Encouragement please. EBF baby to nursery

[Morello12]

Hi, just want some people to tell me it will be ok....

6 month old DD starts nursery 3 days a week and will be with DP 2 days a week when I go back to work in 2 months.

She has just started weaning and it is going ok, and she is starting to learn to use a sippy cup. She can hold it, get it to her mouth, suck the spout but hasn't quite mastered swallowing ...cute!

However, she is a real bottle refuser. I am now trying daily with a NUK and sometimes she tolerates it in her mouth, sometimes (when she is hungry) not so much, but either way she won't drink from it. Occasionally an ounce over a really long period of time, but no where near enough...

I know I need to keep trying, and maybe it won't be the bottle but the sippy cup that she learns from first....but sometimes the thought of leaving her is so sad and SO much worse thinking it will be traumatic for her cos there is no boob.

Just want someone to tell me it will be ok...

It will be okay

She may take a week or so to adjust but she'll survive that week no problems. My own ebf baby is just off out for the day with her father and brother, no bottle or anything (what is the fecking point if they don't take it). He'll ply her with food and water, then she'll make up what she's missed when I see her.

She is only just 11mo and has been able to do whole days for a few weeks now, but to be fair we've not tried until recently. In fact she had not been out of my presence by more than a room up until 5mo. We built up little stretches with her away, and she was always fine to stretch out the time between milk and make it up later.

A bit hungry is not a problem. If food and liquids are available then she will be okay and any refusal will not be to the point at which her health is compromised. Otherwise we'd hear it all the time, wouldn't we, stories of children who've wasted away in protest at their mum working, or women who had to give up because their baby couldn't survive without them?

The thing is you can't see how she'll do it and you don't know how she will adjust and it feels like you need to know in order to facilitate it. But you don't need to know, you'll work it out with her and her other care givers at the time.

If I was you I'd be building up her tolerance to you being away for little periods, that's the thing which will be tougher imo - going from with you all the time to not seeing you in the day. But again, that's survivable and she will adjust. Your major task is to signal to her that you are relaxed and happy and unconcerned by the changes and she'll more likely take your lead.

Good luck. It's a massive leap and like everything to do with children, these stepping stones just happen whether you feel prepared for them or not; ime parenthood is like this from pregnancy onward. Welcome to the next bit!