Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Help! My breastfed dd cannot take a bottle

37 replies

Blocka · 23/05/2010 21:04

I have been expressing all week so I could go out for my first night out in a whole year, my mother babysat and tried to feed dd (17 weeks old) with a bottle for the first time and she couldn't suck it. We have all tried to again this morning - she screams when I try and doesn't know what to do with the teat when my dh tries.

I should of know because she won't take a dummy either. I have none of these problems with my older dd.

Any suggestions??? Was thinking of putting her straight onto a cup with a free-flowing spout?

OP posts:
hpsauci · 24/06/2010 19:37

Oh, now that is funny Good news is my DD took a full 7oz of EBM from the freezer (I warmed it, obv) FROM ME! With NO FUSS! I am so pleased and sad, I think I might cry! I am a bit offended at the lack of protest. LOL. Seriously girls, the HV were right - persistence with one bottle/teat type and they will get there. (For the record, ours are tommee tippee closer to nature). Good Luck! x

comeonbishbosh · 24/06/2010 19:53

blocka I have been crying at everyone and anyone this last week... waterworkers of the world unite! Anyway, am well pleased with the last two success stories and will try anew. Hopefully your magic will brush off on me.

BlueChampagne · 24/06/2010 21:22

More success here - nursery tried 'one last time' on Monday and DS2 took 4oz EBM from bottle - and the experiment has proved repeatable every day since! He has taken a bottle from me, and is gradually being converted to formula.

Same old bottles and teats (Avent) as before - I just think he now feels more settled there. Ours is not to reason why ...

Good luck everyone else.

MumNWLondon · 24/06/2010 21:47

Can you not just feed before you go out, and then when you come back. DS2 sleep from 6pm until I wake him for his late night feed, would go until midnight if I left him.

DD didn't like bottles, but if she was starving and I was out would attach a breastmilk storage bag to a funny sort of bottle thing (not sure if they make it anymore) and then could squeeze milk from bag through teat into her mouth which she would swallow.

Otherwise in emergency use medicine dripper thing. Other idea is to offer water or v dilute apple juice once each day to get used to bottle.

mrsgordonfreeman · 24/06/2010 23:51

I got dd to drink from a doidy cup. She laps it like a cat.

I think bf babies find cups easier sometimes. She can now drink from an ordinary cup, which is a cool party trick for a 7month old.

Neeko · 25/06/2010 08:33

Congrats to those of you with success stories. So pleased for you. Remind me again how old your DCs are.
I too blubbed on HV yesterday but your success stories have given me hope.

Original poster
Blocka · 25/06/2010 09:46

My DD is 5 months old, and I have been trying for about a month now.

We have settled on the closer to nature bottles, and we tried with the bottle again yesterday and she had another 3oz or so, but she wouldn't take it before bedtime so she went on the boob.

Am going out for the day today, taking plenty of bottles and the boob is NOT coming out! I have even put on a very pretty non-maternity bra to prove that point!

Good luck girls and heres to crying at HVs!! xxxx

OP posts:
BlueChampagne · 25/06/2010 12:57

DS is 6.5 months and we've been trying for a couple of weeks.

Mrsgordanfreeman DS1 started with a doidy about 4 months with alacrity but DS2 didn't seem so interested. Agree it's a good thing and will keep trying as they all have to learn to drink from a beer glass cup eventually.

Original poster
Blocka · 25/06/2010 18:52

Well we did it! A whole day without the boob. She had about 3oz on the ferry this morning (she likes drinking on public transport clearly), another 3 to 4 oz at about 3pm, some mushed veg at 5pm and a whole 6oz at bedtime, from me, all cuddled in!!

Only problem was she fell asleep with the bottle (which is great) but then woke up when I tried to wind her and had to give her the boob to settle again. On the plus side, it did relieve some of my engorgement pain AND it means she has had 6oz plus boob before bed = maybe a full nights sleep??!!??

Hope all is going well with everyone else xx

OP posts:
Neeko · 25/06/2010 21:25

Well done Blocka

My DD2 is only 12 weeks so I'm going to take heart from the fact that though she's refusing the bottle now, she COULD take it in a ouple of months...

Fifilottie · 26/06/2010 00:34

Blocka...introduce a bottle like a game. Give her an ounze(even formula for play as worth the outcome) when she is not hungry and play with her to see if she can manage to drink this...do this once a day. She associoates feeding with your breast and simply doesn't understand any other way. If you show her gradually there is then she will be happy with that but do it when she isn't really hungry. Logic is that they will take anything if they are hungry but it just doesn't work like that.
Persevere...it always works out doesnt it?

hpsauci · 26/06/2010 10:47

I agree - have decied that key to being a mummy is perseverence! My DD is 5.5 months, it took 10 days for her to get the hang of the bottle - like others have suggested, I let her play with it with water in when she had eaten (ie wasn't starving) and think this helped.
MumNWLondon - feeding before and after going out is all very well if that is the only reason you need to get them to take a bottle, but if you are going back to work, then it's a different matter!
Keep trying everyone :D xx

New posts on this thread. Refresh page