Hello
I made a previous post about struggling to get DD to take a bottle at 8 weeks. I got great advice and switching from MAM to Lansinoh gave us hope as she started at least attempting to latch on it. Through gentle trying every day she will now take 60ml but she is still seeking out the breast afterwards and won’t settle - though 60ml is not a full feed she was seeking an alternative throughout my attempt today.
My husband will do the bottle feeding attempts when possible but it’s mostly me as he is at work until 6 and by then she is getting a little fussy and it doesn’t seem the best time. Consequently when she is being bottle fed there is a breast there and she wants it and is sometimes quite frustrated or upset that it doesn’t seem to be on offer. This is making me feel guilty and I’m questioning if this is all really worth it. We thought DH being able to give a bottle would mean I could go for a run etc. but now we are at 11 weeks, I’m wondering how much longer before that may be possible between feeds anyway? Currently I wouldn’t want to be out for an hour as she is quite unpredictable in how long before she will want another feed but she definitely is improving gradually. Might her inability to settle with a bottle improve as she gets more used to it?
The other thing is I’ll have to return to work 3 full days a week when she is a year old. At that point if I am still BF how often will she need the feeds? I have no idea how much breast milk a 1 year old is still taking. Can anyone advise on this to help me decided if it’s important to continue trying as I’m weighing up depriving her of what seems to be the only way she can settle after feeding/putting her through the frustration of learning, and the long term insurance of knowing she will still be able to have her breastmilk when I have no choice but to be away.