Forum : Mums

Changing from breast to bottle can sometimes be a trial, especially if your baby is much happier with the breast. You've obviously tried lots of different things to encourage your baby to take to the bottle, and it must be very frustrating for you.

One thing that might be stopping Jacob* is if he can smell you and your breastmilk while he's feeding. Knowing it's close to him but not at hand can be upsetting, so getting someone else, such as your partner, to feed him for a while might make a difference.

Alternatively, have you tried expressing breastmilk and giving that from a bottle? Mixed feeding (alternating between breastfeeding and bottlefeeding) can sometimes be confusing for babies. It is perfectly natural for him to keep turning towards the breast as it is a natural instinct that has been reinforced over the last months of feeding.

Once Jacob* reaches 6 months you can try feeding from a beaker. This may work better for him and worth trying to get him accustomed to if he is reluctant with a bottle. It's worth talking to your health visitor about it to see if she can help with some ideas too.

Hi 'Lisa',

Our son was great with bottles at 6 weeks, but then got progressively worse - until he was screaming when he saw it coming anywhere near him.
We took the pressure off him , and tried to keep it as relaxed as possible. We gave him a teat to explore during (well-supervised) play-time, and got him used to having the teat on/around/in is mouth after a breast feed, just to get used to the sensation. He would chew/lick it a lot, but not really drink the (breast) milk in it, at first.
However, after a few weeks of trying every day, we found that with orthodontic teats, and putting the bottle in his mouth whilst he was distracted watching a mobile, he took it.
We perservered every day, and he gradually became more happy with it, at about 5 months
I returned to work this week, and he is now entirely bottle-fed, although he does sometimes get expressed breast milk in it.
Good luck. It is a frustrating / worrying time, but it will happen.
Liz.

hi lisa
i had the same problem with my son, but just keep trying him on bottles and one day he will suprise you and take to it.
ethan my son refused to take even water from the bottle but i just kept trying him on it, and then one day he just took to it. now i have no problems
good luck

Hi
We have been struggling with getting Lucy to take a bottle. I found that she really doesn't like the Avent teats, as they are quite big, but the anti-colic "for breastfed babies" type by mothercare and tommy tippee are more agreeable to her! i find that if i try to bottle feed her, or i am in the room she often flatly refuses the bottle, but if Tim feeds her she will take it! We sometimes have to waggle the teat around in her mouth to get her to start sucking too.....it is quite a performance!

Good luck!

Sarah
Mum to Lucy 11 weeks

Hi Lisa

I had the same problem with my son when I attempted to introduce a bottle at 15 weeks. It took about a week of trying once or twice a day before he finally took a couple of ounzes of formula.

Tips I (and other friends since) have found helpful:

1. Experiment with different teats - my son also hated the avent ones and any made of latex. I'd definitely recommend MAM teats which are softer and ridged so more nipple like - AND they fit to avent bottles if you already have a number of these so it cuts on the expense (wish I'd known this earlier - my bank balance would be a bit healthier now!)

2. If you can't find anyone else to give the bottle, feed Jacob* in his bouncy chair so he is not so close to you and the smell of your breastmilk

3. Distract him with a toy or baby dvd - this really worked.

4.And finally (and rather obviously!) be prepared for a few tears - this was horrible at first but when I realised they were tears of annoyance and frustration rather than real upset I felt ok to carry on trying

Good luck!
G
xx

Dear Lisa

I have 5 children,all of whom were breast fed and had bottles when I returned to work.

I have found that all children are different and that perseverence is the key. Four of my children took to bottle quite easily (but didn't like the silicone teats, old fashioned latex worked wonders - playtex did a fantastic bottle which was a bit like the Avent disposible but with a latex teat). My middle child, however never took to the bottle and point blank refused all bottles from all people no matter how much we tried. She went straight to breastmilk in a beaker in the end (and was firmly attached to me the moment I walked in the door). She was four months old then and is now a happy, healthy ten year old. I learnt to chill a little and that eventually the baby will feed - babies don't starve themselves, it just takes a while to learn a new skill. Keep trying, your son will eventually drink other than from the breast.

Lisa,

I has the same problem with one of my older children, eventually I gave her formula milk (which she loved) in a non spill cup at about 4 mths and continued to feed her myself morning and night. I don't know why she simply would not take a bottle from anyone with any teat and wouldn't take breastmilk either. I currently have a 6 mth old who I have managed to get to take a tommee tippee bottle with the 'nobbly' teats which she has taken without too many tears.
I hope this helps,

Hi, I had problems too trying to get my daughter onto a bottle but one day I suddenly realised she had been having milk at body temperature since birth & didn't know of having it any other way.I heated up her bottles to body temp & we were well away.The type of teat didn't bother her it was just temperature.My health visitor was keen to put her on a drinking cup & miss out the bottle altogether but with the new spouts on them she couldn't suck hard enough to get it out (we're talking 7 years ago when the no spill spouts first came out).Good luck.

i started by byholding my daughter very close to me and held the bottle at breast angle. since then i have gradually sat her more up right and she really enjoys feeding from bottles now. always reassure your baby.

Hi

I had the same problem with my son, he wouldn;t take a bottle at all, I found that by expressing milk and giving that from a bottle (trying different teats) then giving expressed milk with a little formula and then gradually reducing the expressed milk until it was only formula worked well- in the end I think once I set my mind to it and realised he had to get used to it due to the immminent return to work it only took about a week or so! good luck!