Hi

Sorry to hear of your struggles, but interesting as having same at the mo.  My lo is 22 weeks and only gained 3oz in last four weeks, so I tried a bottle, he downed the first one on Wednesday (after refusing one at 6 weeks, three months and four months), so I get all excited, decide I'll soon be liberated, but then yesterday and today he took zero.

I'm frustrated and only half up for the battle as my first took ages to take to the bottle.  The way I did it then was he was 6 months old and in nursery (I had to go in to breastfeed, no joke), and had just got into yoghurts.  I fed him once in the morning, gave him brekkie, then didn't feed him until 11am when I was out in a cafe.  I got him to suck my finger and just whacked the bottle in and miraculously he carried on sucking  and we never looked back.  I think it was the mix of deprivation and sucking that helped as he usually fed hourly.

But each baby is different so I don't know what will work with this baby.

You know you will get there, you'll both find a way, definitely try to chill about the whole breast to bottle and weaning onto food thing, it will happen, we're all learning, mother and baby.

Anne-Marie

Hi

Unfortunately he is not teething - i do keep looking for the signs.

I have now purchased the NUK learner bottle 6 months + with soft spout - still getting the same amount even less sometimes.

So i've cut myself out of his feeds - currently from two will go up to three at the weekend no luck yet.  A slow way of banning the breast - giving him offerings of the same an hour later (formula) then a gap before a breast feed.

Solids very slowly improving.  I personally don't think I'm going to get anywhere while he knows he can get fed from me.

Thanks for everyones help

I had exactly the same problem although my lo took to baby rice like nobodies business. I struggled to find a bottle that she didn't either bite or just roll around her tongue.

The one that eventually worked for me is NUK as they have to suck to get the milk and is shaped better also try latex  teats(unless you're aware of an allergy) as are much softer and more Mum like than the silicone. She still takes her time but at least sucks this.

Worth a shot

Good luck

Just a thought but is your LO teething?  My DS2 hasn't been drinking his milk, not at all interested in bottle, tried faster teat and a cup, then thought maybe it was down to teething (dribbling and chewing tongue!) - gave him some calpol an hour before feed and he drank most the bottle - the last 2 nights he's gone down without drinking any milk before bed! 

Hi

Just thought I'd let you know that will try the baby whisperer method shortly if using a cup doesn't work.

I saw a health visitor last week who said at six months they tell bottle feeding mothers to start giving their baby's a cup.  So I have two types of cup - a doidy cup (hope I've spelt that right) and a tommee tippee first cup with lid and flip top spout.

Still getting the same amount of formula into him though - the little monkey.

I am now giving him a cup to play with in his chair and in the bath so he doesn't feel alienated by it and he can explore it.

What a battle this seems to be will be glad when it is over.

Solid food wise I have introduced solids at all meal times apart from the last feed at night.  Now I am only having to get up once in the night for a feed.

Thank you for everybody's input.

Hi, I stopped BF at 10 weeks but before then had introduced a bottle.. the only bottle my lo would drink from was made by the first years and called breastflow , they sell them in mothercare and have two teats one inside the other. Once he has got used to this bottle he would happy drink from tommee tippee closer to nature . x

Thanks for everbody's advice.

I will try the baby rice in a different texture - thanks.

Last night I sat in a different room to feed thomas - no tv and distractions and  put a bottle to him and although I only got about 1 1/2 oz down him I didn't get any grumbles and instead he explored the teat pushing around his mouth trying to work it out and didn't get upset,  And he was quitew happy - he kept making little noises and nearly laughing some times.

Today I did the same but only got 10z down him each time - i then gave it half an hour and then he fed off me after the second try.

Will consider the banish breast method tomorrow and try formula every hour - he is ok with the milk - he just can't work out what to do with his mouth in order to get the milk from the teat.

Will keep you posted.

Thankyou.

hey honey,i totaly understsnd how that feels as i have just been there1 my lo refused bottles 4 ages and i then gave the baby whisperer method where you dont give the baby breast at all. start with the first feed of the day with a bottle and i gave some rice/breakfast to. then just perservere,try but if no joy only do 5mins then repeat hourly. the first nite was the worse for me but thenext day was better and the next she was totally fine. its worth 2-3 hard days! we havent looked back sice-and if i can anyone can! just make sure you stay calm and i found it worked lying lo on bed/cot/sofa better as she couldnt smell my milk and being in a breastfeeding position onfused her. really hope this helps xxx

Just re-read your post and noticed you use 10tsp milk to 1tsp of rice....i use organix and it's only on a 4-1 ratio and i still find that too runny....i use about 6tsp to 2tsp of rice so it makes a nice mousse like texture as if it's runny it just comes straight back out. I'm following gina fords book.

Also forgot to say if poss you could express and gradually increase amount of formula in it and reduce ebm.......so lo gets a gradual change in taste rather than straight on to formula( after all if it's a weight thing getting milk into him is better than none cos he won't drink it. I found when i first started giving my dd a bottle of ebm she would take 2oz to take the edge off her hunger then mess about and refuse the rest and just get herself through to the next bf. I had to do the baby whisperer method of bottle feeding only for 24hrs to get her to take more. xx

Sweetie i'm sorry to hear you're having such a nightmare, i use the closer to nature ones....it may just be that you need to persevere, lo will learn eventually, if lo gets stressed try putting him down for a few mins and distract him till he's calm again then try him again. I've found when i had problems getting my two to take a bottle initially it was a very stressful thing and instead of pushing through was better if i walked away for a bit then tried again, even if it took several goes. That ways you can tackle it calm each time rather than getting more and more stressed. Hope things sort themselves out soon for you both. xxx

dont know if this will help but it helped us when i introduced bottle to lo at 8 weeks (shes now 16 weeks) try squeezing a little milk from the bottle and dab it on lo's mouth for them to know that it is milk

Hi, Sorry I can't help you but i'm bumping this thread as I am also having the same problem as you and would love some advice.

 My dd is 27wks and up until now has been exclusively bf. Everytime I try her with a bottle she gets herself so upset, clamps her mouth shut and if I do manage to get the teat into her mouth she just pushes it back out.  I to have been trying to use the closer to nature bottles and teats because there supposed to mimic bf but i'm having no luck. Hope we find a solution soon.

Good luck

Clare and Erin 27wks. xx

I have tried tommee tippee closer to nature bottles and teats - variflow, medium flow and fast flow and also Dr Browns Narural Flow bottle with fast flow teat.

hi which bottles and teats are you using?

Hi

I do hope people can help me.

I am a breast feeding Mum and my baby Thomas has just reached one week less than six months and my milk and him have met their match.  No weight on in two weeks means that he has to now have formula.........and he won't take from a bottle. I tried before and gave up but now he has to have the formula.

At the moment i try the bottle, - have got myself upset and Thomas because he can't seem to figure out what to do with the teat - he is happy with the formula milk.   So now i try him with the bottle to a limit,  then the milk is transferred to a sippy cup - this works for a little while but then its like drowning him. 

The most I get him in is 2oz alot of the times it is 1oz when according to the packaging he should be on 7oz - so I am starting to get frustrated and don't want my baby to be malnourished.

I still give him breast milk but say after every second feed - so he soesn't think he gets me after every formula feed but again... i don't want him to go without .

Any advice would be most appreciated as it is getting very upsetting not being able to feed by any other method apart from me.  I have tried squirting the milk in his mouth through the teat - but he really needs to be taking it himself.  I try to picture the situation from the outside looking in so that i don't give in to him and yet I don't let him starve.  I was up twice last night for a feed (breast) which is normal so he can't be too hungry.  I don't get how the small formula feeds and say only two breast feeds in the day can suffice him.

I keep trying to feed him baby rice too.  He probably eats and dribbles the inital mixing amount - 10 teaspoons of milk to 1 teaspoon of rice.

And of course I'm hitting the 6 month stage now when the immune system is said to be at its lowest.

Thanks in advance for any help given