3 month old won't take a bottle while I'm at work...

[SarahDC]

I'm worried about my DD. Today was the second time (first was Friday) she refused a bottle from my mom who watches her while I'm at work. She nursed at 6 am and then didn't eat again until 1 pm when I got home. My mom said she was her usual happy self all morning and didn't act fussy/hungry at all, and wouldn't have anything to do with the bottle.

I don't think it's a nipple/bottle type issue because I've been back to work for 6 weeks now and she's taken the bottle just fine. And today she wouldn't even suck at all.

She's a chunk at 15 lbs 10 oz, so I'm not terribly worried about her growth, but is this a problem? Anybody dealt with this? I feel horribly guilty about going to work when she won't eat while I'm gone!

Edited to add - she's EBF and drinking pumped BM.

Sheesh, edited again because she's 3 months, not 4! Lack of sleep

[kriket]

I wouldn't be worried, well, I would worry, but if she isn't hungry she isn't hungry. My DH has an analogy that DS isn't hungry until he sees the sandwiches

You could try a finger feeder. If you get a small tube and cram it in the hole of the nipple you can hold it to your (clean) finger and let the baby suck that.

[averlee]

Maybe I'm crazy. But around 3 months, my daughter could drink from a cup with help, or from a spoon. Maybe you could try that? Sometimes I'd hand express breastmilk into a tiny bowl to relieve engorgement, and my daughter would get so excited to see the milk in the bowl, and she'd drink it.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by averlee

Maybe I'm crazy. But around 3 months, my daughter could drink from a cup with help,

You're crazy

I hear about young babies drinking from open cups a lot, and at 8m my son still can't figure it out. He can drink from the cup but can't swallow, it all just dribbles out. That is if the cat doesn't walk by mid-tip and he turn his head away real fast making you pour water in his ear!

When we were having problems early on the LC gave me this advice (with the spoon, I had no milk) and I tried my damnedest, and he just couldn't figure it out!

[SarahDC]

Thanks everyone! I will have my mom try a cup and/or a spoon.

[calebsmommy25]

I was watching a baby for a while she was 4 months when I started. She refused a bottle from me while her Mama was at work (for 5 hours). She just wanted to nurse. Her ped said not to worry, especially if they are growing fine and still eating normally otherwise. After about a month of trying, she got her a nipple that was like her paci. Orthodonic ones? They are like the nuk paci's I think. The baby did have a paci quite a bit, so that is what she was used to. It worked like a charm for her, but I think only because she used a paci so much.

What kind of bottles do you use? How about the adiri bottles? I have never used them, but they are supposed to be closest to actually breastfeeding.

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/produ...inaturalnurser

[taylorjmom]

same thing here

same thing here. My baby has done fine with a bottle especially since he was premature and could only drink from a bottle while i had to pump the rest of the time, but has exclusively nursed on me since he was 3 1/2 months but last week he refused his bottles at his babysitters, it worried me so i went out there the next day and breastfed him and he took right to it. She had said he wasn't fussy either the day he did not eat. So i took him to his dr. appt yesterday for his 6 month and the dr. didn't seem too worried about it, he basically said if he is hungry he will eat.