Baby refusing bottle

[mrs f]

Since baby F was about 4 weeks we have been giving him a bottle of EBM for his dream feed every night. This feed has been up & down, although it was initially very easy & baby f would drink a lot other times it has been more of a struggle for mr f... We went away for a few nights last week & I didn't bother taking the expressing machine & just BF for the dream feed, before then & since then this feed has become more & more of a struggle & it's now got to the stage where he takes say 30ml in 30 mins & cries loads refusing any more I then take him & BF & he is more than happy to eat so it is just the bottle he is refusing....

What can we do to get him to take it again? I need to be able to have a break from feeding all the time... Has anyone else come across this? I have a hen do in two weeks which I'm organising so I'm going to have to be able to leave him in the evening.... Eeek!

Thanks

[Fuschia]

You dont say how old he is now

Exactly the same happened with all of mine ... Took a daily bottle at first then suddenly began to reject it

Just Pesevere ... Now you might need to try different teats etc

It might be better to try a feed earlier in the day when he isn't sleepy

[mrs f]

Sorry he is 11 weeks now

Ok will try another feed... Problem is mr f can't do any other time as he is out :-(

[Fuschia]

Perhaps give it a go sat and sun

What sort of teats do you have? Is dp patient?

[hellosailor]

If the teat he's now rejecting is silicone you might want to try the nuk latex teats which are a different shape and softer, you can get them in Lloyds pharmacy on Northcross road (prob other local chemists too but there for definite)

Sometimes babies will take these ones if they reject others, I've heard the same from lots of people and it's our own experience too. Ours sometimes take a small dream feed from this teat but wouldn't consider any other - and in truth is still more likely to refuse altogether, but if any success has been had with bottle feeding, it's been with a nuk teat.

Hope he starts taking it again, I know how restrictive it is when it isn't an option as that's the situation we're in here!

[mrs f]

we are using tommiee tippie closer to nature... any other reccomendations?

Patient, more so than me! He has been trying to feed baby F for upto an hour each night (when he is himself exhaused from a new job & disrupted nights) when the little bugger has been getting less and less co-operative & often throwing up his food / point blank refusing.... I've tried to do it a couple of times with the bottle and given up pretty swiftly (I guess it's easier when you have an alternative)

Mr F is very keen to do this feed as it will be the only real time he will spend with baby f during the week as he is in bed by the time Mr F comes home...

[mrs f]

Thanks HelloSailor, I'll get one of those later today and we can try at a daytime feed over the weekend perhaps....

I wouldn't mind SO much if he slept through the night but do want it for mr f, plus I need the option of going out at night as I have a couple of my best friends getting married & having hen do's in the next couple of months...

Grrr, babies hey, just when you think you have something sorted!

[hellosailor]

other than the nuk latex ones I mentioned (not sure if you've seen my post above yours or if we cross posted) other friends have coaxed resistant babies with the mam bottles and also with the playtex drop-in system bottles. Playtex drop-in bottles you can get both latex and silicone teats with.

Mam ones you can definitely get in the co-op pharmacy on LL and playtex I have seen in the chemist in Dulwich village and also I think other chemists on LL, maybe the vale pharmcay by EDT roundabout.

[Fuschia]

Nuk latex worked for us

The narrow ones fit onto the expressing bottles

If you express into axifeed bottles the teats go right on

Those bottles are good for reluctant feeders too as you can squeeze slightly

Mr f might try walking round while feeding, letting bSby watch tv, facing baby sway from

Him, sitting upright

Some bBies seem to Want z totally different position to bf while others want the bf experience mimicked as far as poss

[Al&Em]

The exact same thing happened to us! He used to take a bottle when he was really little and then at about 6 weeks decided not to cooperate anymore. We've been trying ever since (he's now 12 weeks) with no joy, though have just been away too so given him a couple of weeks off. Going to try again this weekend... We've been using Tommee Tippee too but someone suggested trying Avent so we've got a new bottle to have a go with but not out of the box yet...

Health visitor suggested trying to feed him in his bouncy chair and to make sure I was out of the room so as not to confuse him...

So frustrating isn't it??!

[Fuschia]

Stick with it because there is a window they are more receptive

[mrs f]

Hi Em, yes frustrating & exhausting too, as I'm often in bed before the dream feed starts so then I get woken by either crying baby or a happy baby being brought in to me!

Ok, I'll give him (us) a break tonight and then try different positions and bottles this weekend...

Thanks everyone

[hellosailor]

when is that window fuschia? Our baby is 18 weeks now and we stopped trying with the bottle about 3 weeks ago when she was poorly and haven't had the mental energy to start trying again. Is it worth persisting even now? Or should I just chalk it up as a no go-er with the baby and take the view that the next thing will be a sippy cup anyway?

[anna_r]

My first was a bottle refuser but then took mam bottles no problem. My second took a bottle for first 6 weeks while Tongue tie getting sorted but has refused all bottles ever since (she is now 10 months). We have tried variety of bottle types, cups, milk types (ebm, different formulas, cows milk) mixed with water etc), times of day, different people, temperatures etc, with no luck. She prefers to go without milk when I am at work than to have milk from any other source. She does take water from a bottle though.

At first I was worried and got stressed about it but now accept that this is how she is, it will not be forever, I enjoy breatfeeding her, there's an evolutionary reason why babies often prefer milk from heir mum, it keeps them closer. I have had to miss some important events including a hen night, the leaving party of a friend who has emigrated to oz and the evening part of my first daughters godmother's wedding. I went out for an evening for the first time in 10 months last weekend (left at 7.30 after bedtime feed and was still back by 11pm in case she woke up). However I really don't feel I'm missing out too much. My friends have been very good at understanding. I am not trying to depress you too much, but just trying to say that although it can seem incredibly frustrating at first it may not actually be as bad as you think, and it will not be forever.

Keep trying though! My daughter is particularly obstinate! There is a good list of tips on the baby whisperer website.

[anna_r]

One thing that she took at 6 months was baby rice mixed with formula so I knew she wasn't starving at work, so that gave me time off the feeds.

[Fuschia]

hellosailor Wrote:

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> when is that window fuschia? 4 or 6-8 weeks apparently

[Moos]

Twosling (now 7 months) goes on bottle strikes every now and then, esp when his father is away and I'm giving the late feed. Persevere, persevere, persevere. We went from howling the place down and total bottle rejection to a snoozy 7oz in about 3 weeks. Tries your patience, but worth it.