Tips for getting your breastfeeding LO to take a bottle

[rachelking]

My baby is 3 months old and was taking a bottle of breast milk when i was not around, but has for some reason stopped, i've now tried lots of different bottles..NUK, Tomme Tippee, the cheapest latex teats you can find was one recommendation, but still no joy. I'll try the maple syrup and playtex bottles and see if this works...you just have to be hard and not back down i know, but easier said than done!!! 

[* Paula *]

Maple syrup?? I would not recommend giving it to your lo at such a young age.

Have you tried heating the teat on the bottle to see if this makes any difference?

[M2W]

Well Baby #2 has arrived (Chloe Jewell) and during those first few days when they nurse and nurse and nurse but get hardly anything (aka starving)...Chloe lost 12 ounces in 2 days...so I gave in and gave an ounce of formula in a bottle...she took it fine...now that my milk has come in, I am BFing mostly full time, but I do offer 2 ounces a day of formula in a bottle so in the case of emergency, someone else could feed her, formula wouldn't be odd to her, etc...and it helps at night during the 'tank up' time...I feed both breasts and she's still wanting more (at that time) so that is when we offer the formula. It has helped with the tank up process and just keeping her aware of bottles...I think having formula in there might also help her understand the 'difference' who knows...she's only a week old...so time will tell

[* Paula *]

Congratulations on the birth of your DD.

Sounds like you have a good routine going.  Keep us posted on how you get on.

Paula

[M2W]

well we're into it about a month now and so far Chloe is able to take both breast and bottle, BM & formula...without any problems...

so from MY experience and only speaking from the two children I've had...both were introduced within the first week of life to the bottle (Weston day 4, Chloe day 2) and both have so far been able to swap breast, bottle, breast milk and formula without any problems...

if anything I think it's a blessing because there simply are times that it is nice to have the option of Daddy doing a feed...regardless of what's in the bottle. I try to pump more often now then give formula, but definitely keep the formula handy in the event I don't have a freshly pumped bottle handy

[* Paula *]

That is great, I am pleased that things are going so well.

Worth while to keep in mind for my next one.  Thanks for the tips.

Paula

[M2W]

Chloe has decided that she'll take formula if she has to...but prefers BM in the bottle over formula...and of course prefers the breast best...but she will take all of the above...

Weston on the other hand took anything anyway it was offered...he was easier in that area, but both kids do it fine...

[johno]

Switching between bottle and breast for a refluxy baby???


At about 9wks Anna was taking a bottle of EBM no problem, after 2 weeks of that she just stopped taking it.  At around the same time she started having a lot of problems breastfeeding.  She was diagnosed with Reflux She started with Zantac and her whole world has become elevated and the feeding has improved.  We stopped trying with the bottle feeds until the breastfeeding improved.  She is now 17 weeks and mom is going back to work in 2 weeks and dad is trying for the last three weeks (unsuccessfully) to bottle feed again.  She seems to have forgetten how to latch onto the bottle.  She takes the nipple ( at least 6 different kinds) no problem but just swirls her tongue around it while milk flows down her chin.  She has a very strong tongue thrust and can't seem to latch onto the bottle.  She is not really fussy or upset, just not getting any milk.  After about 10 min of trying she seems to finally get frustrated and starts fussing and crying.  At that point we usually wait a 10 minutes and then breastfeed her.  We don't really like the idea  of a hunger strike, since it was a real struggle to get her to feed with her reflux.  Any suggestions?

Anna's Mom and Dad

[* Paula *]

Hi Anna's Mom and Dad,

What sort of times are you trying the bottle?  Have you tried during the night feeds when she is more tired or during the DF at all?

You could also try offering it to her at her hungriest point, i.e. first thing in the morning to see how she takes it.

If you don't mind me asking - what nipples have you tried?

Paula

[johno]

Hi Anna's Mom and Dad,

Hi,  thanks for the quick reply...

What sort of times are you trying the bottle? 

When it was working, Dad was doing the dream feeds, to give Mom some extra sleep, since then, we have tried a variety of times, the DF,  first thing in the morning, 2nd feed.  When Mom goes back to work, she will be working mornings, so the feed we actually want to substitute with EBM is the 2nd feed of the day, usually around 10:00am. 

 Have you tried during the night feeds when she is more tired or during the DF at all?  YES.

You could also try offering it to her at her hungriest point, i.e. first thing in the morning to see how she takes it.  YES we have tried this...

If you don't mind me asking - what nipples have you tried? 
we have tried Avent, 1, 2,3 and the variable, Gerber - Nuk, slow and fast, latex and silicone.  Gerber comfort latch, slow and medium, Platex natura latch slow and medium flow.

turns out we have tried 12 different nipples.

When she was feeding sucessfully, which seems like forever ago, she was feeding on both the Avent 1 and the Gerber comfort latch slow.  Mom's letdown is pretty good and we thought that we should try to match the flow. But the higher flow nipples just seems to mean more milk on her bib and onesie. 

FYI - she has never taken a paci.  She just spits it out, or more accurately tongue thrusts it out. but she will suck vigoursly on her own fingers, our fingers etc..

Anna's Mom and Dad

Paula

[* Paula *]

Have you tried warming the teat before offering it to your lo?  This can make the world of difference.

Also - do you offer the EBM warmed up?  Again, she could just need the temperature adjusting.

[M2W]

Weston had reflux and I found bottles made it worse...I think more air...even the Doc Brown and Avent bottles still give more air then breast...JMHO

[cor]

Has anyone tried the "2 day" method for switching from breast to bottle? I am at my wits end- have tried every nipple/bottle there is for a few weeks and no luck. We've tried emb and every formula. We've tried different times of day, positions, etc, too.  I always end up bf because she gets so worked up and upset with the bottle. I am returning to work soon and MUST figure this out. Thinking about doing the nothing but bottles for 2 days like Tracey recommends, but am nervous. Any experiences would help me prepare for what I am sure will be a tough 2 days!

[* Paula *]

Hi and welcome to the BW.

I would give it a go, and see how you lo does.  They do not have the capability of starving themselves, so will take it eventually.

Have you tried getting someone else to offer your lo the bottle so that she does not smell your BM?

How old is your lo?

[PilarO]

Hi Cor,

First of all I hope I can make myself clear as my English is not great but I will make an effort.  I know what you are you talking about. I just had the same situation with my baby (she is 4 months old), I needed her to take the bottle as I wasn't producing enough milk, I tried everything and nothing worked. I tried once to stop breastfeeding completely and wait until she was hungry enough so she could take the bottle and after 16 hours I was very concerned about her health so I breastfed her. I tried again the following weekend and the same happened. The third time I went to the pediatrician to make sure I did not put on risk her health, so he recommended me to continue with the solids as normal (breakfast and lunch) and to give her 3 ml of Pedialyte every hour with a syringe. So I did that and after 28 hrs, she was not taking the bottle so my husband tried to give her some apple juice ( specially for babies - Gerber) in another bottle and she took it right away! after 5 seconds he switched the bottle and gave her the one with the milk and she took it as well and drank 5 Oz the first time, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time, we had to use the juice trick before the milk and from the 5th she took the bottle perfectly with out juice. Now she is taking the bottle and I am very happy that I can keep record of how much milk she is taking and very important!! she is sleeping throughout the night .
We used the juice as our last resort but probably it can work from the beginning. Also, for the record I gave her the juice in one bottle (Avent) and the milk in another bottle (Dr. Brown) and she did not have any problem, so at least in her case the nipple shape was not the problem!
Well this is what it worked for us, I hope it works for you too, let me know and good luck!