5 mo ebf bottle refuser - help!

[CoalCraft]

DD has been ebf from birth, didn't try a bottle till five months as considered breastfeeding the most convenient option.

But that's started to change recently as I start to want some time away from baby (e.g. to go out with older DD for a few hours of quality time 1 on 1) and to share bedtime and night feeding duties.

Anyway, trouble is DD will not take anything from a bottle at all. We've tried all the usual advice - different bottle brands, breast milk in bottle, formula bottle, DH trying to feed her with me out of the house, no distractions at all, persisting for some time so she gets really hungry (though I hate doing this)... And no luck. She initially pulls a face when you try, then gets increasingly upset till she starts crying and pushes the bottle away.

Please help! I really want to get to at least combo feeding as I'm fed up of being her sole source of nutrition? I also worry about what would happen if I got in an accident and was hospitalised (or heaven forbid, died). I think DH would have to check into a hospital to get a feeding tube put in!

Also I'll go back to work at nine months and it'd be helpful if DD would take a bottle in nursery, though I suppose at that age a sippy cup may work instead.

Ditch the bottle and try a cup. Mine wouldn't take a bottle ever, but got on very well with a cup.

Bottles are a stepping stone, but at 5 mo you could very easily skip it

We went with persistence and familiarity. It took maybe 4 or 5 times with me well out of the house for several hours for my DD to try a bottle when she was 5mo ebf. And even then she’d just sort of “wet her mouth” and only slightly tide her thirst over. It took a few more times for her to properly drink a bit.

we also tried to be casual about it, so that she wouldn’t freak out.

the above technique wouldn’t work in high summer when there’s a dehydration risk.

good luck!

Thanks! Do you mean just an ordinary open cup, a sippy cup or another kind? I'm not sure an open cup would work at this stage, at least not without taking forever and/or making a huge mess!

I personally used an open cup. Yes it's messy at first, but by age 1 he could confidently use it without any assistance and with minimal spills.

A free-flow sippy cup would also work, as would an anti-spill cup (or this may be a bit advanced, idk your child). Get a few different kinds; you'll definitely use them when it comes to weaning, and then you can experiment with what works for your baby. For us, he got on really well with open cups, but couldn't quite wrap his head around the anti-spill ones so we left those for later.

Same issue for my EBF baby. This worked a treat Cup - Training Sippy Cups for Toddlers & Babies - Unique Slanted Design Two Handles Baby Beaker - Great Weaning Cup for Milk, Water & Juice - Use from 3-6 Months to Toddler (Turquoise) amzn.eu/d/8zTIOfZ Doidy cup and really it just gets better with time!