Introducing a bottle

[Roudysmum]

My baby is 26 wks and has been exclusivly BF, I am trying to introduce a bottle but its pretty unplesent, i am giving him breast milk so its easier but hes still fighting the bottle. can any one give me any suggestions to help.
Thanks

[krysalyss]

I think getting your partner to do it when you aren't in eye sight might help. If you are there he probably just wants you and his normal bb
Otherwise rub a bit of milk on the nipple so he can taste it. Try a few different teats as he may prefer another brand. And most of all dont force it. Just put a little bit in so you dont waste too much milk and go slowly.
HTH

[Tanya]

What about a straw? It can take some practise but it's worth it

To get then to suck on the straw I hold my finger over the end so there is some milk in the straw and get them to suck it out and let my finger off so it pours into their mouth at the same time. They get the idea really fast and it saves bottle hassles!

Anyway may be worth a go

[Barb Glare]

Hi,
It can be so frustrating! Now that Tyler is 6mnths, I was wondering, how are solids going? Is there a particular reason you need to introduce a bottle? You are doing such a fab job - feeding for 6mnths, that's great. Many babies never ever have a bottle, so it's not a necessary part of baby development.
The key to getting baby to take a bottle is quiet persistance. Don't get upset. Maybe fill it with water and let Tyler play with it, become used to it.
Warm Regards
Barb

[krisp]

I give my DD breast and bottle feeds and she takes the Avent bottles and teats with no problems at all, as did her big brother. Have you tried the Avent brand? Some babies need to have a few goes before they will take a bottle or try some different brands.

Good luck.

[Roudysmum]

Thankk you to everyone for your advice,

krysalyss, The staw idea is a greeat one i will definately try that one

Barb, Tyler is doing great on solids, he realy loves his food, the only reason im trying to get him to take a bottle, (or any thing else i can get him to drink from) is because i live so far away from town. When i do go to town if Tyler needs a sleep i can leave him at my friends place and if he wakes up before i get back i know she can feed him and then she doesnt have a screaming baby to contened with. When Tyler wakes up and wants a feed he wants it ten minutes ago so trying to distract him till a get there isnt realy an option. I am giving him EBM so at least i know hes still getting that.

Krisp, I do use the Avent bottles as i have the isis breast pump but im trying tommytippie now to.

The biggets problem i am having is that he wont suck on anything, he quite happy to chew on anything i give him and he has done this since birth, he cant even suck on a dummy and he even chews his fingers.

Thank you again for all of your advice and i will try those suggestions, if you think of any thing else please let me know.

[sarahforbes]

Oh my goodness. I really feel for you. I have been exclusively breastfeeding my little girl for six months now. At three months, I went back to work, part-time, and my daughter went to family day care close by. I tried to have her take the bottle a few weeks before I went back to work, and she refused. It didn't matter who tried, she would not take it. She would scream, and then only settle when I breastfed her again. After three months of my faithful family day care mum trying three days a week, she is finally taking it.

We tried Tommee Tippee and Avent but she would only take Nuk. My experience was that we just had to keep trying. Offer it again and again, and don't make it stressful for the baby. If they get upset, put it away and try again later. I made two trips a day back and forward to my baby every day for the first three months. It was hard work, but now that she's taking the bottle, I am getting ready to leave her with her daddy so that I can have a break. It is important that you know you can leave your baby with someone else, even just in case of emergency, but certainly so you can have some time to yourself.

My heart goes out to you. I hope you can work out a solution. Something WILL work. Maybe try the sippy cup too. Enjoy! xo

[~kellie~]

i had a really similar problem, and just recently she has started taking the bottle. I also tried avent and tommee tippee... she wouldn't take either of those. I eventually had success with the Pidgeon teats, which actually fit on the avent bottles, so you only need to buy the teat

Good Luck!

[MantaRay]

Neither of my DSs would take a bottle but at about 5 months they both would drink from a sippy cup. Perhaps that could be worth a try for you, and if it works you have the added bonus of not having to worry about weaning from a bottle to a cup later. The same as bottles, you might need to try a couple of different brands and be a bit persistent. GL.

[teachmum]

Neither of mine would take the bottle. We even tried introducing it early to DS. In the end they went straight to a cup with a soft spout. It was very messy at first but worth it in the end not to have to worry about bottles.