help! (v long) expressed milk dilemma

[bokki]

my baby son is about 7months old and has been soley breastfed, he is now on solids too and enjoying a mix of purees and BLW lumps and chunks! (i also have a v active 4 yr old)
i have been lucky that partly due to my medical issues (meaning a lack of sleep is a bit dangerous for me) my other half has been doing alot of nights doing the night feed/s for our son (using my expressed breast milk)
it used to be a problem when i did feed him at night as he would wake and feed numerous times so we thought it was because he was used to getting the milk quicker with a bottle so sometimes when i was doing night feeds id give him a bottle of expressed milk. it got to the point where i was feeling that there was a limit to the amount i could pump in a day (about 7oz sometimes more, sometimes less) and this wasnt really enough to keep up with him. i agonised for a long time about giving him formula. my first son didnt have it and i dont really agree with it having not been brought up like that myself.. i cried alot and felt awful but after taking advice realised i would have to go with it as i discovered why my son was waking alot.. my milk production had dropped at night as it wasnt needed every night, as was sometimes having up to 4 nights off in a row, so when i did feed (only for a couple of days in a row) my body never had a chance to up the production properly before i had more days off) so i realised my body would only produce enough milk if i was to feed him most nights, which i couldnt do.. ANYWAY now i have expressed milk and organic formula to cover the nights.. he is fine with the formula but is now refusing my expressed milk in a bottle. i dont know why and am feeling a bit upset about it. my older son had been faffing in the fridge and sometimes leaving it open and there had been a couple of bottles of EBM that had gone off due to open fridge door (which baby had rightly refused), now we are on top of that so i check all EBM but this refusal is still happening every night. am still offering it and will keep pumping as id much prefer him to have that than formula, but i dont know what to do? help? is this permanent? is it my punishment for offering formula ?!? xx

At 7 months, I guess he's drinking water from a cup? If not, and he hasn't yet had a beaker, could you try him on a beaker/cup? Try it perhaps with EBM or water and see if he prefers to a bottle. At that age, an easy flow cup is best so he doesn't have to suck hard to get anything out. If that doesn't work, could your DH give it to him - the smell of your milk might be making him not want it, from anything other from your breast.

thanks luciemule, i could try a cup, but he refuses the EBM whether it is me or his dad feeding it to him, he just knows! and he is fine with the formula out of a bottle.. bizarre

okay - so here's the plan. Mix your EBM in bottle with his formula (more formula to EBM) and gradually reduce the formula until it's all EBM. It is fine to mix your milk with formula too so don't worry, although make sure you still make up the correct amount of formula to water as you normally would.

What luciemule said about mixing the two!

But even if it's the case that he does prefer the formula in the bottle and that's all he will have, don't beat yourself up! You have a medical condition, you need your sleep, you didn't have an alternative! Expressing is very hard work and you have a baby and a four year old. Cut yourself some slack, you are doing a great job!