Karitane/bottle feeding

Has someone been to Karitane to get help with bottle feeding? My baby refuses to eat and is loosing weight, I self referred to karitane and would like to know how long is the waiting list, what to expect and if it helped you and your baby? I’m feeling defeated, seen other babies having their full bottles and I’m struggling so much getting my 5 month old to have even 50 ml every 4-5 hours Thank you

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Hey - I went through the same thing with my then 4/5 month old. I read a book on bottle aversion by Rowena Bennett at the time and followed everything she advised to a tee and he was back to drinking full bottles within a couple of days. I’d even signed up to the consultancy service that is suggested in the book but ended up cancelling on the day as my son had started drinking again. I feel your pain - we tried everything at the time and this was literally our last attempt before getting a referral for help. We also found that the nipple on the bottle wasn’t suitable for him so ended up using the mam bottles that have a flat nipple. Good luck and here if I can help in anyway.

@Hari i purchased the book yesterday and started reading it but im just so scared my LO will loose even more weight. I guess i will just need to try and see how it goes. Did your baby loose too much weight while doing so? How long it took your son to take a full feed? How did you realise about the nipple not being suitable for your Bub?Thanks xx

Honestly I didn’t weigh him, didn’t need the added pressure. As soon as I started following the advice he was back to drinking a full bottle by the second day. Don’t put pressure on yourself or your little one - they 100% can sense it and will just pushback. There’s always the consultancy service if you feel you need to speak with someone quickly. If you feel LO is losing weight then would suggest getting to the doctors who may be able to push a quicker referral. But I do really believe if you follow what’s advised in the book then LO will get back to drinking.

Can second what Hari has said about following the recommendations in Bennett’s book. It happened at the same time for my little one (4/5 months), who was mixed fed. Only took a day or two from memory and she was back to enjoying and finishing her bottles. We also didn’t weigh, as didn’t need the added stress but I did book a GP appt for a wellness check to ensure she wasn’t dehydrated, as at the time it was summer and very hot!

Thank you for your suggestions, will finish the book and follow the recommendations Im just feeling so stressed and sad all the time, its so hard to see other babies excited to drink when they see their bottles, mine is completely the opposite and its just a battle every single feed. I feel like im failing as a mum, I feel my baby is failing in doing something that should come naturally for him. I’m just exhausted