Breast feeding and returning to work-tell me it going to be alright.

[LJBanana]

So we are off on hols tomorrow with our 3 DC's. Surprisingly I have produced yet another bottle refusing baby. He is now 5 months and I've been trying daily since 6 weeks to get him to take a bottle.
There is no problem breast feeding him, he's been an easy baby so far, the only problem is 2 days after we come home I am going back to work.

It's not full time and it will mean I'm away from him for 4 hours maximum. What can I do? I've tried everything and I really mean everything. I had this with dc2 and it nearly broke me.
I don't want the holiday to be taken over with stress trying to get him to take it but I know I will be counting down the days until I have to leave him. Anyone had to leave their bf DC's for a fair few hours? I
know he won't starve and will make up for it etc, just the thought of it is making me anxious!

Have you tried a beaker? My DD never took bottles and when i went to work she was 9/10 months and they just gave her some milk in a beaker... some days she took only 1oz or 2 tops and then reverse cycled...

I've tried a beaker, sippy cup the works. He doesn't swallow it, it just poures out of his mouth.
I'm at the point of thinking he'll just have to get through the time,and then make up for it. Horrible thought!

I wouldn't stress about it tbh - you'll only be away from him for 4 hours, so whoever is looking after him can offer him milk (ebm or formula) in a beaker or bottle while he is with them, but he may well just wait for you, which would be fine

I had this with DC1 going back to work at 6mo and she wouldn't take milk anyhow except from my breasts. I was at work and away from her 8.30am to 5.30pm.

I got incredibly stressed about it.

It was fine, she ate lots of yoghurt/fromage frais and cheese in due course and we all lived to tell the tale.

Please don't stress, it will be ok. Just leave it and enjoy your last days of mat leave.

I had a bottle refuser. He just had water in a cup at nursery, and banana mashed up when other babies had milk feeds, then a feed with me at home at night.

I am going to introduce some food whilst we are away as then hes got 2 weeks to practice that too, so hopefully if he gets the hang of at least a yogurt that will be enough to get him through if he needs something.
Thanks for your replies, sometimes it's just enough to know others have been through the same!

Have you tried a Doidy cup or offering milk from the lid of a formula bottle. My dd will take milk this way as she laps at it rather than sucking which is more like the bf action.
A lot of mums find that a baby can quite happily cope without a bf for this length of time and wait until mum returns home.
Have you let someone else try feeding him when you are not ther. Also try different positions, eg holding him supported on the person feeding himself knee, facing them. Less like the bf position, this sometimes works.
Plenty of yoghurt and cheese in diet will help keep up calcium levels if nothing else.
Try not to stress too much and enjoy your holiday.

DS3 is my bottle refusnik par extraordinaire. He refused milk from anything other than me when I went back to work - but he would drink water from a sippy cup and eat solids and our nanny basically fed him lots of milk based foods (porridge, yoghurt, risotto etc) during the day. Also gave lots of avocado, home made houmous etc which helped up his fat intake. I only got him on solids a couple of weeks before returning to work too. It will be fine - feed just before you head off to work and he will do a mega cluster feed when you get back.

Yes I've tried the doidy cup, spoon, every bottle on the market other people, different positions- I even plonked him in front of Dora the explora in his car seat,thinking the utter size of the tv would either distract or terrify him into submission- it didn't- he did however pick up a but of Spanish!
I'm packing now and I'm taking 1 bottle, and some cartons and I will just get DP to try each day.
Dc2 was like this but finally cracked it after a really hardcore few days. This has been going on for ages though!!
Wish me luck!!!