Absolutely desperate for help - re: DS and bottle refusal

[Arcadia]

I read in an aba mag about a woman with a similar problem, and she started getting the bub to suck a washer in the bath and then started putting the washer over the bottle teat and then from there bub associated sucking with the bottle. Not sure how old her bub was though.

You can break the no spill valve of zippy cups...dd used to chew through hers.

If you go for a straw cup, make sure it's one without the valve (ie the cheaper the better).

Otherwise I would be cup feeding.

Good luck!

[Miss.B]

I was also going to suggest the straw cup hun. IGA has a good one for only $3 ,DS drinks his liquids from that. There is also a sippy cup called Heinz baby basic that has a valve if you want the non spill option or you can take it out and the spout has 3 holes in it so the fluid flows fairly easily. I can feel your stress and frasturation, but keep trying a few different things hun and hopefully there will be one he is OK with. My DS refused most sippy cups but then loved the straw cup. GL!

[luna moth]

^^ that's a great idea! Definitely going to try that.

The anti-spill valve in our Heinz sippy cup is removable. We took it out to help DD learn that sucking on the cup = water. Which she did, and she kind of likes sucking on it, but very much prefers drinking out of a grown-up's glass or cup I got mine at the local IGA, but I'm sure you can buy them at Target etc

[buliej]

Thanks everyone - there's a couple of new ideas here.

PZ - I've tried that bottle - DS didn't like it (I've spent at least $300 on different kinds of bottles and teats - what a waste).

kelebek - my husband and my mother in law have both tried feeding DS when I've been out of the house - no luck.

I haven't tried a medicine cup - I have a soft (silicone?) cup with 2 handles that I've been giving him after his solid feed - with water in it (currently just lunch as we just started 2 weeks ago and he's only eating a tiny bit). He lets me put the cup in his mouth and tilt it, but he mainly chews and if liquid goes into his mouth he spits it out or he swallows it incorrectly and coughs.

On Monday, I'll have in hand a sippy cup from Ikea that I've been told has no valve so the liquid just flows...I'll also take a look in safeway and coles (the 2 chains close to us) and also see if I can remove the valves from various cups

I've tried a cup with a soft straw - the first times I used it (with water), he just chewed the straw. The next time, I filled it with formula to see what would happen - and because I mixed formula it was quite full which meant the liquid came up the straw very easily - and he cried and cried!

FlyingButter -that open cup sounds interesting (although it may not be that different than the type of cup I have already tried) - let me know if you remember the brand

I have 1 Tommy Tippee that came with one of my many bottle purchases but it has this weird spout protector that is like a flip cap (doesn't detach from the cup) and it gets in the way of DS getting the bottle in his mouth - maybe it is made for an older child?


Barb - I'll continue to try the straw and the juice box is a good idea, however I don't want him to only want sweet juice. My preference is to stick to EBM/formula/water. I wish they made a box with water in it just to get me started (but how ridiculous and non-eco would that be!). Solids are new to him...and I am, so far, the only one who has been with him during his solid feeds so far...but my carer will take that on during my work days. My main concern is peace-of-mind (mine) - I want to know he'll take a full feed from a bottle/cup/whatever - as mentioned, in 6 weeks I will be away from him for 48 hours (this is fixed and cannot be changed) and each day that goes by where he cries when an alternative is presented, I freak out.

Arcadia - now that's creative and worth a try - I'm going to get on to that - thanks!

Thanks everyone else as well. I've expressed a whole bunch of milk to practice with this weekend - I hope something works!

[kelebek]

goodluck hope you have some success this weekend

[Kmn]

Give him a "cup" (we used the little lids off the avent bottles) in the bath and see if he drinks the bathwater.

And taking the valves out of the Heinz cups worked for us too - just don't make it very full!

Is he eating much? My DH resorted to weetbix (which sop up a huge amount of EBM) to get milk into DS.....

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

I wasn't meaning feed him juice - just one time so he gets the idea of how a straw works. If you want to you can tip out the juice and fill it with water