sippy cup for 15 week old???

[jules_is_cute]

My 15 week old DD is not taking a bottle it's been about 2 weeks of offering it every morning and a few times in the afternoon.  By me, my DH my MIL both when I am home and not, when she is due to eat and not.  She just mouths the nipple and swallows what ends up in her mouth.  Has anyone ever had luck with a sippy cup at this age?  I'll post the same ?? on the bottle feeding board as well. 

Any advice, I've tried syrup on the nipple, different nipples, ones that look like her binky, warming the stupid nipple, offering it at night when she's 1/2 awake for a feed, offering it when she's hungry and not hungry,    tucking it under my shirt, having someone else offer it when I'm not home and she's hungry       ....she has prooven herself to be a clever girl and a fast learner, but this bottle skill she wants nothing to do with.   

What do I do??

[jbepko]

I've heard of young babies using a cup...not sure is a sippy or a cup that an adult holds for infant.

[jules_is_cute]

yeah, it's a cup with a lid that has a pore spout, some the child has to suck, some have a slow to medium drip that requires the child to tilt it back like a bottle and suck.   But I'm wondering if the drip may be enough for my young baby to get milk to swallow and though time consuming, get a small or sufficient meal to tide over while I work.   

It would be great if there are really success stories, I don't like bottles and don't want to deal with the headache of weaning from the paci, the boob and then the stinking bottle too.  Though it appears that my lo is very resistant to the bottle so far and the decision may be made for me.   

[daisymelan]

I posted on here and it disappeared.   

Anyway, when you are trying the bottle are you using breastmilk? 

Have you tried the milk at different temperatures?

Have you tried different flow nipples? 

I am sure a sippy cup wouldn't hurt to try.  I don't know anyone personally that did it, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.

[jules_is_cute]

Yeah Daisy,  I've tried like 4 different nipples, warmed them up, put syrup on them...tried the milk very warm (difficult w/ breastmilk, I've wasted a ton!!) Tried it at room temp, tried it a little bit cold.  I haven't offered anything else in her bottle yet because of her young age.  I was under the impression that babies don't get water until they start getting fingerfoods.  And that juice is also a no-no until 1 year.  I was even told to mix her rice cereal w/ breastmilk, not water. 

A woman I know who's a member of the la leche league said that her daughter never took a bottle and that she had gone straight to the sippy cup, but because of her LLL backround I was wondering if she might be more determined to keep her babe on the breast and feared the bottle would jepardize that, therefore she would be much more patient with the process of getting the sippy cup going. 
I don't want to ask her if this is the case - I don't know her well and it seems a bit assuming on my part.

I guess I was just hoping to hear success stories, I'm going to keep trying both for now to see if she'll eventually take.  It's disheartening though, because as my hours at work get longer, she's more likely to go hungry for a bit and be a mess when I get home.  Plus the fact that she's dependent on me for meals means her nap schedule is off because she won't go down w/out eating first.  Although I'm beginning to wonder if that's because she assoc. boob w/ sleep.

She's always been a dawbler eater.  Snacking here and there, and settling in for a longer meal about every 3rd time.  I don't offer it unless she asks and I try to offer other things if she's eaten recently, but she still just coughs/cries at me with her eyes all wild and wide...like she hasn't eaten in 5+ hours.   The times she most likely to bukle down and stay on for a bit is really prior to a nap or bedtime.  She doesn't fall asleep there either so I don't know what's going on.

[daisymelan]

Sounds like you have tried just about everything.  I'm not advocating this, but maybe you should try a little bit of boiled water just to see if she would suck on the nipple.  I wouldn't let her use it to fill up on water, just to get her used to that.

Have you tried feeding her a bit from breast then switching to bottle? 

Have you tried the Haberman feeder?  Many moms on the site have tried it and swear by it.

Also, have you read Tracy's method on getting a lo to take a bottle?  It is quite drastic, but she suggests you offer a bottle every hour and eventually the lo will take it.  The hard part is that you cannot give in and have to go through some obvious bouts of crying.  Again, I know mom's on this site have tried that an it worked.

You could be right about the lady from LLL. 

It definately sounds like your lo has a need for the breast to fall asleep if it's the only way she will get drowsy.  I think if I were you, that would be something else I would want to adjust. 

There are many mom's who have gone through this, if you search back into past topics, I'm sure you'll see plenty and plenty of success stories.

Good luck!!

[jules_is_cute]

I looked at the Haberman feeder how is it different from a reg bottle?  Is it just the flow?  Because my lo will mouth the nipple she just won't suck.  It's so strange too since she takes a silicone binky (the advent or MAM ones)  I don't know I can't torture her to get her to take it.  It just doesn't feel right.  Plus my boobs start spraying all over if I wait too long when she's crying her hungry cry anyway, so it's hard to stick to my guns on the issue.

I guess I'll just pump a full 4-6 ounces and keep refilling the bottle 1/2 ounce at a time and offer it even more frequently.   

That is what also adds to the problem is all this wasted EBM  it's painful to throw it out ya know, even though it's free it's not effortless!!
I mean I can't offer her the same bottle more than once if it's been more than 30 minutes right?  It's contaminated isn't it?  Is that why people use boiled water?   

[daisymelan]

I'm not sure why the haberman one is so great, but I know it is highly regarded.

Here is a link to it and I also found a product located directly below it that may be even better suited for you, although I have not heard of anyone trying it before.

http://www.fphcare.com/distributed/medelaprod.asp

It's called the Soft Cup Advanced Feeder.

It is suggested you use boiled water until the baby is eating regular food or on teh floor more, etc.  That way they are exposed to a lot more germs.  I switched at 4 months. 

I know it feels like a waste to throw away the breastmilk.  Trust me, I know.  I hope you get it all figured out soon.