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August 2011 Moms
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Bottle feeders, I need your help!! (long)

TanyaKMTanyaKM
in August 2011 Moms

So my EBF baby has only gained a few ounces from 3 to 4 months. He was gaining like a champ previously (doubled his birth weight by 3 months), but now he's stalled out. It also coincides with when my period started, so I'm assuming my supply was affected. 

Now the pedi wants me to supplement with formula and start rice cereal -- two things I hadn't planned on doing ever. I asked if I could try supplementing with pumped milk first to see if that makes a difference, but now LO simply refuses to take a bottle. He's had a bottle every week or two since about 4 weeks and has never had a problem with it up until now.

He won't even suck on it... he just pushes the nipple around with his tongue. I've tried different bottles, different nipples (slow, medium, fast), different milk temperature, different seating positions, different times of day (hungry, not so hungry, etc.). I've left the house and DH has tried, even though he's taken a bottle from me fine in the past.

I'm at the end of my rope because I'm trying desperately to get more calories into this baby!! I'm pumping around the clock, pounding water and mother's milk tea and eating oatmeal, but all this stress isn't good for my supply. He needs to start taking a bottle again. Any advice? Any tips? Any idea why he would suddenly refuse the bottle?? 

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Re: Bottle feeders, I need your help!! (long)

  • danni914danni914 member
    Is he showing any signs of teething?  DD will refuse the bottle when her gums are irritated and the sucking aggravates them more.  My pedi's advice when this first started happening and I didn't know what was causing it was to give tylenol 20 minutes before the bottle and see if she would take it.  That's how we figured out it was her gums because she gobbled down the next bottle after the tylenol.  Now it doesn't happen all the time and I only use the tylenol at the lowest dose possible as a last resort when all else fails.
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  • TanyaKMTanyaKM

    imagedanni914:
    Is he showing any signs of teething?  DD will refuse the bottle when her gums are irritated and the sucking aggravates them more.  My pedi's advice when this first started happening and I didn't know what was causing it was to give tylenol 20 minutes before the bottle and see if she would take it.  That's how we figured out it was her gums because she gobbled down the next bottle after the tylenol.  Now it doesn't happen all the time and I only use the tylenol at the lowest dose possible as a last resort when all else fails.

    He is drooling and chewing his hands a lot, but I can't see anything on his gums and he's not fussy (unless there is a bottle in his face!). That's something else to consider though... thank you!! 

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  • JaysonandKristinJaysonandKristin member

    Doll told me that I should try making DH give the bottle because if he's in my arms he wants nothing but BOOB.  Nothing else will make him happy.

    We tried DH and had no success, but DH was a cranky b!tch that night and didn't want to work at it.  So, he gave up quickly.  The logic makes sense, and I'd heard it before but just forgotten the trick. 

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  • danni914danni914 member
    She wasn't fussy either but would spit the nipple out and smile at me so I didn't think it was the teething either originally.  She still hasn't had a tooth come through yet to date also.
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  • rosegutrosegut
    I didnt BF, but my best friend did and she had to use a brown/tan nipple to get her LO to take the bottle. Have you tried the darker colored nipples?
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  • navybride06navybride06 member

    My kids are only FF fed but I have experienced this as well.  Ditto PP about teething and Tylenol try that.  We use a mixture of bottles instead of just 1 type daily so they don't get hooked to just 1 kind.  We use disposable nipples when out for the to-go bottles. Avent, BornFree and TommeeTipee

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  • TanyaKMTanyaKM

    imagerosegut:
    I didnt BF, but my best friend did and she had to use a brown/tan nipple to get her LO to take the bottle. Have you tried the darker colored nipples?

    I picked some up today! 

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  • rosegutrosegut
    imageTanyaKM:

    imagerosegut:
    I didnt BF, but my best friend did and she had to use a brown/tan nipple to get her LO to take the bottle. Have you tried the darker colored nipples?

    I picked some up today! 

     

    GL!! I hope that helps!

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  • alliapistoralliapistor member

    My LO went through a period where he was refusing the bottle.  I nursed him for a few minutes to get him to calm down and then slipped the boob out and the bottle in.

    I agree that it could be teething though.

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