We have been trying for about 3-4 weeks now for Ari to take my breast-milk through a bottle. He is not having it! We practice a few times every day and I am starting to freak out as I am returning to work in 2 weeks and he still doesn't have it down.
He just doesn't realize he needs to suck!! He moves his tongue around and plays with the nipple, even gnaws on it with his gums. As he's playing some milk comes out and he will swallow it, but he gets very little and I don't think we could even classify it as a "feeding". He will play with it contently for about 5 minutes, but soon after that he starts to fuss. I have a fast let down, so the doctor suggested a fast flow nipple, which we are still working with now. My doctor said if we don't get it down before I start work, Ari will most likely not get the calories he needs during the day and will be up all night wanting to eat. So I realize he won't starve, but being up all night on top of returning to work isn't too appealing to me either.
Here are things we've tried:
* different kinds of bottles, including those that are advertised as mimicking the mom's breast (medela, tommee tippee, dr. browns, playtex)
* different nipples (slow, medium, fast)
* different holds and a variety of different locations
* we have made attempts when it is feeding time and when it is not feeding time
* Daddy usually makes the attempts, but I have tried too
* I have left the house so he doesn't hear, see, or smell me
* we've started to feed on the breast, pulled him off the breast and quick slipped in the bottle nipple trying to "trick" him into sucking
* I don't give him the breast immediately after trying the bottle, so he doesn't associate the two as a cause/effect sort of relationship.
I really don't believe he is doing it to be stubborn necessarily. I don't think he's sitting there thinking... "Hmmm...if I don't eat from the bottle, I'll get what I want...the booby!" I just don't think he has made the connection yet that if he sucks he can satisfy his needs.
I'll take any advice you might have. My husband and I are pretty open minded and willing to try almost anything.
And here's a pic of our little guy at 11 1/2 weeks. :)
13 comments:
Good luck :) Just wanted to say that this picture of him is just PERFECT!!
I don't have any other tips besides what you are trying :/ I hope someone else does or hopefully more practice helps. We use the Tommee Tippee bottles when Nana baby sits. I hope he gets it figured out soon so you don't have to worry about it! I know it's already enough worry going back to work.
Have you tried giving him a bottle about 15 minutes after feeding him? This is what finally worked for us. I fed PJ until she was almost full and then we waited for a bit. I then passed her to daddy and left the room. She finished a whole bottle for him. She's continued to take them since then. Good luck. I know how frustrating it is.
Warning - no good advice to follow, sorry!! :/ I just wanted to say that it sounds like you are doing so much so I would just keep trying everything you have been. I am sure it must be tough and a worry for when you reurn to work. We never pushed it because I work at home but Alidia has never been happy to take a bottle and has only had about 3 or 4 in her 9 1/2 months of life! :/ So I obviously have no room to dish out advice. Good luck though!! And wow, he is so adorable in this photo! :) His skin looks so soft!
One great resource I have found is Isis parenting. They have a ton of recorded webinars. Here's the breastfeeding page http://www.isisparenting.com/page/webinarsbreastfeeding
It looks like on Feb 9 they covered breastfed babies who won't take a bottle. Maybe that would help?
Can you try having whoever will be keeping him when you go back give it to him? Another friend of mine tried everything (everyone in her family couldn't get him to take one) and his first day at daycare he took it right away. We've had good luck with the Medela bottles. I'm guessing he just prefers you now, but hopefully he will adapt once he's in a routine when you go back. Sadie doesn't eat a lot while I'm at work, but I am not up all night with her. She eats more frequently all evening though. Hugs, mama, going back to work is so tough.
Also, do you have a lactation consultant you can talk to? Or a local nursing support group? They may be able to help. My LC helped me with my pump and everything.
ok, your son is just so cute. I have been a follower but don't think I have commented. But have to now bc he is such a cutie.
I wish I had some great advice, but it sounds like you are doing everything we tried when we were first bottle feeding. Hang in there!! Sounds like you are being awesome and very patient and loving, which is so beautiful to hear!
And, I have to just say that he is truly one of the cutest babies I have ever seen in my life!!
When I had trouble breastfeeding I used a tube attached to a plunger you slowly pushed the milk thru the tube. Maybe they can use that during the day while also having them work with the bottle.
Bottom line is that when you are not there and all he has is a bottle and he's hungry he will eat. Keep practicing but he won't starve and he'll learn =)
I'm glad you found some help through Isis. I live nowhere near them but I seriously love those webinars. They do a weekly sleep webinar and a weekly breastfeeding one, in addition to other regularly scheduled ones. I've gotten a lot of tips about pumping/storing milk, and they helped us tremendously in preparing for daylight savings time!
I dont have any more advice for you but I really hope he figures it out and starts taking a bottle. My nephew refused the bottle and my bother and SIL tried everything under the sun, he would go the entire day without eating no matter how hungry he was while she was at work. It was hard on my SIL but he didnt starve and was still content while at daycare. You are doing everything you can, will be thinking about you!
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