How to get bf baby to take bottle?

[unicornns]

Want to switch 5.5 Mo DD over to formula but she has only took like 2 bottles

she refuses sometimes and it’s so stressful but I want to switch her

tips please?

Are you trying or asking someone else to give them the bottle? Definitely found it harder if I was in the room as baby could smell me so worth trying that.

DH has tried but he works long hours so it’ll have to be me to shift us a bit :(

so do I need to not be in the room??

DD won't take a bottle but will syringe feed. It's time consuming but has allowed me to return to work. Could you give that ago? Good luck!

My bottle refuses only took a bottle when I used the really really cheap ones from Tesco - the ones for just over £1 with a bottle and teat in the pack and a few friends found the same. I always thought it was because the teat was so soft.

After 3 long months of trying, the below worked for us:

• stop feeding on demand, move to a feeding schedule (we did every 3 hours) so he knows when next to expect/he wants his next feed. (I think this was the main game changer)

• pick the same time of day every day to give the bottle. Even when he takes it, keep giving it at that time every day

• sit him in a chair or similar, I.e. don't hold him like you do when BF, and sit opposite him, give eye contact and encouraging noises

• warm the milk and teat

• lansinoh teat

Some babies just won't take a bottle, no matter what you try, unfortunately. My first was like that. Even when she started nursery 1 day a week at 9 months, she'd refuse if and then feed from me the instant she saw me

She has taken a few it’s just not consistent so the other night 6oz, rocked to sleep

lasg night 3oz wouldn’t take rest

tonight fully refused :(

Maybe try a different bottle brand. My baby wouldn't take a bottle. We bought a different brand and he loved that one.

Sounds a bit mad but my DS1 never really took a bottle, but at a similar age we were successfully able to introduce him to cup feeding using a doidy cup.

Just another thought - would it be worth trying it with expressed milk first so he gets used to the bottle without a change in taste, then moving on to the formula once he is happy with the bottle itself?

Feeding on demand is normal. The person saying to schedule feeds that is borderline childabuse if not childabuse. 6 month old being on a schedule? Any lactation and feeding specialist will tell you that is utterly bonkers and cruel.

I never managed it unfortunately! But my son got on very well with drinking from a cup and your baby is definitely old enough to do this. Try a free-flow sippy cup to start like tommy tippee - get a few different kinds of cups and test them all out; when baby is bigger you'll use them all so don't worry about wasting money!

Don't be ridiculous. My DD was on a feeding schedule from day 1 due to poor weight gain, it would've been child abuse to feed on demand because she was never hungry.

Wind your neck in. Bottle feeding and breast feeding are different beasts and should be treated differently.

Another vote for doidy cup! Better for teeth than sippy cups, and bottles not recommended beyond 1 yr old anyway so I’d try to get them using a cup 😊