Baby won't take a bottle. Need a break.

[Rach000]

My baby girl who is 5 months old won't take a bottle. I need some tips. My husband trys to give her a bottle and she just crys and he wants to keep trying and she just gets more upset and I end up feeding her.
We have been using formula as I can't keep pumping milk and wasting it. As don't have the time and find it hard to pump a lot. I am going to try pump some to see if it helps but in the past it hasn't made much difference.
I think I just want to stop breastfeeding now as I can't do anything and feeding her so much. She must be having a growth spurt as she wakes for a feed about an hour or hour and a half after she goes to bed and then an hour later so I don't even have much time to myself on an evening now. Then she is feeding through the night as well. It's just too much now.

I BF for 7 months until we finally got DD to take a bottle. She always refused Tommee Tippee and Mam and similar, but when we gave her one of the Asda Little Angels long ones with a fast flow teat, she fought a bit at first and we did have to kind of force it into her mouth, but once she got going she loved it! Loves having a bottle every night before bed now!
My tip for calming her down would be to sing to her as you try to feed her from a bottle, be very patient and you have to be a bit firm because otherwise she will just refuse and want BF instead.

I remember how hard 4-6 months was with the growth spurts and constant feeding, I ended up taking DD to the doctors who recommended weaning at 4.5 months as she was so big and feeding so often (and born 2 weeks late, so 5 months developmentally), could that be an option?

My milk dried and we had to get dd to take a bottle (that she didn't want to) ASAP.

It was suggested to me to try softer old style nipples (latex brown) rather than newer harder to suck ones (usually clear or white silicon).

If they're still available might be worth a try? Or as pp says faster flow ones?

Yep you can still get them

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?k=latex+bottle+teats&tag=mumsnetforum-21

Thanks for the quick replies. I have tried a few different bottles as got a couple free from Amazon and one with my breast pump and I bought some mam ones. Might try the cheap asda one!! Was going to go to asda later today.
Think we need to try when she is happier and make it more fun. She isn't my first but is a bigger baby than my first so she might want some food. I was thinking of trying her with some baby rice.
Think this is a hard stage as you expect it to be easier by now and them sleeping more at night but not always the case.

I came on to recommend NUK and see there is a link up there! My little one had a facial palsy at birth from a horrendous forceps delivery. He couldn't suck so I was unable to breastfeed. NUK Teats were the only ones he could latch onto because they are squishy (the latex ones) and more like a breast than the hard ones. You can buy them as single bottles in supermarkets.

Are you in the house when your husband is trying to feed her? I had to leave the house to get my baby to take a bottle; if I was there, only breastfeeding would do!

I feel your pain op, I too have a 5 month old bottle refuser. On occasions she has taken a bit from a bottle and it has been the nuk ones that pp has posted a link for so I think they're definitely worth trying.

I've tried both expressed milk and formula but doesn't seem to make much difference. When she has taken from a bottle, it's never been enough for an entire feed so it might be a couple of oz but then she refuses and cries so I end up breastfeeding.

Hv has suggested to me to try getting her straight onto a sippy cup. It's messy although she did really well yesterday morning with an open doidy cup (me holding it), but then refused it in the afternoon! This morning I had a bit of success with a nuby grip n sip, even though it's more like a bottle than a cup. I'm hoping when she starts on solids, the milk feeds will reduce and a sippy cup will be easier.

I also have a nearly 3yr old daughter who dh gave one bottle a day to when she turned 8wks and she was 100% bottle fed at 3months. She took a tommee tippee bottle no problem the very first time we offered it so I assumed it would be as easy with dd2, I guess it goes to show every baby is different.

I totally understand your frustration op, we've just got to persevere and hopefully it will get better, good luck

I was going to suggest trying a sippy cup or 'spout' - i'm way out of date with current brands, but that's what we used from about 5 months on transitioning from BF.

I second the advice to leave the house, also as you say yourself to do it when she (and DH) are in good form. For us that would have been mid-morning, baby hungry but not hangry!

This could have been me.

One day I decided instead of warming the formul milk in hot water, I blasted in microwave. Obviously checked it was t too hot, but she did love it warm. Worth a go?

I have been mainly in the house when he has tried. I am going to out this afternoon for a bit so he can try then.
Might also try a sippy cup as we have a couple from my eldest daughter who is now 3.
The nuk teats look like they could work, might order one later.

Have you tried a normal cup or a Sippy cup? Doesn't have to be a bottle.

Go out for the whole day and leave your husband to it- I tried a number three teat- it worked.

Thanks everyone. She did have a bottle yesterday afternoon while I was out. But wouldn't have one in the evening. My husband is going to give her one this afternoon again hopefully but can't do this all the time as he is off work this week.
So it's a start! Might try a bigger teat to see if that helps. Also the mam bottles do seem to be the best so far.
I gave her some baby rice but she just pushed it out with her tongue. So don't think she is ready but will try a few more times to see how she does.

Think they are fussier in the evening and want your boob. Persevere- my baby takes bottle all the time now from my bloke- if I am out and will also take it from me- though not all the time!

Also, according to my bloke likes it very warm, spends a while warming milk up.

I had this with my DD. I desperately wanted to stop b feeding at 4 months and she refused to take a bottle. I was at my wits end. I could have opened up a shop with the different bottles and teats I had!

What worked in the end was that I went out for the day and my DH told me not to come home until she cracked!! My DH read somewhere that someone had put their little finger in their baby's mouth for them to suckle and then try the bottle. It didn't happen immediately but after a few try's she took the bottle. I cried with relief.

She is now 6 and a lovely girl but she has an incredibly strong stubborn streak!

I am in a very similar situation with DS who is 5 months. Just tried mimijumi bottle and it has been relatively successful! He has previously refused mam and minbie bottles

Agree with @Topsy44- keep going out- for the whole day.
Then do evenings.

FWIW once dd was on food at 5+ months she was MUCH more willing to take a bottle.

Hopefully she will be better when we start to wean her. She has had a couple of small bottles but not easily and most of the time we try we don't get anywhere. Just hard as i can't go out all the time for my husband to try as got things to do and also have my other daughter and my husband has to work. Will keep trying!!
Thanks for all the tips, we have tried most of them so far.

Did you try heating at all?

Yeah tried the bottles quite warm. She just doesn't like the bottles near her so doesn't even try the milk if she can help it.

The only bottle I could get my son to take was a munchkin latch. If spent a small fortune on bottles and found this one reduced in Tkmaxx Amazon also sell them. I needed urgently to find a bottled he'd take as he was allergic to my breast milk