How to get a ebf to take a bottle?

[Louise87]

Hi everyone I was wondering if anyone had any advice my lo is ebf but I would like to be able to express and feed her from the bottle but having real trouble getting her to take the expressed milk she just pushes the the bottle out with her tongue n dribbles the milk out. I have tried different styles of bottles n leaving the room n getting hubby to have a go but no joy any ideas?

[MadCatLady465]

Sorry, no words of wisdom, I had to go 'cold turkey' with my daughter and went out one morning and my husband gave her a bottle. If I was anywhere near I think she could smell me or something. I did continue to express but if I tried to BF she just wouldn't take a bottle again. Saying this, lots of mums do both successfully, I think you just have to persevere and try different teats xx

[Louise87 in reply to MadCatLady465]

I was hoping there was some secret to it hehe my friend does both with ease n my lo has taken a bottle in the past as when she was 1st born she couldn't latch on properly so we used bottles think she must have 4got little monkey

[Cowgirl7]

Only thing I can think of is that maybe the expressed milk in the bottle might be a mixture of fore and hind milk so maybe now what she's expecting. Could you try plain cooled boiled water for her to practice with without wasting valuable supplies? Sorry, no startling ideas though.

[Hidden]

I hav found tht if u r anywhere near he wont take it but when I leave him with my mil he doesnt hav an option xo once he k ows its bottle or nothing he takes it. Maybe get ur oh to giv it and u go out for a bit...there will b a fuss but tht is whar worked for us xx

[Louise87 in reply to Hidden]

Have left her for few hours near tea time with mil and come back to a fussy baby that has taken literally none of my expressed milk so I then ens up feeding her myself

[Hidden in reply to Louise87]

It was tough admittedly but I made my bf give him a bottle once a day, took him a week with lots of fuss but he needs to take it because when I go bk to work he will hav no choice as I do 12 hr shifts so will hav to stop bf. keep perservering, I kno its hard but will work xx

[BubbaG]

I am in the same boat as you. my LO is EBF and i have tried to give her expressed milk in a bottle but she does the same as your LO... in fact my LO looks at me in disgust every. time I try lol

I have decided to keep trying her with a dummy just to get her used to having a teat as expressing takes ages, makes me a bit sore and then it goes to waste!!

Saying that, she wont have the dummy either (sigh) I will keep an eye on your post to see if anyone has a magic solution lol x

[Louise87 in reply to BubbaG]

My lo won't take a dummy either so ur not alown ; (

[Hidden in reply to BubbaG]

u can express and freeze it, lasts ages then can defrost it when necessary, freeze small amounts then u wont feel like ur wasting it x

[Mom2be]

Have you tried different teats? I know that can make a difference sometimes. Hope you get there in the end. I'm hoping to do both when my LO arrives xxx

[Louise87 in reply to Mom2be]

Yeah tried tomee tipee n they didn't wrk midwife in hospital said best are the cheap bottles with longer thiner teats so tried that! Still no joy!

[BubbaG]

I have tommee tippee wide bottles and am struggling to find different teats for the wide bottles.

[gigglysheep]

just an idea as i have never experienced any of this...

Following on from breastfeeding lecture at nhs class, babies find the milk by smell. is it worth opening the bottle and letting LO have a sniff and then replace the teat and try again?

Like I say, I've all this ahead of me as I'm currently pregnant with my first so i dont know what works but thought it might be worth a try xx

[Louise87 in reply to gigglysheep]

Anythin is worth a go

[DrFluffy]

How old is your LO? My friend could never get her bubba to take a bottle - after a chat with her HV started very, very carefully using a doidy cup.

Who is giving the bottle? Are you around when it's given? Babies are masters of getting what they need. If they sense you are around and know you will give em boob at the first sign if trouble, they will do all they can to get it! Another friend who had trouble getting her LO to take a bottle changed tactics - they used to try at night, when both her and her partner were frazzled. They restarted on a Saturday - Ana went out for an hour for a coffee at the local shops, leaving OH and LO with a bottle... LO soon started taking it when realising there really was nothing else on offer!

My LO was top up fed at birth as was severely jaundiced on double phototherapy. My OH gave him his bottles so that my bubba wouldn't associate me with the bottle, just the boob, so I guess it should work the other way.

Hope you find a solution x

[Louise87 in reply to DrFluffy]

She is nearly 9 weeks n it is usually my mil or oh that gives it a go but i am usually out for few hours max coz I no she wont take it I will keep persisting though

[Hidden]

I found the latex teats (Brown coloured) ones worked for me they used to do them on the cheap bottles but don't any more but check on amazon think they are the nuk teats not sure x

[Louise87 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks I will have a look

[mel2014 in reply to Hidden]

My lo will only av those cheap brown teats & ur right they use to be on cheap bottles but not no more & I've been in every chemist & shop to find them but cant . Only place I've found is Amazon they do all dif shaped teats in brown & they r a lot softer than the clear teats. As my lo has a very arched pallet he couldn't latch on or drink from wide teats plus also my lo has globle development delay & will only av a certain shape teat so wen we couldn't find the ones we been using the only way we managed to get him to drink frm the new shape teat is by doing it in middle of night. This has worked as they not as alert at night as in day. Good luck hun but try the brown ones if u haven't already xxx

[Louise87 in reply to mel2014]

Thanks I will have a look I hope I get something to wrk really could do with a nihht out just me n hubby x

[Armywag]

My lo was on both formula and bf whilst in scbu; they used the mam bottle when I wasn't there, the teat is designed to feel like a nipple. It's a silky feel and flatish. You don't need to buy the bottles as the teats should fit in the bottles you already have. The mam bottles are a pain and leak so I use the teats in avent bottles. I'm using formula completely now but my baba was never fussy, she will feed from any shaped teat - just as long as her belly is filled! Try dipping the teat into the milk to get it on the outside too.

[Louise87 in reply to Armywag]

Brilliant thanks I will have a look x