I’ve given it my all, I really have. But I need to get my baby on a bottle, I’ve tried everything I can think of, all bottles, all formulas, expressed breastmilk, the second the teat touches his lips it’s full on meltdown. I’ve left the house, he screams until I’m back. He’s 5 months old, the 4th baby. He needs the boob so much, constantly. My toddler is currently unwell, and if I put bub down and he can’t use me as a dummy he screams, he latches all night every night, if I try to get up to the toilet or to attend to another child, he looses it. I’ve broken out in a rash head to toe, my doctor said it could be related to the stress of the breastfeeding, it flares as soon as I feed him and I wake up bleeding because I’m scratching in my sleep whilst my baby is feeding all night. He won’t take a dummy, he isn’t on solids yet either. I’m really lost on what to do, I know it’s whats best for him but my other kids are really suffering and so is my mental health. Any advice appreciated.
Boob to bottle HELP
Boob to bottle HELP
Posted in:
Mental Health, Self Care, Parenthood Guilt, Baby & Toddler, Baby Feeding, Kids
7 Replies
Momma you absolutely do not need to justify coming off the boob! I too gave up the boob as it affected my mental health and it happens more times than spoken about!!!
I would advise you consult a lactation consultant ASAP, I know people assume they’re for breastfeeding however they helped me to latch my son to bottles and we had a great journey of formula in bottles
I failed. No joy until I returned to work and she had to accept a bottle. But.... The impact on me changed when solids commenced
5 months is a fabulous achievement. I always found my two would only take a bottle off other people at first. I’d choose one option and just consistently keep offering them. You can also start solids if there is good head control. That will start to sustain him more and he will be less reliant on liquid feeds. The comfort feeding is going to be harder to move forward from. Keep trying the dummy it’s going to be tough but you have to try feed him only when you feel he could be hungry. Ie no more than every 3 hours. I’m afraid life is going to get harder before it gets better!
We used the medela bottles
Good luck mumma
Is everything ok with bub? A 5 month old isn't normally needing to be on the boob constantly. I agree with maybe needing some professional help to make the transition. I know my cousin had an issue transferring over so she sent bub to her sisters house for the weekend so there was no mum at all to comfort and had to take the bottle but her baby was older than yours and on solids so not such a big deal if she didn't take the bottle. Good luck mummma. Hopefully you find a solution soon. Breastfeeding is hard work x
Why do you need to wean from the breast though? Some babies just WONT take an artificial teat
Why? Because she wants to..?
I had the exact same happen with my son- he wouldn’t even take solid food until he was 11 months. I tried different bottles, pumped breast milk, different formula, even formula with a little bit of milo mixed in as my maternal health nurse suggested. He would gag on everything that went in his mouth including the dummy. I was exhausted. my hair was falling out by the time he was 9 months old and my skin was all flaky coz he wanted to just feed. At 11 and a half months, I tried cows milk in a sippy cup. He took it. I still continued breastfeeding until 3 weeks after his first birthday as well as cows milk in a sippy cup and then I stopped cold turkey. It took 2 days for him not to care. I tried to breastfeed him after 3 days of stopping coz I missed it, and he gagged on me so that was done haha 😂
Does your bub eat solid foods? Yogurt? Maybe try a little bit of milo in bottle to encourage your baby to take it and see what happens? It wouldn’t be for every bottle of course, just the beginning to see if it helps.. It didn’t work for me, but might for you. I know I will be attacked for suggesting that, but your own sanity is important.