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I need to return to work but bub rejects the bottle every time. What can I do?


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  • I think you should be able to find bottle teets that are closer to a real feel.


  • I struggled getting my son to drink from the bottle, he was breast fed too. I did end up giving the bottle to dad to try. It worked


  • It maybe is needed you don’t give it yourself, but your partner/someone else whilst you take distance


  • Be persistent and keep trying until he learns how to take the bottle if he’s still not interested consult your local child health nurse


  • Experiment with different teats until you find one he will take. It may be a lot of tries before he works out that’s where he’ll get his milk from. Try the ones that are more breast shaped.


  • I found, after alot of trial & error, that I needed a faster flow teet than recommended for my bub’s age as I have a really fast let down. Good luck! Also I squished the bottle up against my breast and snuggled her up really tight & she got used to it, although that Sid not work with my eldest son. I think I persisted more with 2 & 3 knowing I would need to return to work.


  • I used the closer to nature and the Nubi bottles as they have breast shapes teats. My LO took the closer to nature one for about a month but refused for ages. I bought the Nubi brand ones and bought the fast flow teat 6 mths plus and she started taking the bottle. The other ladies are right you just have to find the right bottle. It will be costly but worth it in the long run.
    Good luck!!!


  • Persist! if you have to bottle feed then expressed milk is best if you can. There are a lot of different teat shapes these days & it may be just a matter of finding the right one for your bub, different positions may help too, if she is used to laying down & feeding try that or maybe try getting another person to feed her. my bub wouldn’t take a bottle from me but was quite happy with anyone else…I think she was calling me a fraud!


  • Thanks ladies for the wonderful responses!!


  • Try using the Mimijumi bottle, its shaped almost like a breast. It helped reverse for my son and assisted in helping him go back to my breast after a long stay in hospital at three months where they refused to let me breastfeed.


  • Try different tips on the bottles, some let to much air in and others not enough. Also sometimes a bubs is smart enough to know if they refuse the bottle you will give into them to keep them happy. Also bubs can smell the milk on you so when starting to get bubs onto the bottle there is two ways about it. One is to get someone you trust to feed the bubs the bottle while you are in another room. This must be someone who will be patient with bubs if they dont take to it straight away.
    Another way is to if you are at your witts end is to try replacing the late night feed with a bottle, one where they are very sleepy like the late night feed (dream feed) if they have one where you can slip the bottle into their mouths and they might just sucking as they smell the milk. I found this the way to get my kids onto a bottle. Also make sure the temp is perfect for them or they will be put off a bottle.


  • My son did the same thing for a short amount of time but I found that I just had to find the right bottle and teat. Buy a select of different flows and shapes and hopefully you will find the right one (I think we tried about 6 before I found one he’s take)


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