Hi All
Having real issues with our DS. One of those "feels like it will never end" ones.
We are trying to move him from breast to bottle. He is taking solids very well, and generally only protests when he doesnt like the flavour as he is quite consistent with it.
When he was new we had some problems breast feeding so we expressed and bottle fed, but persistence with the breast paid off. During this time he was very good at swapping between breast and bottle. Up until 3 months we did an evening bottle formula feed to help him through the night, but then after mastitis I cut that out.
So from then to 6 months we exclusively breast fed, when we started weaning. As I said solids are going very well but he is now almost outright refusing to take the bottle. We usually manage get 1-5 oz down him in the evening if we are lucky, sometimes none at all. He refuses it at any other time, bucking kicking and screaming as soon as he sees it with his mouth clamped shut. We also give him water from the cup which is a little more successful but too messy and too little swallowed to use as a feeding method.
People say to persist but if you rarely get to the point of it being in his mouth how will he learn!
The current schedule is:
7am - Breast
8am - porridge or weetabix made with formula, water offered from cup
10:30am - water and snack
12am - Breast
1am - Lunch (home made veg/meat or jar) plus dessert (petits filous or fruit pot). Water offered.
3pm - Breast
5pm - Dinner (same as lunch). Water offered.
7pm - Attempt formula bottle (0-5oz) then bed.
Night - Breast as and when he wakes
Our next step is to try expressed milk again. Does anyone have any advice? We are using vitamin supplements(inlcuding iron) at the moment as suggested by the HV due to his low formula intake, but our main concern is dehydration.