Desperate for my baby to take a bottle Post Reply

[EmmaVictoriaID]

My baby boy is 11 weeks old. I do and always planned to breastfeed but also want to involve my partner and other caregivers by bottle feeding the baby my expressed milk. He just will not accept it and we have tried everything!

I started to introduce the bottle at 3.5 weeks, I researched heavily about the best way and time to do it (not before 3 weeks and not after 5) I have tried tommy tippee, avent, medula and Playtex teats and bottles, different times of the day, when he's hungry, when he's not, my partner/ Mum/ sister all gave it a go. His reaction varies from at best playing with it and spitting out the milk and drinking maybe an ounce or so to then screaming blue murder. We have tried my partner wearing something that smells of me, when I'm there, when I'm not - EVERYTHING! For a few weeks we tried every day at the same time with the same bottle for consistency but still no joy.

I feel bad for my husband he's not involved also I feel the burden of having to do every single feed day and night.

There is so much support for breastfeeding, lactation consultants etc. but is there anyone out there who can come and help get my baby to accept a bottle???

[bexliss]

I am sure baby will drink from a bottle when he/she needs to. I don't think there's much more you can try than that you've done already. My son wouldn't drink from a bottle and when I went back to work he miraculously did with my mother. He didn't want to at first, but did when he was really hungry. Maybe do a dry run with you leaving the house and leaving your mum with a bottle? And it will get easier as he/she can go longer between feeds and begins weaning.

[EmmaVictoriaID]

I appreciate the sentiment bexliss but that's not really the point of my post. I don't find breastfeeding difficult at all anymore (I did at the beginning but it's all good now) so it's not about wanting to stop breastfeeding at all just have the flexibility a bottle can bring. I want the flexibility to be able to do things without my son which may take more than the time between feeds, leave him for the day with Daddy, do some work out of the house (I run my own business) and leave him with my Mum. I do not subscribe to the idea life must stop because I have a baby, it's perfectly possible to get the balance we want if he took a bottle I think it's important for Mums to take a break when they want one and both of us decided we wanted the feeding to be shared as much as possible just with my milk. My partner is involved in all other aspects of his care but he wants to be able to look after him without me and I don't blame him. This is something we both want very much and I don't want to be his only source of food, what if I'm ill or worse, if that happened the poor thing would starve at this rate!

[LANewbieinLondon]

We have a similar problem and agree that it is important to be able to bottle feed even when you are committed to breastfeeding. I happened to have watched an episode of The Baby Whisperer in which she advises distracting the baby by standing and moving as you bottle feed. Also, are you using the medela bottle with the calma teat or just a regular teat? A calma or haberman feeder allow the baby to regulate the flow of milk like they would at the breast which may make it easier. I have also found that she is more willing to take it if the nipple is just a little warm. The times we have been most successful are when I have been out of the house and dad feeds her.

Hope this helps.

[EmmaVictoriaID]

Thanks LA for the walking around tip. My sis-in-law tried the other day and was at a coffee shop whilst I was elsewhere, he was pitching a fit so she started walking and did say he took some but I didn't make the connection, will give it a go! Also did you see the Baby Whisperer in America or over here? I'm following the EASY plan and would love to watch the programme if there is one!

[LANewbieinLondon]

I watched it here on Home and Health but it was a month ago and I have not seen it on TV since.

Here is a forum with some gathered advice on the subject. Good Luck!

http://www.babywhispererforums.com/inde ... ic=64926.0

[mgb]

Have you tried a Nuk bottle? They are recommended by maternity nurses especially for babies who struggle with a bottle. Battersea Pharmacy on Northcote Rd sells them as do some Boots.

I'm sorry you're struggling! There's nothing worse than feeling like you can't feed your little one.

Give Nuk a try. It worked for my daughter and a few friends too. Best of luck to you.

[Blakeys mum]

I agree with the above post - Nuk bottles are amazing. My daughter flatly refused every type of bottle, every type of method and I'd actually given up thinking the only thing was to let her 'grow' into using a bottle. One day I saw the Nuk bottle and thought it was worth trying (must have spent a small fortune on all types of teats and bottles) as I'd not tried it before and hey presto she took it! And then I upgraded to the Nuk cup trainer and she took to that as well. Definitely worth trying, good luck

[ckwmum]

I found La Leche League absolutely brilliant with helping me. They are particularly good at supporting women who want to do mixed feeding for whatever reason, they offer lots and lots of sound, practical advice and absolutely no judgment. I honestly can't recommend them highly enough.

You can call them or email the details and you'll get a huge email back, bursting with fantastic, very useful info.

0845 120 2918
http://www.laleche.org.uk/pages/about/h ... laimer.htm

They also have a local site in this area so maybe you could go along and have a chat about it?


http://lllclapham.blogspot.com/

Best of luck and never let anyone ever make you feel guilty about this, you do what's best for you and your baby.

[Swmummyofboys]

Nuk with the brown latex teat was the only one that worked for us too. Also, make the milk quite warm. I do 30 seconds in the microwave because breast milk is warm.

There is a book about breastfeeding by Clare Byam Cook - http://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Expect-Whe ... 679&sr=8-2 which has a chapter dedicated to bottle refusal. That is where I got the tip about the Nuk bottle. She also suggests the playtex bottles with latex teat which they sell in the Northcote pharmacy.

Good luck, it is such a battle!

[kewty]

A friend of mine had a massive issue trying to get her daughter to take the bottle, and in the end the only thing that worked was for her to leave the house and for Hubby to give a bottle of breast milk, making sure that the milk was also on the outside of the teat.

From my understanding, the baby will always want the nicer breast option, and can smell Mum from a mile away, so initially if you leave the house, and the baby realises that what is in the bottle is the same, they should in theory not be so fussy about taking the bottle in future.

Good luck.
x

[LANewbieinLondon]

A massive thanks to those that posted the advice about the Nuk Bottle!

Getting her to take a bottle usually takes quite a bit of coaxing, so I purchased the bottle today and she took it almost straight away.

Wonderful to know she won't starve if ever I am sick or a bit late getting back home.

[amybelle79]

I just wanted to post to say that absolutely sympathise with you. Mixed feeding gives you that really important element of flexibility... and the potential to escape the baby for an hour or two!

So much great advice already posted but just thought I'd ask whether your little boy uses a dummy? If not then perhaps it would be worth getting him used to sucking something other than a nipple?! It took us a while to 'train' our little girl to use one but I do think it helped her to take a bottle.

Also obvious but are you using expressed breast milk or formula in the bottle? At first it might be worth trying a bit of breast milk and then once he's in the swing of things switching to formula.

Keep doing what you're doing - try everything and keep trying. You will get there in the end, and it will be worth it!

A x

[Sam001]

Hi, I sympathise because I had the same problem with my daughter even though I gave her a bottle every day from 3 weeks onwards, she started refusing it from 11 - 12 weeks. I also tried several bottles and the Dr Brown bottles worked best, so I recommend them! Also, rocking / singing / distracting the baby whilst bottle feeding tends to help.
And lots of patience and perseverance!!

Good luck x