desperate mother of bottle refuser

[blumberg]

Help. dd2 nearly 6 months old. very ickle - 13lbs. docs told me to supplement when she was 31/2 months - have been trying ever since. lots of different bottles, teats etc. was feeling quite sanguine about it but think my milk is drying up as despite having started solids she just wants to eat all the time and gets cross cos runs out really quickly. fed dd1 for a year - was planning to do the same, but would be nice to be able to go out for more than 3 hours!!!!!!!!! has anyone ever tried using a pro - eg experienced nanny to do this. my mum and m in law have tried and failed. ( my mum had 6 so is feeling seriously cheesed off by my will of iron baby) she's started waking up every two hours at night now. (dd not mother!) aarghhh!!

sympathies to you - my friend had exactly the same problem and she also had the added stress of a deadline of going back to work. She did everything that you have said and still to no avail. Then one day (only about 3 days before she went back to work) her ds just decided to takethe bottle!! No rhyme nor reason though.
Sorry not much help but I do feel for you

I've heard some kids will take milk better from a sippy cup style teat, which doesn't seem to be like a boob ... or from some sort of sippy cup teat without a regulator on it, so it comes out easily?

My DS2 doesn't take bottles (well, I don't try, too lazy) but he drinks water well from an open cup or from a sports bottle.

It's unlikely your milk is drying up, she'd be annoyed all the time because of being hungry/thirsty.

Is your DD2 skinny, or just little? (Are you and your DH small?) Is she generally well?

As she starts to take solids, she should be able to go longer in the day without you. And if you want to do sleep training, as long as you're sure she's well-fed, there's nothing wrong with stopping feeding her in the night. She will make up for any missed feeds, by feeding more in the day.

I had a resistant dd2 until last Saturday, I was having no joy getting her to suck at the teat so i gave her some on a medicine spoon and that seemed to help her get the idea (she saw me pour it onto the spoon). That was friday afternoon, and she made some effort to suck. Then Saturday I fed her breast at 6.45 and decided I wasn't going to offer anything but bottle - she took about an ounce at 9.30, slept and then by 12 she took 5oz. Since then I've been mixed feeding so she remembers (and to give my bleeding nipples a break).

Hope something works - there are lots of good tips on other threads here. I was just sick of it and decided to force it.

thanks all. she is generally quite perky so wasn't too worried about her being small. but has been being really cranky for last week - new turn of events because before was really sweet tempered. i was ill at weekend which i think has made things worse.

have tried sippy cup - got really mad with me! tried not feeding her from 7am until i gave in at 7pm a couple of weeks ago. slightly concerned that may have given birth to most stubborn person in the world - though not major surprise considering dh!!

Blumberg - lol at most stubborn person in the world!

You may not be the best person to be trying to get your dd to drink from a bottle. I tried all the teats on the market with ds2, between around 4-6 months (albeit with ebm) and he never let a drop pass his lips in my presence. On my first day at work, I had no idea if he would drink or not. He held out until 2pm, after his lunchtime sleep. Granted, he was just into weaning by then, so he wasn't completely fasting. But he was the most challenging baby his (great) key worker had ever had, bottle-wise!

Are you clear whether it's the bottle or the contents (or both) that your dd is particularly objecting to? Would your mum look after her for a day with just a couple of bottles of ebm? And all the teats/bottle/cup combinations you can source?

Good luck

blumberg - ds was just like this. and he never did take a bottle - he only started drinking decent amounts from a cup at about 12 months.

I don't mean to startle you, but we got through it. I suggest you abandon the bottles for a while - it's obviously stressing you out - and build up your milk supply by feeding often in a darkish room with no distractions, especially when she's tired. 6 months is growth spurt time I think so the night waking should get better soon.

no, sorry, maybe try the mum/ebm thing first. ds wouldn't take a bottle if I was there or not, but I know other babies do.

My ds wouldn't take a bottle to start with and it was the contents. Tried to introduce powdered milk & he wouldn't take it. The health visitor suggested try on pre-made formula milk as it is closer to breast milk than the powder equivalent. Worked a treat, but a bit costly. After a couple of days start to introduce powdered formula into the pre-made formula, eventually he knew no different. Now on a morning & evening boob feed & day times (when at work) on formula feed. Hope this helps.

With DS sometimes I'd have to let him suck on his dummy then take it out of his mouth and give him the bottle.

Blumberg, you can't have given birth to the most stubborn person in the world because he's right here at home with me! Ds3 refused to take a bottle from when he was about 12 weeks. He took it happily before that. But we did succeed eventually. Here's how!
1/ Take a break for a few days so your dd can forget about the conflice and you have a fresh start.
2/ We tried loads of different bottles and teats including Avent, NUK, The Adiri Breastbottle nurser. What worked for us were The MAM ULtivent teats. They fit Avent bottles.
3/ Hold the baby facing away from you. Place the teat in the mouth but have two fingers touch baby's cheek.
4/Walk up and down as you try to feed.
5/ If baby refuses, Don't keep forcing but stop and try again in 15 min.
6/ Don't give the breast. I kept saying to ds3, "no bobby, no boobie!" (A bottle is called a 'bobby' in our house!) When baby gets hungry enough she should take it. Our boy held out until his next feed was due.
Hope this helps!

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lots of helpful stuff - thanks again. am trying to be a bit more disciplined about when i feed her in the day as had got into a bit of a snacking thing. is v hard as gets distracted by dd1 - who thinks is hilarious to jump on mummy when i am feeding!!!!! am going to give up on the bottle for a couple of days as was completely distraught yesterday - and so was she! is still so tiny though - weight not piling on - 8oz in 21/2 weeks - not that impressive! aaaaaaargggggghhhhh

Blumberg, we had gotten to the stage where ds screamed when he saw the bottle. After a 3-day break he gave it a go. forgot to say, another thing I really feel helped was my neighbour visiting with her dd, who is bottlefed. Watching her enjoying her bottle seemed to influence him!

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