question help
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9561
Printed Date: 22 December 2025 at 7:27pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: question help
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Subject: question help
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 6:46am
|
Was going to do seperate posts but figured 1 would be more time efficiant as Jack will want attention again soon (he seems to be listening to barney, why I have it on I have no idea!)
1) thumb sucking. Jack seems to be starting to do this, and I really don't want him to. Do you think I can stop him? I tried yesterday putting his dummy in instead (he usually has it for sleeping only), he just pulled it out with the left hand and shoved the right thumb in. I am thinking I might be fighting a loosing battle but figured I would ask for advice. 2) weening. We are about to start weaning Jack. We have tried him on the odd bottle of formula so he got a taste for it, but he has only drunk one, and lately he just screams when he has the bottle and given he is going to day care in 2 months I think I need to start. So does anyone have any tips? thats it for now TIA ------------- "> 
|
Replies:
Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 6:53am
I'm not going to be much help on the thumb sucking as I really don't know - I do think (or is it hope  ) that most babies out-grow it on their own.
As for the bottle, maybe try a few different types to find one that Jack likes. We tried 2 diff brands before finding one that Gina likes - we use the Tommee Tippee closer to nature. Good luck ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: MyMinis
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 7:25am
|
Haleigh did the same thing with ehr dummy at 3wks and she sucks her thumb when she goes to sleep or is real tired. It has never bothered me I preferthe thumb to the dummy personally (even though James has a dummy lol).
Im pretty sure they grow out of it, its more of a security thing for them. In regards to weaning Im not sure sorry, Haleigh went to the bottle when i couldnt b/feed anymore and was having EBM but i slowly made the switch to formula from EBM, have you tried a bottle like avent naturally or tommee tippee (nuborn or closer to nature) that have the teats flow clsoe to the breast flow?? Maybe bubs might take that ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
http://tweetytweety85.bebo.com - bebo |
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 7:40am
|
we have the avent and closer to nature ones and neither seems to work. Have tried EBM and formula too, even fresh expressed milk too and nothing.
As for the thumb sucking, I don't have a major problem with it, but my cousin was 12 when he stopped and don't want that. ------------- ">
|
Posted By: Kellz
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 8:38am
| Isla wouldnt take the bottle from anyone if I was even in the house until she got used to it. If she knew I was around she would rather have the boob! After a few goes I started coming itno the room while DH was feeding her, then it didnt take long til I got give her the bottle. Im still bf and forula feeding now with no probs. |
Posted By: thunderwolves
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 8:41am
|
for the bottle thing plunket says that you need to remember at that age they can go almost over night with out a feed so that can do that in the day. if it is getting to the stage where it is really important that they take a bottle you offer it at every feed and if they don't take it you don't offer them breast you just wait till next feed time and offer them the bottle again, it sounds harsh but this is a conversation that has come up at my coffee group a few times, lots of our mums are returning to work and having the same issues. I have no experience with it but I have heard it works. ------------- http://alterna-tickers.com"> 
|
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 9:13am
|
Sarah beth, try just a normal one.. reason being, some babies do well with the wide-neck fancy bottles, others just prefer the plain old cheap ones.. grab a normal tommee tippee plain old bottle, which should come with a standard round teat, you could also try an orthodontic teat which are usually about $5 for a two pack from memory, which are the flat ones.. we used these as paris would only take those ones.. reason being that they were shaped exactly the same as her dummy teat, so we were a bit sneaky!!! try letting someone else give him the bottle, if you give it may be he fusses because he can still smell you and this isn't the usual way you feed him. overall with stuff like that it really just depends on the child. Paris took the bottle wonderfully, ayja was pig-headed and refused nearly all her bottles, even if they had ebm in them instead of formula (hence why i gave up expressing cos it was getting chucked most days anyway). That's another thing you could try ... does it make difference if it is expressed milk not formula?
In the end i was lucky enough that I was able to go to the daycare to feed between classes and at lunch times so really ayja still got the milk even if she refused the bottle. Is there a possibility that you will be able to even go at luchtimes? if you are going back at in 2 months, by then his feedings will have changed etc with introduction of solids too. (sorry such a long post) ha ha, with the dummy/thumb thing. if he wants his thumb he's gonna get it. Babies do put their hands in their mouth it may be chance that it's his thumb that ends up there, they like to suck their hands etc, if he spits his dummy out he's prob not interested in sucking per say just in exploring and sticking stuff in their mouths at this age is their way of doing that.. i spose the good thing about thumbs is they don't get lost at night and you don't have to get up and find em 20 times a night cos they've fallen out. from having paris with a dummy, and having ayja who sucked at her hands.. (and has now stopped apart from the odd really tired occasion) i must say the thumb was much easier as she just grew out of it, none of the ditching the dummy dilemmas. ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja 
|
Posted By: jack_&_charli
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 9:57am
we had trouble with our jack having a bottle too at around the same age sarah beth. he took it fine for about a month then flat out refused for a couple of months and then started taking it again...strange boy! the only thing i can suggest is to just keep at it
charli needed a dummy from about 3wks old. it was weird for us as i always said i'd never use them. we didn't with jack because he never wanted it but charli did. she got to about 3mths and she preferred the thumb over the dummy so we got rid of them. as janine said, at least you won't need to get up and put it back in his mouth and a thumb can't get lost  try not to stress about it, jack may grow out of it as he gets older and is past the 'explorer stage'------------- http://www.alternatickers.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 10:41am
|
well tried the first bottle, he ended up being breast fed as he screamed and screamed, what was awful as he kept going for his thumb for comfort. Will get hubby to try again when he is at home and hopefullt he has better luck ------------- ">
|
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 10:47am
|
I'd say you'd be fighting a losing battle over the thumb sucking, thumbs aren't like dummys in that you can't take them away! My brother sucked his thumb until he was well into primary school,but there are ways to get a preschooler to stop thumb sucking if it bothers you such as using a star chart/reward system or some of the paint you can get to stop nail biting which will make his thumb taste yucky. I'd be inclined to say don't force the issue atm tho coz it's obviously a comfort thing, and all babies find their own comfort thing. Sienna sucks the back of her wrist, Mercedes sucks her Peter Rabbit cuddly and Maya still has her Fussy Bubba, it's become almost like part of her identity.
As for bottles, like Natalie said perseverance is the key. Maya was a stubborn wench and wouldn't take a bottle no-how, no-way, no matter which type of bottle it was or what was in it. She eventually got over it at about 9 months and suddenly started taking the bottle. But if you need Jack to take a bottle sooner then offer it at every feed and if he refuses it, don't offer the breast and then offer the bottle again at the next feed. Eventually he'll get hungry enough and take it. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 10:56am
 I don't want to hear my bubba scream for food. Think I will need to do this when hubby is home.
I agree I am fighting a losing battle on the thumb. He has it wrapped with that hand down now, but the otherone I have let him have as he seems to feel better with one out at the moment. What I can't believe is he was taking a bottle fine of EBM and even drunk formula, we had 1 week where we didn't and now he wont take forumla or EBM. ------------- ">
|
Posted By: Andie
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 11:18am
|
Babies usually grow out of the thumb-sucking pretty early on... for now it's probably a nice comfort to him and keeps him a little happier when he's tired (everyone wins! I wish you all the best on the bottle battle. Maybe ask Brenna's mum Anna - she's fought many bottle strikes. Sometimes it's a stage thing - they just randomly refuse it for some time, then one day take to it again. I know that's not much help though, sorry! I guess all I could say is try not to make it a battle of the wills, because babies tend to always win those and they're not worth the stress they cause anyway. If it's getting too close to the time he needs to be bottle-savvy, maybe leave him with DH for a Saturday and let someone else (who doesn't have the option B of offering boobies) try to break him in. Some babies are so bright they just know you've got milk on you already and will hold out 'till they can get that! ------------- Andie |
Posted By: susieq
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 12:23pm
|
You will just as the others have said perservere with the bottle
as for the thumb kelly took caitlyns dummy off her at a year or so and she has sucked her thumb ever since and I am sure will outgrow it |
Posted By: Leish
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 12:25pm
|
Hey SB. Noah likes to suck him thumb and it was hard at first not to yank it back out again when he started putting it in there on purpose. I don't really like it but he doesn't do it all that often. Usually only when he is really tired and then I know to get him to bed. He sometimes sucks it when he is in his cot and trying to get to sleep. I think in the end, it's helped settle him a bit and thats been a good thing.
Good luck with the bottle issue. I hope it works out for you soon. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 12:34pm
On the bottle thing, I don't have much advice but Hannah was about 6mos when she started to refuse EBM in the bottle and would wait 2 hours for me to get home  The fortunate thing for you is that he will be partly on solids in the next two months so if he refuses the bottle for his carer they can at least give him food. I tried to get Briona to drink formula by dribbling it into the corner of her mouth when she was bf off me  lol it was the best way to get her used to the taste initially but I ended up giving up for some other reason which I can't remember!
Kryssi will take ebm or formula, she doesn't care, but she will NOT feed her "time for sleep" feed on the bottle (even though on me she doesn't properly fall asleep). Just her way. About thumb sucking, well I also sucked my thumb until I was 12  but by that time it was well and truly an "on my own" thing, mostly to go to sleep. Children give up thumb sucking when they are ready. Hannah sucks her two fingers but it is getting less and less, and while it used to be for tiredness or when she was unsure in a new situation, now it's really only for sleeping - she's just done that on her own. Briona had a dummy, she was never a thumb/finger sucker, but after she started eating it at 8mos we had to wean her off it cold turkey! After which time she started doubling over her tongue and sucking on that. Children will find a way to suckle something for comfort; I wouldn't really worry about it. Oh yea Krystiana already suckles her finger/fist.------------- |
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 1:59pm
|
well round 2 of formula has not gone well either, and resulted in me in tears. I tried the bottle (a different one this time), he cried, I then had a brillant plan, I could syringe it into his mouth so he recoginised the taste, and he takes the syringe for his medicine. The plan eventually worked, but with a 3ml syringe, formula feeding would take a very long time, so when he was swallowing most of what I gave him I tried the bottle again, and he screamed, and screamed, and screamed, and kept looking at me with sad eyes wondering why I was doing this to him (well I think so, he couldn't tell me). So I gave in and gave him the breast. I know I am now teaching him, if I scream loud enough and long enough mum will give me what I want, but I think this will be a 2 man job to wean him and hubby wasn't home.
Is a bit upsetting as was hoping that i could breast feed for morning and night and bottle feed the rest but I get the feeling that now that he will just wait for those feeds. On the plus side, I tried him with his sippy cup today and he loved it! Drunk the water, had a grin on his face, and loved holding it himself and throwing it around ------------- ">
|
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 2:14pm
| If he loves the sippy cup could you put the formula in that? |
Posted By: my2angels
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 2:14pm
|
I think with the bottle thing your best to try get hubby or someone to give it to them. If he is taking forumla through the syringe its possibly not the taste of it but the bottle itself. If you try it though and he can smell you then he wont want a bar of the bottle where as dad doesnt smell like milk! What about putting forumla into a sippy cup.
I wouldnt worry about the thumb thing. I would prefer my kids to have thumb rather than dummy. Kobe didnt like either and Addison hated the dummy but sucks her thumb and pulls her ear when she is tired. When they get older is when i would be worried bout doing something about it. |
Posted By: SMoody
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 6:34pm
|
I wont worry about the thumb sucking right now. McKayla's godmother just use to put a plaster on it and they hate sucking on it then. Maybe that is a way to go a bit later on. Just use one that isnt smooth on the outside so it isnt that nice to suck on
Sorry no advice on the weaning. Hope it goes easy for the both of you. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 7:04pm
Even the smooth ones taste yuk  ------------- |
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 7:44pm
|
well hubby tried and the same result, so I let him skip the feed and it didn't phase him. So I called plunket, and after feeling like I was being told off I got some good advice.
1. See if daycare will feed him with a cup instead of bottle. 2. Breast feed him first, when he comes off, before I offer the other side give him the bottle with 50ml or so of formula and let him just play with it, no pressure, so he gets the feel of the teat again. 3. If he still wont take it, he will learn to after a few days at daycare. It will mean that he will have a very upset night, but after 1 week he should be sorted. Also he will be on solids which will help. So new plan of attack tomorrow... watch this space ------------- ">
|
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 9:09pm
|
Good luck Sarah Beth! ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 31 July 2007 at 9:20pm
Cup sounds like a good plan. And I wonder if he'll be more open to it when he's a little older.... although I understand the feeling of urgency that you have.  ------------- |
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Date Posted: 02 August 2007 at 10:29am
|
OK so I have tried the ideas I was given and have actually managed to get the teat into his mouth but that is it. I tried the cup today which resulted in tears by both of us in the end and I ended up calling my plunket nurse who was much nicer (the plunket line one gave me the imression that she thought I shouldn't wean him, or go back to work). Similar sort of advice, but mainly, get someone else to do it, offer lots of encouragement to him, and she has found that walking around with bubs seems to help and make sure they are really hungry because as she put it, would you want dinner after eating pudding.
Here is the really funny thing though. I really haven't enjoyed breast feeding. it has been the subject of a lot of guilt by me as many people want to but can't, and I knew it was best for Jack and couldn't understand why I didn't enjoy it when everyone else seemed to love it. Now I have decided to give it up, he wont let me! So to make myself feel better, I am now half way through a packet of chocolate biscuits. Thank goodness Jack doesn't have issues when I eat chocolate! ------------- ">
|
Posted By: Sarah Beth
Date Posted: 02 August 2007 at 10:54am
|
hmmmm, I was sitting here trawlling the internet and suddenly realised, my thumb was in my mouth! I have never sucked my thumb! ------------- ">
|
Posted By: Andie
Date Posted: 02 August 2007 at 12:55pm
|
,,,he he, but is it working for you, SB - are you feeling more relaxed?!! Classic time to start! I feel for you on the breastfeeding thing - don't feel at all guilty about not enjoying it... I didn't enjoy it one bit either. Neither did Ella. And as much as I love & appreciate Plunket, they can be really hard to get support for bottle-feeding from. Formula companies have lots of advice to dish out, but because of NZ's 'breast is best' policy, they're unable to offer the advice unless you contact them and ask. Worth a shot. I hope Jack doesn't put up much more of a fight - feeding battles are exhausting for the mums! ------------- Andie |
