Arghhh my baby won't take a bottle!!

I mentioned in my previous post that I would be returning to work soon and that Eben wouldn't take a bottle. Well the Mam bottle we had most success with now he won't accept at all! So I've switched to a cup! I've decided to completely abandon bottles and as Eben is nearly 6 months I no longer have to worry about sterilising do that's another plus. I guess I should count my blessing that he loves booby so much it saves me time as I don't have to sterilise anything and I know he's getting nutrition especially designed just for him. And I do love the cuddles that come with breastfeeding. Also if I go straight to cups I don't have to try to wean off the bottle at a year! I still at the back of my mind think I would feel more at ease with him going to nursery taking a bottle but I suppose we will have to see what happens. I've googled lots of things relating to my situation such as 'my baby will only breastfeed but I have to return to work' and 'how to get my baby to take a bottle'  and generally it seems that some babies just don't do bottles. Someone also wrote that their baby would drink all morning and evening but wouldn't drink a drop all day at nursery but was happy and content. That gives me some hope as in the last couple of days that I've been giving my son a cup I have managed to get him to take an ounce or two but it does take a long time! What I have found that's worked is sitting him in his bouncy chair so he's lying back slightly and giving him cold milk straight from the fridge. I think the milk coming from a cup so it's completely unlike a breast and serving the milk cold again unlike breast milk has made him accept the cup as just something random and new to try. To start with I was basically pouring some in his mouth and he would drink it! He has now started sucking it but as it's free flowing so it does come out more quickly than he's used to so we've had a few splutters. He also likes holding the handles so I'm trying to make it a game. Next week he'll have his first settling in session, which lasts 2 hours I'll send a cup of milk with him and see if they have any more success!

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16 weeks! Baby, body, time!

So I haven't written a blog post in a long time! It turns out having two children is bloody hard work!! Eben is now 16.5 weeks old today and he just has his vaccinations today 🙁. So I think our main struggle is bedtime and the fact that Eben hates (hopefully hated bottles!). Bedtime wasn't too bad whilst it was dark but now the evening are getting lighter it's harder to get both my boys down to sleep. It's hard to have routine as well when some days Reubies at nursery or his Nannas or my hubby is playing football or band practising. When we're having a good night Eben is asleep by about 8.30 and so is Reubie in his bed, then at about 3am Eben wakes for a feed and Reubie comes in bed with us and there's four in a bed! On a bad night there's 4 in a bed at 8.30 and Eben decides he wants to feed hourly!
As I said earlier Eben has been refusing bottles. I was hoping to get him to have one as I had a night out about 2 weeks ago now and was going to be away from him for 8 hours. Well I went out and Eben wouldn't take a bottle and spent the night screaming! We had tried tommee tippee closer to nature (which he fed from for a few occasions at around 6 weeks when I was exhausted) but he refused them, he also refused Avent, cheapo ones from poundland (Reubie used to love the cheapo ones! They have a super soft teat!) and we tried one we found in homebargains that Ican't remember the name of, the tiny premise cow and gate ones designed for newborns and Mam. He sort of seemed to like the cow and gate bottles but not enough to have more than a quarter of a bottle and they only hold 2 ounces! After my night out I stopped trying for a while as I thought it didn't matter if he wouldn't take s bottle as I wouldn't be leaving him again. Then the other day I realised its only 10 weeks until I'm back to work! So yesterday I got out the Mam bottle and tried it again and to my surprise he drank 3 1/2 oz! So my top is have your baby not on you if possible and facing away, I have him on a bouncy chair. I definitely recommend Mam bottles you can sterilise them in the microwave so fab if your going away as uou won't have to lug a steriliser away with you! Tonight was nearly as successful as yesterday. I got hubby to try and Eben decided to scream! I took over and breastfed him until he was settled and then snuck the bottle in and it worked! He took 2oz with hubby some how tgrough all the crying and another 3 from me! And currently as I type he's back on the boob do I'm hoping he's fed well and may sleep for a longer stretch than usual tonight!
Now at 16.5weeks since giving birth in definitely getting out more, we go to baby massage every Monday and in a Tuesday when Reubie goes to my mums Eben and I often join them but we walk the 4 miles there! I'm trying to lose my last bit of baby weight and I'm not very good at not eating chocolate so I'm trying to walk more! I lost a stone just giving birth and another in the following 2 weeks but the last stone was proving impossible but slowly but surely is coming off I've got just over half a stone to lose, it's not really about the weight though I just want to be able to wear all of my nice clothes!