Baby refusing bottle

[HopefulFTM]

Hi All,

My LO is 14 weeks and feeding is an absolute nightmare. If he is awake he will take a few gulps then push it out with his tongue or thrash from side to side and eventually cry. If he is asleep, he'll maybe take an ounce or 2 then realise whats happening and spit it out. This is even with his 1st bottle of the morning (normally 6/7 since last bottle) so he must be hungry. We've tried feeding in his rocker in case he just doesn't want to be held when feeding but it's the same there. I'm running out of ideas. We've changed the way we make his bottles (prev prep machine), changed bottles twice, tried 3 diff teat sizes, tried ready to drink and powdered formula and tried a diff formula and nothing makes a difference.

Has anyone experienced anything similar and have any other suggestions.

TIA x

Hi, we are having similar issues with 4 month old DD. She is combi fed so it's hard to know how much she gets overall, but she has been fussy with her bottles for a few weeks now.

I think part of it is being distracted, at this age there are so many more interesting things to do than eat!

There's a book by Rowena Bennett called Your Baby's Bottle Feeding Aversion which described some of DD's behaviours. I wasn't on board with all of her plan to solve the problem, but got some tips.

I mainly try and follow DD's lead and respect her when she refuses, which prevents her being distressed. We end up doing a lot of little 30ml snacks during the day which is exhausting but seems to be how she wants to eat.

She tends to load up in the evening so trying to feed more later or at night could help.

Other than that I do feed her a lot when she is drowsy and less easily distracted.

I hope it gets better for you soon, it's such a stressful situation.

@GrannieMainland thanks so much, I have ordered the book. Reading some of the reviews and I think its exactly what we need. We have been so focused on feeding oz per lb body weight i think we've missed his cues and essentially forced milk into him when he is full or just not interested so hopefully this book helps us. X

Completely understand, we had weight gain problems at the start so I get really anxious about how much she eats. I hope you get some useful advice!

I would suggest a couple of things. One is maybe do a weight check to double check he's gaining. If he's having a heavy wet nappy every few hours then it's possible he's getting enough.

Possibly try a more up right feed? It may be gas- or reflux. If he brings up curdled milk he might be having reflux, which might be irritating his wee throat and causing pain/feeding issues.

I'd run it by your HV.

How easy is he to wind? Also you could try feeding a couple of sips, stop, wind, feed etc. A real pain for you but worth a try if it's just in the short term.

What year size are you on now? I'd say max 2nd size, if he's chugging it, again too much milk coming at once might make him feel overwhelmed and start fussing.

Also you could try a bit of the old distraction while feeding...a mobile (as in cot mobile), a toy with lots of bits to hold, a favourite book? Might be enough to change his association ("oh milk time, I hate this bit I'm going to fuss") to a more positive one

Please take no offense at any of the above, just trying to help and hard to know exactly what's going on IRL obvs. Hoping it's helpful.

• size teat (of bottle) ....urgh my phone sorry

Hi @HopefulFTM i have come across your thread and i am going through the same with my LG, she’s 14 weeks old
What was your outcome

Hi @Catchingrainbows, so we ordered the book someone mentioned above but when the HV came out she didn't recommended it, she said to switch his milk, so we changed from SMA little steps and tried Kendamil and it was day and night. He went from screaming through bottles to guzzling 6/7oz and still really enjoys his milk at 9months. He has dropped his intake during the day quite a bit but still loves his morning and evening bottles. Xx

@Catchingrainbows sorry, I should have mentioned, I am hopefulFTM, but I got locked out of my account and had to create a new one which is why my name has changed 🤦🏼‍♀️

Hey no worries! Thanks for coming back to me.
thats really interesting to know, im glad all worked for you and your LO
my LO has been on a hyper allergenic formula for a week now so im really hoping we see an improvement

ive tried to do what Rowenas book mentions incase of an aversion but its so hard

i find my LO will take a bottle but she wants her dummy in between and she likes having her bottle before shes due a nap or bed time.

so i really am unsure whether it’s an aversion or if this is my LO’s behaviour x

This is literally my boy as well! I changed from aptamil to kendamil when he was 8 weeks old and in the beginning he loved kendamil, downed it! But started refusing the bottles, I feel it’s too rush for his wee tummy. He is 19 weeks now and refusing again, my HV thinks he may have a protein allergy (mucous in poo and eczema) but yet to try that formula. How are you getting on? :)