Help..baby won't take a bottle

Metranil_Vavin

JustKeepSwimming wrote: »

I had a similar nightmare with my first - the only thing that helped were these types of bottle (different colour than we had & not sure if it is the same but the design looks very similar).

Only worked for the first few very long days if someone other than me fed her whenever I was out of the house. Although she could scream & resist for hours she didn't starve herself & eventually she'd take bottles throughout the day with a last BF from me before bed. Think this was at around 9 months & she finally went to bottle only at 12 months.

Don't be too hard on yourself - & let your OH cope with it all while you go away. Do triple check you have every single part of your breast pump before you go though....

I once didn't pack a spare valve & the original one broke when I was on a busy train (in the lav, not expressing in full view :rotfl:). Never got the hang of hand expressing so spent 3 more hours in agony. I was getting to the point of grabbing any baby & sticking them on just for the relief when OH turned up with DD. Lesson learnt.

Good luck.

haha funny you should say that! Exactly the same thing happened to me about a month back when I went into work for a day long presentation. I took my pump with me, and forgot the funnel bit that goes on your boob..DOH!

By the time I got home I was in agony, squirting everywhere and desperate for relief!

This time I will double, triple, quadruple check that I have all the bits!

I did have a couple of Dr Brown bottles when my son was a baby, but lent them out to a couple of friends as he didn't take to them and never got them back.

OH has ordered one of the NUK bottles to arrive tomorrow..it's costing £15! It's an expensive business this having a fussy madam baby!

lavandergirl_2

Have you tried cup feeding? I cup fed my newborn baby for a few days and it worked. Another friend of mine cup fed her baby from four months onwards and baby was fine with it.

At six months it will be easier. I also read somewhere that it is sort of baby led.

TeamLowe

Metranil_Vavin wrote: »

OH has been the one trying to give her the bottle with no luck

She's starting to get gripey for a feed now, but I'm holding off to see if OH has any luck with the bottle of expressed milk I did earlier.

Because I've just been feeding on demand, it's hard to know when is the best time to give her a bottle as I haven't been following any pattern.

My gut reaction when she gets grumpy is just to stick her on the boob

If your DH is happy to let her scream until she'll take a bottle, could you leave the house whilst he's trying?

Just thinking you'll be upset to hear it and may want to 'give in' before she does, whereas DH may have a harder heart to it. But if you could leave the house so you can't hear for say an hour then your DH can wait patiently with a bottle and see if it'll work. Although obviously I understand it may be just as hard to be away not knowing if she's upset or not x

Metranil_Vavin

Well we tried the expressed breast milk in a bottle, and she drank it all! She fussed a bit until she realised it wasn't formula, and then was fine with the bottle..so she will drink from a bottle, but only breast milk it seems..which doesn't help with my impending trip!

OH seems to be up for the challenge of me just leaving him to it, so I'm a bit 50/50 about going..I shall have to decide by Monday, although my flight has already been booked.

Thanks for all the advice though ladies.

Guineapigsqueaks

When she's older, you can remind her of all the anguish she caused you :-).


I'm pretty willing to bet that when she's hungry enough and there's no other option, she'll take a bottle of formula from your OH, indeed your OH will probably have her fully trained in the art of bottle feeding by the time you return. I'd book another trip for around the time she's due to be potty trained ;-).


All the best.
Guineapigsqueaks x

Ms_Chocaholic

Guineapigsqueaks wrote: »

When she's older, you can remind her of all the anguish she caused you :-).


I'm pretty willing to bet that when she's hungry enough and there's no other option, she'll take a bottle of formula from your OH, indeed your OH will probably have her fully trained in the art of bottle feeding by the time you return. I'd book another trip for around the time she's due to be potty trained ;-).


All the best.
Guineapigsqueaks x

and then another (longer) trip from age 13-19

mandi

Metranil_Vavin wrote: »

Well we tried the expressed breast milk in a bottle, and she drank it all! She fussed a bit until she realised it wasn't formula, and then was fine with the bottle..so she will drink from a bottle, but only breast milk it seems..
.

Metranil that's great news. :j
Now she's taking a bottle , have you thought about expressing between feeds & storing it?

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/expressing-storing-breast-milk.aspx#close

Ms_Chocaholic

I wonder if you would have time to mix breast milk and formula to start with then gradually reduce the quantities of breast milk in each bottle until she is completely on formula.

lazywife

If you've enough time I'd try and express enough and freeze it / store it in fridge to cover most of the feeds whilst you're away. Certainly the 1st day fully breast milk and then I like the idea of mixing it in.x

SmlSave

Metranil Vavin

I haven't read all the replies so sorry if I'm repeating something said before but will your LO drink from an open or sippy cup?

DS refused the bottle point blank and I too found it just easier to pop a boob in his mouth rather than get stressed (fed him till 20 months in the end!)

But if I left him with a family member all alone he would sip milk from a cup - I had to get both of us used to me leaving him gradually though. a couple of hours one day working up slowly to a whole day etc. I think he found it easier than me tbh!