Tips for getting your breastfeeding LO to take a bottle

[emsandmegan]

oh I forgot the best bit!! After 3-4 weeks exclusively bottle fed she now sleeps through.Fantastic!! With the next baby i hope to use a bottle and formula for the df and breast feed the rest of the time.

[jules_is_cute]

Thanks for the advice, I have to say she is still not taking EBM from any device, a bottle, a sippy cup, a soft spoon haberman feeder, a cup.  She wants it from the source and she's a stubborn little thing too. 
I had a small victory though.  She has been taking water (I offer her about 2 ounces with her solids) She drinks from a variety of bottles, and from her advent sippy cup (loves it in fact, cries if I take it away) and will even sip from a regular cup.  So it's not that she doesn't know how to suck a bottle.  Well I tricked her and had 2 sippy cups, one with water and one with EBM.  I kept swtiching it up, and she'd take the EBM and seemed fine.  But this was at a meal time.  I was so happy.
Then the other day I left for work during a nap and couldn't return until it had been 4.5 hours since her last feed.  My MIL tried to offer her a bottle of formula - it was a total no-go.  She was a mess when I got home, poor girl.  We'll keep trying and see how it goes. 

However, I am not willing to wean her just to get her to take a bottle.  Breast feeding is very important to me and I enjoy it immensely.  I will happily give up 2 years of my freedom to keep doing it.  But with my next baby, if there is one, I will be certain to introduce a bottle sooner and hope that he/she doesn't decide to reject it like yours did.

~Patty    

[LŠuren]

This post has been cropped and updated to include the new link to "Tips for getting your breastfed baby to take a bottle" found in the Breastfeeding FAQ section   https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64926.0

Feel free to continue sharing your own experiences 

[Curlygurl]

Hello ladies-I am new here.  Just wanted to let you know that the maple syrup thing worked for me!  My now four month old daughter who had previously taken the bottle great-went on a hunger strike when I worked a shift a few weeks back.  She went 9 hours without eating!  We weren't faithful with giving her a bottle-it is such a pain to pump and clean everything.  But it is worth it to not go through the stress of worrying about hunger.  ANYWAY-just wanted to let you know that maple syrup thing worked like a charm-instantly!  She downed 3 1/2 ounces the first time, and then 5 ounces the second time-with a different bottle and nipple!!!

I am so happy I found this website/thread!

[jules_is_cute]

That's awesome!! Jules will now take a few swigs of EBM from a bottle or sippy cup while she's eating solids.  I started her with warm water then cool water, then I stitched it to cool EBM.  She's not as enthusiastic about it as she is about the water (she loves water!!)  But she's sip it and that is a huge improvement. 
I tried the maple syrup thing, she just made a funny face and let the milk dribble down her chin, but that was a while ago.  Maybe I'll try it again now that she's used to having different flavors in her mouth.

Take care.
~Patty   

[Annie Lonsdale]

I'm been advised by my HV to get my LO to take a bottle as she is not gaining weight as she should we just BF.  She is now 31/2 months and won't take it.  I've tried everything and I'm worried if I don't succeed she will not gain any weight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shall I start weaning early??? Help!

[LŠuren]

Annie

How do you feel about that? If you are not 110% sure you want to Breastfeed exclusively - we can try and help you continue BF'ing.


Lauren

[Samuel's mum]

Hi Annie
A lot would depend on what kind of weight gain we are talking about and how 'serious' your HV feels the situation is.
Breastfed babies do not always put weight on at the same rate as formula fed babies and not all HVs are using the newer weight scales that recognise this. Look on the breastfeeding FAQ board for a link to the new WHO scales.
I would really recommend you talk to a helpline (I'm guessing you are in the UK?). There are numbers on the FAQ board. A trained breastfeeding counsellor can talk to you about when supplementation may be necessary and give you plenty of advice about how to increase weight gain while breastfeeding.
If you want to start using formula then people on this board could help you with that too - but you don't sound totally keen on supplementing yet which is why Calums mum has passed your message onto me.
If you don't get through to a helpline then I'd be happy to pass on the home phone number of a counsellor in your area (I have the ABM counsellor lists as I am training to be a counsellor).
HTH

[Samuel's mum]

Hi me again
Calums mum just passed on a bit more. I've sent you a PM.

[jules_is_cute]

It's true about your HV, even between patients a doc can have 2 different opinions based on the patient. 

For example;  Me and a friend have the same pediatrician and he told her not to give her LO water (he said less than 1 oz per day even when it's hot, because she's BRF - mind you she also drinks formula for 2 - 3 feeds, is nearing 7 mos, and has started solids.)  Whereas I told him I was giving Jules 1-2 oz of water with her solids in a sippy cup, which she never finishes and he didn't say a word.  And Jules is exclusively BRF and is 3 weeks younger...go figure!!  The only thing I can think is that my friend is much more asking his advice, like "should I give her water?"  and I go in more like "I'm doing this and I'm doing that"
I think if you seem really worried about something they will tell you to do whatever will solve the problem so that you don't worry sometimes. 

Also, have you considered using a supplemental feeder so that she can get some formula with your breastmilk simultaneously just until she gains?  I don't know how much you need her to take a bottle for future convenience and that won't help solve that problem.  It doesn't get any easier getting them to take a bottle as they get older and start having more of an opinion about things.

Lastly, I am practically as militant as your local la leche league leader about BRF'ing as long as possible, so to me weaning at 3.5 mos seems so wrong, but that is an opinion.

Good luck to you and your babe though!!  Keep us posted on how things go, and on if anything works to get her to take the bottle, mine will still only take a couple of swigs of EBM, then she figures out it's not water and refuses it!!  Lil stinker!!

~Patty   

[staceyr]

My dd absolutely positively refuses anything coming out of a bottle.  I have been trying off and on for the last several months (she is now 6 months old).  It has come down to utilizing the idea from the solves ur problem book about stopping bf for 2-3 days and only give her the bottle.  I'm working full time and my nanny (her cousin) can't use a finger feeder to her breast anymore... she's getting sore and bummed out that she is bf and she isn't even expressing milk and not her baby!!!  (she uses a finger feeder to her breast and my dd feeds as if it's me using ebm)  anyway, it has been HELL.  she is the second most stubborn person I know (I'm the first).  we're on day 2 and I feel like I'm torturing her.  she takes the bottle off and on (mostly off).  and int he last day has probably eaten only 20 oz or so.  has anyone else tried this plan.  does it really work.  expressing q4hrs is becoming tiresome and she is totally miserable.  tomorrow morning officially be day 2 (48 hrs)  please let me know if anyone has tried this successfully or unsuccessfully. thanks... stacey

[LŠuren]

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67768.0

Stacyr here is the BTW way to go cold turkey and the success a mum had and how she did it. -  I successfully went Cold Turkey from breast to bottle

[staceyr]

there is progress   she has taken the bottle for my cousin (ate about 8-10 oz while I was away at work last night for 10hrs.  the problem is that I still want to bf and have her take the bottle.  I'm not planning on weaning until she's over a year old (I either will let her decide or by 2 years stop).  so I have bf today and I have tried offering the bottle and again she's refusing it.  ugh!  so, my plan is to bf today to her little heart's content, and then give her a bottle during the night.  she wakes up about every 2-3 hours to feed.  hopefully this will help her to cut down her desire for nightwakings to be fed and upping her desire to feed more during the day (which is a problem. she goes on a sort of hunger strike during the evenings because she knows that's most likely I will be gone and she has to do the substitute breast.  - yes even a substitute breast is not as tasty as mommy's 24hr diner.)  then when I go back to work on wednesday she will already be hip to the fact that bf only happens during the day.    the good news is that she did take the bottle we just need to keep reinforcing this behavior.  how does this plan sound?  well, if there are any addendums please let me know ... I will check later today.  I will update tomorrow how the plan worked.

[LŠuren]

I believe the process is still the same to get your lo to take a bottle even if you still want to breastfeed.  There is a support group here for mums who chose to feed their Lo with breast and formual milk.https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=68301.0

[staceyr]

oh yes.  that is the posting string for me!! thanks!!  very helpful.  I'm going to repost my night ebf bottle feeding idea on that post and see if any mom's had problems/success stories.