starting work soon - baby will not take bottle!

[mixplatemommy]

I am new to this community, though ive had a subscription to the mag for years :)

I had my baby boy 2monthes ago, and am planning to return to work soon. i have a battery-powered double pump, and the nicest set of glass bottles with the cutest rubber covers... but... baby boy wont take the bottle! any tips?

[carrierwright]

It's usually slow going when you first introduce a bottle to an excl breastfeeder. Things that some moms find helps are:

-Having someone other than mom offering the bottle (ie mom leave the room! babies can smell mama milk!)

-Offering the bottle before baby is very hungry (so trying b/w nursings when he may be more patient)

-Hold baby in the nursing position when bottle feeding (teach dad how to feel like he's bfing)

-Dripping a small amt of pumped milk onto the babies lips and letting him lick it as you gently offer the bottle

-If he doesn't take it, just breathe, nurse, and try again in a day or two. (It sometimes takes several tries)

Good luck! With my 2nd I had the option of going to him at lunchtime and nursing which helped both of us greatly! Welcome to the forums!

[no5no5]

Welcome. 

Have you tried having someone else feed him, when you're not around?  I've heard that often babies will take bottles from everyone but mama.  That wasn't the case for us...DD basically wouldn't take the bottle from anyone, under any conditions.  She'd drink probably 2 ounces a day (if that), and I went back to work when she was 3 weeks old.  But she was very healthy, nursed a ton at night, and gained weight well, so we just didn't worry about it. 

I hope it works out for you.  Good luck.   

[mixplatemommy]

yes, my hus tried a bottle that i pumped while i went to run a few errands... didnt work. came home to an upset fussy hungry baby boy. just about broke my heart! this was only a 3hour break... how on earth is he gonna be able to get thru my 8hour work day? 

[no5no5]

He'll learn to take a bottle, or he'll learn to nurse more at night to make up for it.  It will be okay. 

[carrierwright]

Remember too, in the event that he still refuses on your first few days, the caretaker can feed him w/a medicine dropper, a mini cup, by finger feeding, etc. (although the medicine dropper seems to be the easiest and most accessible) Just keep attempting every day or two w/hubby's help and keep those back up thoughts in mind. And it's true, many babies reverse cycle and will only eat once or twice while mom is gone and then nurse like crazy throughout the night. This was the case w/my #2 and it worked out well. I needed baby cuddles at night anyways!

[mclisa]

Try having someone feed him just before he wakes up from a nap.  My 2nd wouldn't take a bottle very well and I worked overnights.  My poor DH learned to either live with her wimpering while she waited it out for me or to sneak a bottle in before she was awake enough to know what was in her mouth.

[drobinson]

I had the same problem when I was preparing to return to work. When you could get her to keep the bottle in her mouth, DD tried to chew the bottle nipple rather than suck.  I tried every type of nipple there was and finally settled on Playtex latex nipples. Not my first choice, but it's what would work for my DD. The other big discovery we made was the temperature of the milk. We would heat it, but we didn't realize it wasn't warm enough. Finally, I realized she was used to it being body temperature and it wasn't quite that warm in the bottle. Once we got it a little warmer, she sucked the bottle dry in no time! Good luck! :)