LO won't take a bottle

[KJLorraine]

I am trying to get Charlie to have 1 bottle a day so I can leave him occasionally with DH (just joined the gym) but he wont take it even if it's my milk!

I went through this before with my middle son and I had to give up completly which was horrible as he didn't take the bottle for 24hrs and I would rather introduce the bottle now than go through that again! But how? The little devil just spits the teat out and ends up screaming until I give in.

I love him to pieces but it would be nice to have a break even if I don't go anywhere! Any advice would be great. [/quote]

 

[-Kelly-]

Have you tried getting someone else to give him the bottle - if he associates you with breast feeding and can smell your milk then it might make him want that instead of the bottle. Oliver's rubbish at taking a bottle too, he's only had 2 of EBM when I had thrush because it's not worth the bother, but I found it helped if I held him really close and in a similar position to when I'm feeding him myself.

The first time I managed to get him to take it by giving him a 5 minute feed then quickly pulling my nipple out and swapping it for the bottle and he just kept sucking. I don't know if you do that a few times he might get more used to using a teat?

 

[happy-chick]

I have no advice I gave up trying ..however happychick recently had some success if she rocked her LO to sleep and put bottle in gob whilst still rocking ...worth a go eh

Yeh my hubby rocks her (like he rocks her to sleep) then when shes nearly asleep he puts bottle in her mouth and carries on rocking, she usually takes it but not always... give it a try

 

[KJLorraine]

Thanks for the tips I will give them all a go and let you know how we get on

 

[Xena]

Alex won't take my milk from any other container other than my boob either. It's annoying.

 

[Pregnopaws]

I sympathise. I'm having this problem right now, LO used to take the odd bottle and now he simply refuses it. He starts to cry and kicks up a fuss when we try. I don't know what changed his mind about bottles all of a sudden but it is frustrating. He won't even take it from DH and me out of the room!!

I think I will take the advice here of not trying to give him a bottle myself for a few days, see if he settles. I am sure that when you go to the gym your LO might kick up a fuss, but if you aren't around (and there is no choice!) he will likely accept the bottle from your DH. It might not be pleasant for you or your DH in the short term, but once he gets used to it, having an alternative to your boob is going to give you a little more freedom. I always wanted LO to accept a bottle from near the beginning(even if just EBM) just in case anything ever happened to me or I had to go into hospital, I know then that he would be alright.

 

[Sage]

http://www.motheringfromtheheart.com/images/breast bottle lance2.JPG

My friend would recommend one 100%. Im not sure where you get them from but im sure one of the mums on here could tell you.

 

[KJLorraine]

I'm sure I have seen that type of bottle before, does anyone know what it's called and where I can get one?

 

[Sage]

Done some research for you! amazon sell them

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adiri-Breas...sr_1_40?ie=UTF8&s=toys&qid=1209484521&sr=8-40

 

[KJLorraine]

Thanks sage just had a look. Think I will try ebay though as thats quite expensive for 1 bottle!

 

[happy-chick]

I got one off ebay & ellie hates it

 

[KJ]

Had the same prob for weeks with Ash when dropping breastfeeds.

Just try every bottle and teat type out there and you'll prob find on that your LO will take.

I had to go down a teat size eg. was trying 6mth teats as he was 6 mths old, but had to go down to 3mth teats, as pparently breastfed babies are used to working harder for their milk and the 6mth teat was too fast for him.

Also, he takes Avent bottles, I was trying TT CTN ones, but they are crap!

K.xx

 

[happy-chick]

Right I can type more now I dont have Ellie on my boob We had problems with getting Ellie to have a bottle from around 5 weeks, she had one before that and was fine then we left it a few weeks tried again and she wouldnt take it, she'd take a little bit then SCREAM until she was on breast.

We tried allsorts, hope ur ready for this lol. Things we tried:

1/ Just let him play around with the teat if thats what he wants to do, get him used to having it in his mouth.

2/ Try when baby is hungry, not hungry and in between - people have sucesses with trying at different times... we found that if ellie was hungry she would just get frustrated and cry more so inbetween feeds was the best time.

3/ Try different bottles, we tried TT CTN, Avent, Nurser Bottle, Mothercare breast bottle and found that the TTC CTN suited Ellie best.

4/ When you have found a bottle that he's a bit receptive to then try different flow teats, we tried 1, 2 and then ended up on Variflow teats and then baby can control the speed like they do on breast... faster and beginning and slower towards the end etc.

5/ Try milk at different temperatures, babies tend to have a temperature they prefer.

6/ Try feeding when he's asleep, see if he will just suck without realising its not breast.

7/ Try to hold him close and cuddles like he is when he's breastfeeding so that he gets the comfort factor.

8/ Try different people giving it him including yourself, while your there and while your not.

9/ Try boucing him while giving him the bottle, this was the thing that worked for us as she got the comfort from the bouncing and food from bottle

10/ Try him with a bottle at least once a day, get him used to it and keep persevering.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[KJLorraine]

Thanks for all the advice Happy Chick. I will deffinatly give your tips a go. Does Ellie take the bottle ok now?

It's funny how I didn't want to give Charlie a bottle incase he prefered it to me! No chance of that now

 

[happy-chick]

Thanks for all the advice Happy Chick. I will deffinatly give your tips a go. Does Ellie take the bottle ok now?

It's funny how I didn't want to give Charlie a bottle incase he prefered it to me! No chance of that now

She will take a bottle but not easily, sometimes she does without a problem and others shes still fussy although she will eventually most of the time, if that makes sense... we're still working on it but its getting easier and easier as she gets a little used to it but she defo still prefers boob Good luck, let me know how u get on, we tried allsorts and got so upset & frustrated but we stuck at it and its got easier

 

[KJLorraine]

Thanks again happy chick.

I will deffinatly keep perservering with it as it worries me that other people can't feed him if (touch wood) I can't be with him all the time. Also it would be great for DH to be able to feed him.

I will let you know how we get on

 

[KJLorraine]

Ok, so we have tried a bottle 3 times today and still no luck! I bought TT bottles today but they made no difference.

Not giving in yet! Gunna see if he will take my EBM instead of formula. Hopefully he will

 

[happy-chick]

Ok, so we have tried a bottle 3 times today and still no luck! I bought TT bottles today but they made no difference.

Not giving in yet! Gunna see if he will take my EBM instead of formula. Hopefully he will

Fingers crossed for you It took us a good 4-5 weeks to get her to even consider it, they just love boobie too much!

 

[Pregnopaws]

Ok, so we have tried a bottle 3 times today and still no luck! I bought TT bottles today but they made no difference.

Not giving in yet! Gunna see if he will take my EBM instead of formula. Hopefully he will

How frustrating for you. Mine is the exact same, but he is taking a couple of ounces from a bottle with DH when I am at the other end of the house and he can't smell my breast milk. Have you tried that? He still kicks up hell if I try to give him a bottle.

 

[KJLorraine]

Well I have been to the gym twice now and left Charlie with DH. I fed him before I left (literally as I am walking out of the door) and he has still refused the bottle both times with DH. Bless him he's just starving when I get back!

So for now this ok as I am only gone for a hour or so but I still need him to take a bottle so the battle continues

I am hoping he will give in at some point as I want to be able to phase BF out rather than just stop like I had to with DS.