Exclusive BF (10M) - going back to work but DD won't take a bottle

[Rebexus]

I've bfed exclusively for 10 months now. I did try giving dd a bottle of EBM (at 13 weeks) but she absolutely refused to take it, despite trying about 5 different bottles and teats over about a month.

Now I have to return to work in 5 weeks and she will be in nursery 2-3 days a week so I need to drop the day feeds. (I'm going to bf her first thing in the morning and last thing at night.) But dd still won't drink milk from a bottle or cup.

Any ideas how I can get her to drink enough in the day? I have bought some formula and am using that as I can't stand expressing and it just being refused and then thrown away (all that effort ...)

I can give her water out of a bottle / sippy cup / open adult cup but she only sips it and drinks about 10 ml (less than an ounce). And the formula she just has a sip and then refuses it. How can I get her to drink enough to last her all day? And what would you use bottle or cup? She doesn't even seem to know how to drink from the bottle - just bites the teat!

Thanks in desperation. (oh and she has a dummy if that makes a difference).

I've cm'd a baby who didn't like to eat or drink other than bf'ing. After a couple of days she was fine and ate (finger-food mainly) more with me than at home. She drank water from a cup, but not an awful lot, and never had a bottle - just spat it out and cried.
With my bf'ing hat on, you'll very likely find that she makes up for not eating much at nursery by feeding more when she's with you. It might even be better not to bother dropping the day feeds on your days off, because that way she's getting the chance to "stock up" a bit, and drinking less at nursery will have less effect on her. She might feed more at night, too. Also, when you're not htere, whe simply can't bf, so may accept alternatives. You refusing to feed her if she wants to feed could get you both upset.
IMVHO, just try not to worry. Don't let the nursery hassle you about her taking a bottle (why bother starting at 10mo?), just give her water in a sippy cup and whatever else she usually eats, and be prepared to feed her some extra from you when you get home. You'll probably be desparate for her to feed by the time you get back to her! Try not to let yourself become engorged, and take loads of breastpads to work.
Can you start her off woth half days so that you both get used to it gradually?
Sorry, that was long.

Does she like cows milk?

I think it can be done. You've got your morning and evening. If she'll drink water in the day and eat solids you can manage I think.

Would you consider an extra feed when you get in from work? (Assuming you were happy to continue bf anyway?)

Also, I have a cupboard full of cups and sports-type bottles. Some have been used, some fell out of favour, some never suited. The type with a straw and no valve did the best (no need to tip up).

Wouldn't use a baby bottle now she can manage something more conventional.

To echo what FG says, I wouldn't bother dropping the day feeds while you are with her, though it might mean to have to express at work even if she won't take the EBM. ( You could always make soap with it!) My ds3 was the same, he did take a bottle eventually but was never really keen on it.
Does your dd take solids? I found that the nursery staff could get ds3 to take a bottle but only if given before he had solids, never after he had eaten.

Hi all .. thanks for that advice. Sounds good.

I hadn't thought about the "stocking up" possiblity. I'm going to get her used to nursery gradually - yes (a few mornings then 2 days a week for a month then 3 etc). I'm going to Visit them tomorrow to see what they say as well as they must have seen this quite a bit. I can't imagine expressing at work ... I hate it at home so can't see me getting even a drop whilst sitting in a cupboard miles from the baby .
I can give her the feed as soon as we are home yes - and give her the sippy cup.

She takes solids but baby led weaning style - too stubborn for puree - (a theme developing here?) so it's mostly stuff she can grab - except for her yoghurts and Organix fruit pots.

I want to keep breastfeeding for as long as I can - until she's had enough or baby2 gets made - whichever happens first.

Samantha she's had a bit of cow's milk but doesn't drink it any more or less than the formula. Why?

thanks all!

My DD started nursery at 10 months old, exclusively BF and not eating much in the way of solids. I expressed at work but she would only drink about 1 oz at nursery.

She is now 14 months, still BF. She eats loads at nursery and drinks water out of a sippy cup. She BF loads at home.

I only express at work now if I'm uncomfortable, which isn't very often.

That's good to hear. Did you baby get dehydrated then or was she ok? I'm worried about the hot weather making her thirsty.

I did go to the nursery and found out which sippy cups they are using so I'm going to get some and practice with her.

My daughter never took a bottle and I went back to work three days a week when she was 5 and a half months old. She was fine, I promise. I carried on breastfeeding until she self-weaned at 14 months. And gradually she did learn to drink what she needed from a cup. She liked the Nuk learner cups best at first. They have a soft spout that's a cross between a bottle and a cup. The bog standard Tommee Tippee sippy cups also worked well. All those clever non-spill ones with valves were immediately rejected. Also, will your daughter eat fruit? That's got loads of water in it.

Nuk learner bottle

(and remember 'bf morning and evening' can irl turn out to mean 6am, 8am, 5pm, and 8pm so may work out to be more than you think)

my dd was exactly the same, wouldn't drink anything except breast milk for about the first 11 months of her life. Then I went back to work and she was with the childminder 2.5 days a week. I did worry about how she would cope but in the end it wasn't a great problem. She went straight to a cup (the sort with a lid on) as she never had any idea about bottles, but I don't think she drank alot to start with. They do get quite alot of fluid from their food especially things like fruit purees, sloppy weetabix, that kind of thing. So I don't think she was in danger of getting dehydrated. Plus if a baby is genuinely thirsty I think they will drink as instinct will take over.
Anyway, with gentle encouragement from my childminder she gradually started to drink more from a cup.So don't panic, it will all work out OK in the end.

If they are thirsty they will drink

That Nuk thing looks good if they've been used to a bottle.

I bought a Tommee Tippee cup with foldy spout today and she drank loads and loads of water from it. So maybe she's finally got the hang of it now (or it was a really hot day). Hurrah!!!

Thanks everyone - it's really reassuring to see other people have been there and the baby does adjust. It's such a scary thought going to work and leaving her when we're so closely bonded. Almost like I'm leaving her to the wolves.