Tips for getting your breastfeeding LO to take a bottle

[Winny]

Hi,

Just want to share my success story in getting my LO to use bottle. I have been breastfeeding for 11 months now. I had tried to introduce bottle to DD at 7 months to prepare for weaning her later, she absolutely hates it. She would push and turn away. I did not force her too much, just on and off trying to give it to her with different liquids each time. Nothing works, tried prune juice, apple juice, milk and so on. I was about to give up, and think that I should just train her to use cup instead.

Just 2 days ago, I tried to give her milk in the bottle again. I 'naughtly' added a bit of sugar in the warm milk. I did not hold my hope up too much. Well, bingo! She initially bites the nipple like usual, playing around. Then she started to suck 'a bit' when she tasted the sweetened milk. After that, she finished the whole bottle, and followed by "yummie, yummie". I think that she had a very nice experience with the sweetened milk, she actually accepted the bottle straight away. Now, I do not put any sugar anymore, she still gulp down all the milk without complaints.

I am very happy with the result, although the result came a bit late. I can have an option in weaning her soon.

Good Luck to everyone

Winny

[* Paula *]

Hi Winny,

Fantastic news that your lo is taking a bottle so well for you now.

Just wanted to advise against using the sugar, as this can cause tooth decay.  Even though you lo may not have any or many teeth, the are all still just below the gums and can still cause tooth decay.

[Winny]

Hi Paula,
Thanks for the advice. It is so true, sugar is the worse for their tiny little teeth. I use only one time, hopefully it won't cause any problems.   I am still happy that she took the bottle.

I am not quite sure if this is the right place to post this. Just want to know that if it is common for baby to choose either bottle or bf? We are going to a trip overseas soon, so I still want her to bf. Since bf will make it easier to management, than washing bottle on the way. Did anyone come across situation of feeding preference?

Winnie

[* Paula *]

Hugs hun, I don't think that one time would have caused any problems.

I guess some babies can start to have a preferance if they are getting both BF and bottle.  Some lo's may prefer the bottle as they don't need to work as hard for the milk like they do when BF.

Perhaps you could just stick with one bottle a day, that way she is still used to it, and then the rest of the day you can stick with BF.

Let us know what you think.

[Sexyscarsdale]

Help, I recently watched an episode of the baby whisperer, where she was advicing on moving to a bottle from the breast with a special teat that works like a nipple and only flows when baby sucks, not a constant flow like a normal teat - can anyone tell me what its called ?

[Lolly]

I think Tracy used the Haberman special needs feeder  http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=haberman+feeder&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=4946587265&ref=pd_sl_5dm9mwrobi_e.

Another bottle to consider is the breastflow bottle http://www.breastflow.co.uk/products.htm. I think there are some mums on the boards who have used these and found them really good.

HTH!

Laura

[babyjaz09]

I'd just like to clarify before I start the process of trying to get my 6.5mth old to take a bottle of formula. She can drink EBM out of a bottle, but refuses the formula. So do I basically start with the first feed of the day and don't breastfeed at all for at least 24 hrs, possibly 48 hrs until she does take the bottle? She still wakes up once a night to feed, so would that mean I wouldn't breastfeed her at night either? I'd just give her a bottle of formula?? Thanks for the help.

[Lolly]

To be honest I wouldn't go cold turkey unless you have a very short time and need to switch to formula permanently. What are you aiming to do? If you have a look at this link
 http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64926.0 from the BF board there are some slightly different tips.

I assume she drinks out of the bottle ok but won't take formula? Formula tastes very differrent to breastmilk so the best way to do it I feel would be to mix your BM with formula and slowly reduce the amount of BM and increase the amount of formula to get her used to the taste. So for example if you are offering a 6oz bottle do 5oz BM + 1oz formula for a few bottles and then do 4oz BM + 2oz formula.

The trouble with going cold turkey is that milk is the main part of her diet and if she refuses for longer than a few hours you are in danger of having a dehydrated and distressed baby. The last point in the link above has a gentle plan for getting them to take a bottle.

Let us know what you want to do - move to formula full time or just give her a bottle of formula once a day and we can help you more.

Laura

[babyjaz09]

I'd like to be able to have the option of giving her formula once or twice a day. I plan on breastfeeding until she's at least a year, but I'd like to start cutting back now. Also, I've read in Tracy's book that at this age, she really shouldn't be waking up for feeds at night and I have a feeling perhaps she's not getting enough BM to last her the night. So I'd definitely like to give her a bottle for her dream feed. That way, I'll know exactly how much she took and I'll be able to judge better if she's just waking up out of habit or if she's truly hungry.

She will drink water out of the bottle. She will also drink EBM out of a bottle. I've had no issues getting her to take the bottle. It's just the formula that she hates and wants no part of.

[Lolly]

Have you started solids yet? Night waking can be hunger driven but it could be routine issues as well. It's also a developmental thing and breastfed babies do need feeds at night longer than formula fed babies. That said, my formula fed DD was over 8 months before we stopped night feeds and DS was older because of his reflux.

Have you tried different types of formula? Some babies take to the pre-prepared feeds better and different brands will have a different taste. Mind you I can't really blame her for not liking formula over BM - it's pretty nasty stuff really . other than that, I think mixing and reducing the amount of BM gradually is probably your best idea. Going cold turkey is really a method for getting a baby who is refusing a bottle to drink from one rather than getting them used to the taste of formula.

Laura

[babyjaz09]

I did think going cold turkey sounded a bit harsh for what I would like to achieve. I'll try mixing in the EBM and see how that goes. We have started solids. And she's doing well on that. I have tried different brands of formula and none took. It's expensive to keep buying when I have three full jars already! :p So I'm just going to go back to one and go from there.

[~ Vik ~]

Hi babyjaz09, just wanted to share how we got ds to take soy in his bottle - he was the same as your dd and would take ebm from the bottle but refuse anything else!  We did it at about 16mo so that he would drink milk at daycare as I was done with pumping

Week 1 - 4oz ebm, 1oz soy (mixed together)
Week 2 - 3oz ebm, 2oz soy
Week 3 - 2.5oz ebm, 2.5oz soy
Week 4 - 2oz ebm, 3oz soy
Week 5 - 1oz ebm, 4oz soy
Week 6 - all soy

You could go faster if you wanted (say, 1/2oz every few days) or slower if you encounter rejection.  This way went really smoothly for us though, no problems at all! 

[babyjaz09]

Hey Vikki,

That's great advice! Thanks! We're now on day four and I've been mixing the EBM with formula. I've been doing half and half and she's finally taking it easily. At first she'd cry and cry, for about 5 minutes before drinking it but now she has a bit of a taste, scrunches up her nose a bit but drinks it anyway. It's really exciting. I'll keep her here for a few more days and then reduce the EBM and add more formula. Here's hoping it keeps going well!

[Lolly]

That's great news! I'm glad it's going well without the cold turkey! Well done both of you!

Laura

[~ Vik ~]

Fantastic news!! Glad I could help!