Not liking dummy or bottle

Ok i have been slowly trying for the last 3-4wks to give DS a bottle of expressed milk with no luck. Have tried closer to nature and avent bottles/teats. Iv tried when hes hungry, when hes happy, when hes tired and he just cries and wont suck. Same goes for dummy, i wanted to use one as a sleep aid, as he comfort sucks for a few minutes before sleeping, but he doesnt suck on them and if i try and hold it for him in his mouth i get the screaming grumpy face. Have tried tomme tipee, avent and some other type. He has no problems sucking/latching etc and feeds great and will suck my finger and he sucks his knuckles on the odd occasion

Help! is there a trick to it??? or do i just have a boobie man

I have persevered and have got DD taking the dummy, but it took a long time, sometimes she wants it now and other times NO WAY! Have you tried different dummies? I found the NUK ones best and the new ones are very light so dont fall out as easy. Had no trouble with getting her to take a bottle, although she gives DH a strange look on the odd occasion she has one!

I find tapping the end of the bottle or the outside of the dummy works, this is also what the baby whisperer says about giving a bottle to tap the end of it, something about the vibration???

Sorry I am not much help.

Edited for speling

Edited by HeidisMum

thanks for the advice, its just nice to know im not the only one! im not as fussed about the dummy, but it would be nice to get him liking a bottle so i can have some me time.

what about when bubs are older, if he doesnt like expressed milk out of bottle would he take formula? or would i just go onto solids? with boob top ups?

Hi, I have only had any luck with the NUK dummies. The NUK bottles and teats are good too for those babies that fuss over them. Try using latex dummies and teats instead of silicon as it has a more natural feel for them. You can get them at the Baby Factory (although they tend to be badly stocked) and the Pharmacy 547 on Grey Street, Ham East. Pharmacy 547 is always well stocked with the teats and dummies and they are very nice there too.
I had huge supply problems with Dom and had to express 3 times a day to make sure he had enought milk for his evening feed. I did it for 7 months and never want to have to do that again but here is what I learnt, I hope it helps a bit.
Is the milk freshly expressed? Or has it been in the fridge? EBM goes off and changes taste very quickly. Milk expressed in the morning is best used by the afternoon. If you freeze it then it needs to be defrosted immediately before you use it, don't get it out in the morning to defrost in fridge and use it in the afternoon, it will be off by then. When you heat your breast milk do so by placing the bottle in a jug of boiled water. You can keep putting the bottle back in the jug of water to rewarm during the feed but you can't use that milk again for the next feed (but you will know that one). I wouldn't expect him to take more than 150ml-ish at 4 weeks.
I notice you are in Hamilton, if you really want to get him on to taking a bottle, even if its is just to get a break every now and then, I would suggest going to see the ladies at the Waikato Family Centre, ph: 834 2036. They are absolutely wonderful women up there and Moreen has won an OBE for her services to Midwifery and her work at the family centre. Give them a ring first as they are very busy and explain that you want him to learn to take a bottle, they will get you all sorted. Best of luck!
Thats pretty much all I know but if you want anymore help you are more than welcome to email me at saffrondaya@hotmail.com

I couldnt get Ruby to take a dummy and she still wont.

She wouldnt take a bottle either but I kept expressing and freezing most of it and just heating her up 20 mls at a time. We changed to the closer to nature teats and just kept trying every night and eventually she got the hang of it. I hated wasting breast milk when she wouldnt drink it.

If you just keep trying they eventually get the hang of it.

I think i might have solved it! I had been using the tablets to sterilise everything. i know that it did make everything smell a bit sterile. I had a microwave steriliser so ran everything through that a couple of times and hes loving the dummy. well until it falls out. havent tried a bottle yet, but we are getting somewhere, at least he sucks at the dummy now.

durhh i should have clicked that he didnt like the aftertaste. oh well its a big learning curve.