CLUELESS...help me please

[Bloodsocks]

I will be going back to work at the beginning of December when my dd will be 8 months. I'm really worried about her going hungry throughout the day as I breast feed. She refuses a bottle and does not seem to like formula. We've given it in a sippy cup, bottle and doidy cup, she spits it out and hardly drinks any and wont suck on the bottle.

I've been weaning her for the past three weeks which is going well, I'm doing a mixture of purée and finger food and she feeds herself everything using a spoon or her hands but she doesn't eat much at the minute.

How do I start to prepare her for me going back to work? I've got around 8 weeks or so to get her drinking formula. She will be going to my PIL and my mums for 3 days a week. I'm getting really worried that she won't be able to cope.

Oh I meant to add, I'm still wanting to continue breastfeeding in the mornings and evenings and on my days off. I just don't see how to reduce daytime feeds to prepare her.

Have you tried expressing and feeding from a bottle, then graduating to mixing bm with formula in the bottle, then phasing bm out of bottle. This may ease the transition.

I can't express very much, takes about half an hour to get an ounce. she used to take a bottle and a dummy but now refuses both.

I'm glad she likes boob so much as we're skint but its frustrating when I'm lying awake panicking she is going to starve for 9 hours 3 days a week.

That's ages away, Bloodsocks - how about stopping worrying and instead enjoying the time you have with her? By 8 months almost all babies will take a cup with help and if you worry about her not taking in sufficient fluid/milk when you're away, the PILs and your mum can add milk/water to her solids :)

Give it a rest for a couple of weeks at least so she forgets the stress and difficulty and awkwardness with cups/bottles and then intro a cup as something to play with. No pressure on anyone :)

I had this (though LO would take expressed milk); at 6.5 months we started weaning, still 5-6 feeds in daytime (7/7)! By 7.5 months he was fine on 4 feeds (am, mid morning, mid afternoon, bed) and making up the difference with food ;mixture of finger food & purée. Even of your LO isn't eating much now she may well suddenly up her game!

The other thing that helped was that DS learned to drink Very quickly & easily from Tommee Tippee beaker. So I knew that he would get enough fluid even if it wasn't milk.

As its turned out he takes slightly less milk while he in child care and makes up for it when I get home/on my days off. It is amazing the difference a few weeks will make. Don't worry, I know you can get into a panic but it will fall into place and your little one will adapt!

I went back at 7m and while ds would take a bottle s quite happily he wouldn't from the cm, she just fed him food and water and I bf him when I was with him and it was fine. Try not to worry

Thanks everyone. its just she's such a hungry baby I can't imagine a time when she won't be on my boob for most of the day!

Now we're weaning I'm slightly happier to start thinking of leaving her with grandparents so once I've educated them that she has to hold the spoon/food herself I can start leaving her for half a day to see how everyone gets on.

She lasted just over 6 hours at 3 months old with no milk when I went to a wedding and she was fine then so I know I need to relax a bit!