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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

Want to give up bf but baby won't take a bottle.... please help!

18 replies

iwasyoungonce · 17/05/2010 20:14

Hi,

My DS is 7m old and has been exclusively breastfed. I want to start introducing formula, with a view to winding down the bf altogether in the nest month or so.

However, DS will NOT take a bottle, from me or anyone else. I have tried various beakers, all to no avail. He no longer screams and pushes it away (he used to) but just puts it in his mouth and has no idea what to do.

Has anyone had any success with this - if so what's the secret? TIA.

OP posts:

Original poster

iwasyoungonce · 17/05/2010 20:43

OP posts:

Original poster

iwasyoungonce · 17/05/2010 20:58

OP posts:

iamfabregasted · 17/05/2010 21:24

I have no answers I'm afraid but wanted to let you know you are not alone!

My DD2 (DC4) never ever took a bottle or a sippy cup - I bought every brand on the market and none worked.

Sorry not to be more help. She just went straight on to a cup at about a year I think.

sungirltan · 17/05/2010 21:29

hey op - my dd has also rejected all bottles but ebf folk who i know recommended breast flow bottles - backed up by mners.

they arrived today and i have high hopes

failing that i just bought dd (also 7 months) a tommee tippee bottle with handles (like a juice one not a milk feeder) and she worked out how to get the liquid out on the second go! (btw if thats not appropriate for milk feeds sorry - i have no idea about that kind of thing)

BikeRunSki · 17/05/2010 21:30

Have you tried MAM teats? MW sugguested them to a friend when she wanted to give up bf but her dc didn't, and they have since worked for 7 out of 8 people I have known in this situation.

these.

Chunkamatic · 17/05/2010 21:30

I'm another one with bad news i'm afraid. I tried to introduce a bottle for DS1 when he was around 6mths as I needed to leave him for a night. He refused. He then kept on refusing for the next 6mths! I could get him to drink water from a sippy cup but never formula and never anything from a bottle. The strange thing was that he had taken bottles of EBM when he was smaller so it wasn't totally alien to him.

As it was I ended up BFing him till just over a year, when he happily took to drinking cows milk from a cup.

Sorry - that probably wasn't the news you wanted!

Prosecco · 17/05/2010 21:33

I have also been there, and I feel your pain.

Are you stopping because you are going back to work?

At 9months I had to send my dd to nursery where she would sip some formula from an open cup- or indeed the sterile lid of the bottle. She would attack me when I went to pick her up and sometimes I actually fed her in the nursery carpark.

She continued to feed until she was 19months.

I don't say this to make concern you but rather to let you know that she was absolutely fine- it wasn't how I had planned it but it is a distant memory now.

Prosecco · 17/05/2010 21:35

to make you panic

concern you

Original poster

iwasyoungonce · 17/05/2010 22:03

Thanks everyone for your replies. I am going out tomorrow to buy MAM teats, thanks for the suggestion bikerunski.

sungirltan do you mean these?

I also have no idea whether or not it is inappropriate to feed milk from them! I am willing to try anything though!

Prosecco yes, I am going back to work Sept/ Oct, but also I am just ready to give it up now really.

OP posts:

musicmaiden · 17/05/2010 22:13

There are lots of threads about this on the Breast/Bottlefeeding forum which may help you.

My DS was the same and I had to go cold turkey with him in the end as I was feeling desperately trapped and depressed. I must say I wouldn't recommend this unless you feel you have no other option as it is upsetting for both of you, you have to be very strong indeed, and isn't good for the breasts to stop so abruptly, of course.

Having said that, my DS is now absolutely fine, takes his milk happily from a hard-spout cup (never did take a bottle). He doesn't even seem to remember what breasts were for now. And it is pretty liberating (and I say that as someone who really loved bf).

Good luck however you work it out.

LaTrucha · 17/05/2010 22:16

Lots of people think the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottle is good.

If DC won't try a full-sized cup, you could try with one of those little plastic medecine cups that comes with cough linctus etc. Some people find this works and it may ease a transition from breast to a bigger cup. Even a spoon might get him used to the idea of taking milk from something other than your breast. From what you say, he doesn't seem to realise that he can get milk any other way yet!

wukter · 17/05/2010 22:20

My DD was like this at that age.
It was not pleasant but I left her with DP and some Breastflow bottles.
She was totally happy going without milk, but roared when DP but the bottle to her lips. After 8 hours she "got it" and happily drank away. I mix fed then for the next couple of months.
Was NOT a pleasant day (for us especially not so bad for her) but it worked in the end.

sungirltan · 17/05/2010 22:26

no these

i tried the closer to nature bottles - worked for god daughter but not dd :-(

wukter - yes dd is like this too. hunger can be beared but bottle feeding cannot

Original poster

iwasyoungonce · 17/05/2010 22:34

Thanks suntangirl for the link.

I've tried the Closer to Nature ones, but no joy.

Good luck with the Breastflow bottles - I will look out for these tomorrow too (according to the website my local Mothercare stocks them).

I feel encouraged by all the replies - thanks again.

OP posts:

Original poster

iwasyoungonce · 17/05/2010 22:35

Oops sorry, Sungirltan. ...it's late!

OP posts:

chickbean · 17/05/2010 22:41

DS2 refused a bottle until a year. Should probably have gone straight to cup, but discovered that if we gave him the bottle rather than held it for him, he would drink from it.

sungirltan · 18/05/2010 16:03

thanks iwas! chickbean -i will also be trying that!

moonbird · 18/05/2010 19:39

My dd2 is seven months next week and ebf. When I started weaning her I thought I would then introduce a bottle. But after a few days of trying I gave up and decided to go straight to the cup. My thinking was that it was something completely different. As I was weaning her, starting off with one meal a day, I tried her with the cup with that meal and then twice when I introduced another meal and then up to three times (with each meal). I then breast feed after she has drank from her cup (as only taking small amounts) and also between each meal (most days totalling six feeds). Now six weeks later she is drinking really well from her cup. Still not full feeds but a massive step. I am going to continue to breast feed but I just wanted to make sure that she could drink some milk from a cup as I am going back to work. I used the basic tommy tippee spout free flowing cup.

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