Combination feeding

[waddles]

Does anyone do this?

I have been exclusively breast feeding for 3 months now and I love it, so does my daughter. I've expressed a few times so that I could pop out to get my hair done or have a few drinks and my husband could feed her but she really won't take to the bottle!

I've started back at the gym and have a weekend away coming up so I really need her to take a bottle from my other half. I would love to combine breast feeding her with a few bottles now and then but she just won't have it so it seems like the only option is to put her on the bottle full time either express for her or combine it with some formula to avoid confusing her between breast and bottle.

Just wondered if anyone had any similar issues and what you did? I'm sad about the possibility of not breast feeding anymore I just wish she would take a bottle now and then so I can have a bit of a break.

 

[Nervous_1]

When your OH tried to feed with the bottle were you in the room with them? I found that if I stayed when my OH gave a bottle at night that my lil one would refuse it because he preferred to have breast lol.

Also, babies can be fussy about the type of bottle used, or the type of formula, so it might be worth trying a few different options to see if baby is just fussy

 

[waddles]

Thanks for your reply. We've tried both, I have been out of the house and she's not taken anything from him. She has taken bottles from other family members which is the frustrating thing so I know she can do it. I feel torn as I really want to carry on breast feeding her but want a bit of me time too and feel like this is forcing me to bottle feed.

 

[Nervous_1]

Perhaps you could try the milk in a cup? You still have options, don't give up on the bf just yet

 

[Bunanie]

The exact same thing happened to me when dd was abt 2 months. All of the sudden she refused to take the bottle from DH, mil was able to feed her. Then a week later, she refused bottles altogether.

Have u tried a different bottle with teat similar shape to ur nipple? That worked a bit for me. She still didn't like it but would drink after a bit of coaxing. Pigeon bottle worked for us, she hated avent.

And contrary to the popular suggestion, she only took the bottle from me, coz I think she sees me as a food source mummy=milk

And my last trick... I pretend I'm abt to bf her... I hold her in bf position, then when she's abt to latch on I put the bottle in her mouth... I know this defeats the purpose of giving her the bottle, but the goal is let her get used to drinking from the bottle.

Now she's happy to take the bottle as well as the breast, took a good month of offering a bottle everyday to train her. I didn't wanna waste my previous ebm, so I gave her formula to bottle train her.

Hope it helps please don't give up bf just yet

 

[waddles]

We have had some progress, over the weekend I offered bottles all day instead of the boob, now she takes it without much protesting. I used formula at first as I did end up chucking a fair amount away but now she's taking it have started using expressed milk. I am so happy and hope this lasts as I am not ready to end breast feeding altogether. I have still breast fed her through the night to comfort her and make sure she doesn't prefer the bottle so far so good xx

 

[rainbow_mom]

Waddles,

i had the same isues with my baby girl before, now she's 8 months already. im glad im through with this stage. i tried a lot of feedng bottles and she won't take it. grrrrrrr! but then i read on a website that the trick is to make her hungry then she'ss eventually take the bottle. it's not a walk in the clouds step and i tell u it's heart breaking to see my child cry, but babies are tougher than we think. so be patient. she'll come along


ps:
i'm still breastfeeding and im back to work, she still likes to breastfeed and also she now takes the bottle with my milk too