the window for a while.

Thank you for the advice. He has been awake practically all night. only slept from 2.30 to 5.00. Tried giving formula at night feed. Took a couple onces by chewing the teat of his training cup. Don't know whether to skip his solids for the day and press on with formula only option? With his breast-feeding it is not that he bites me it is that he has never opened his mouth very wide so his teeth are grating on me the whole time he feeds. Does this get better? He sucks so hard that it is making each duct bleed. Will try expressing, but find that this now hurts too and with him not sleeping and being so grumpy can't find the time. is a bottle or training cup better?

Is he weeing as usual ?

The bleeding ducts thing sounds awfull

His nappies are largely dry in the day, but saturated at night as I have fed him at bedtime. He slept from 6.30 to 9.30 after drinking 60mil from training cup. I am going to try an express as I feel very full this morning. Thank you so much.

Oh Marybobs - well done for sticking with the bfing for so long! Bleeding ducts sounds terrible Have you spoken to a local bf counsellor about his latch? There may be ways to improve it. Hope the expressing helps and makes you feel better. If you do want to give up bfing now, try the tricks I listed above - also let him play with bottles when they're empty so he doesnt feel threatened by them (worked well with DS1 - useless with DS2 though). Good luck.

I have been to the breastfeeding counsellors since he was tiny. It hurt for first 4 weeks as we had thrush following my emergency c section. Once that cleared up it was fine. Although you could hear him gulping his feeds from across the room! He did take 5oz formula straight down with my mother in-law yest pm. But would not take a formula at bedtime (I could not feed him as expressing made me really bleed). Went to sleep for half hour then woke. Offered 4oz ebm and drank straight down offered more but refused. Will try all your tips-thank you.

It is great he has taken some formula and EBM from a bottle - it shows he can do it and hopefully he will get used to doing it. I hope your ducts are getting better.

I have had a much better night. He fell asleep before his betime feed and woke at 22.45. I gave him formula. It took a while and had to be the optimum temp, but eventually he drank it all down. I then gave him some colic drops as he takes down a lot of wind too. Once wind was out I did pick up put down until he went to sleep at 12.00. He then slept until 6.45. I think we may be getting there. I just felt so bad yesterday when he would not take his pm formula and I was hurting and overflowing with milk. Eventually my husband got him to take it while I hid and cried upstairs. He just kept looking at me and crying. I am just about to give him his morning formula on my own. So fingers crossed. I feel much better for a longer nights sleep. Thanks again.

Well done that def sounds like progress. I'm in much the same situation as you with my 6.5 month old, altho she doesn't have any teeth yet thanbk god! She has a dairy allergy so is on a revolting non dairy one which she rejects. We tried for the first 3 months of her life to get her onto a bottle to no avail, I thought that once weaning had started she would be more accepting. She's been on solids for 6 weeks now and still won't take a sip of formula. For the past 6 days I only offered her the bottle in the day- she went 10 hours each day with no liquid- won't even take water and is even rejecting solids now- and held out for the boob in the evening. I felt like I was starving my baby- horrible. I'm back at work in a month and just don't know what to do- we've tried every cup and bottle there is. I don't get much when I express and to be honest I want to get her onto formula now. Think it may have to be cold turkey and I have to accept that I can't combine feed like I'd hoped. She plays with the teat in her mouth but just won't swallow. It's a nightmare isn't it? On the topic of soya formulas I've read some stuff on the net about it playing havoc with hormones and fertility in babies so have steered clear. Have you found it OK?

I found the Boots baby trainer bottle the best. Its treat is flat like when sucking on the breast. It flows to demand and leaks some out so don't have to suck hard. I heat to just above room temp. I am using a soya formula- rather than Nutrimegen. I did go cold turkey for 2 days and nights. It was hell and he slept in my bed for comfort, but it worked. I still have milk so you could express a little at bedtime in preparatin for returing to bfeeding.He is now sleeping back in his cot.
I am seeing the doctor about this tomorrow. May ask to try Pepti- but his allergy was so servere may not be able to.