I know there’s loads of stuff all over the press at the moment about breastfeeding being a preventative against teenage delinquency but that’s not what this post is about.
I am trying to get Arthur to accept a bottle of expressed milk so that I can have a nice evening out some time, or even just hand him over to someone else for a cuddle at feed time.
He is not impressed with this idea.
He was quite happy at first just playing and pushing the teat around with his tongue – he even grabbed the bottle for a bit himself and settled for a cuddle with it.
But would he drink from it? Ha. Would he heck as like. He screamed blue murder at me instead.
By this point Tori was yelling at me because I was making Baby cry and I was feeling like the worst mother in the world. Arthur went to sleep. I went and washed up to calm down and decided to try again when he woke up. By that point he should be really hungry and less inclined to reject the evil plastic teat.
Right?
Wrong. Cue more wailing. And more. By now Tori had stopped telling me off and started saying ‘waaa’ whenever Arthur cried and then giggling madly. I really wanted ear plugs at this point.
After a load more miserable noises and grumpy faces and a bit of playing Arthur grudgingly drank about ¾oz and then gave up and went back to sleep.
I had a quick smooch on the interweb and found a few people suggesting that you should give Baby a dummy to get them used to the feel of the plastic and then switch over to the bottle once they’re calm. I went and rummaged in the kitchen and dug out a dummy that came free with a pack of bottles I got before Arthur was born. It was still in its sterile wrapping and case because I’ve never used a dummy with either of the kids.
When he woke up he instantly whined – clearly hungry (and I don’t blame him). So I offered him the dummy and eventually he stopped spitting it out and sucked it. He looked very odd…
After a couple of minutes I whipped out the dummy and immediately replaced it with the bottle. 30 seconds later Arthur said ‘WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA’ and then choked.
I then decided to give up for the day and feed him myself. ¾oz in nearly 6 hours isn’t enough for a growing boy – he was fed up, I was fed up and Tori was giving me dagger stares from the playpen. I will persevere and keep trying and he will get there eventually. It’s just tough and I don’t much like it.
In this Boob vs Bottle battle the score is very definitely Boob 1 : Bottle 0
Carole Finds Her Wings 
None of my last 3 would touch a bottle ever…they are Team Boob all the way! Freddy is showing no signs of weaning himself from his boob, so at some point I’ll have a battle on my hands! x
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Tori got the hang of it quite quick (I left her and a bottle with Sy and ran away for the day – she didn’t have a choice!!). Arthur however, is not playing…
Good luck with Freddy!!
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It’s one of those things – some babies just find it very hard to adapt to. if you get them ever to take a bottle, you have to keep giving them a bottle regularly so they don’t forget!
if you are really desperate for him to take a bottle, the only way really is to keep trying and only offering bottles and no boob. They will not starve themselves and will take a bottle eventually, but you will have to keep regularly giving a bottle once you’ve done it. I know someone went on a total strike and had an awful day but eventually, several hours in, her baby gave in and took it.
You might find it easier for someone else to be giving the bottle – baby can almost certainly smell milk on you and know that milk comes from you. Without you there, they might be more amenable to taking that bottle. So, you might want to get bottles made up and go out around feeding time.
Good luck. Missy Woo was good at taking a bottle early on and then we reintroduced them 2 months later. She was a bit hit and miss and of course, the time I was out all day was the time she chose to refuse to take a bottle at all. I was not popular with my OH – and even then, there were times she wouldn’t take it.
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My LO was exactly the same! I gave up after many attempts at trying and am now dreading her getting teeth as I know I have no choice but to breastfeed till she’s 1!!! Someone did tell me to try dipping the end of the teat in the breastmilk and going out so they can’t smell you and want the real thing!
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Well done for perservering. I tried a bottle of expressed milk with my daughter every day from the age of 6 weeks to 5 months. It never worked. Ever. In the end I gave up and she drank from a Doidy Cup. Now, at ten months, she drinks from anything (including a normal glass) but still balks at the sight of a bottle.
If you manage it, let me know your trick, because I could do with some tips when we (eventually) have Baby Number Two!
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DD was just as stubborn about taking a bottle. After a long while (the exact length of which is lost in the sleepless blur of those early months) I gave up and she was team boob until 15 months. Funny though, I miss it now she’s on moo milk and a straw… sending you lots of courage to keep going! x
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Try getting someone else to do it. If he knows the real thing is nearby he won’t want the bottle. Good luck! x
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