Returning to work with a 10-month-old who will not take a bottle

[jmrpinkie]

I am going to be returning to work at the end of October. My daughter will be 10 months. She is currently exclusively breast fed and won’t take a bottle.

what does a 10 month old day look like? If she still won’t take a bottle by then will she be fine throughout the day? Obviously I know she’ll be eating solids and presumably she’ll drink water from some implement but just curious! Also hoping it will have changed by then but I’m just wondering.

Oh god I remember this well with both of mine. I first tried a bottle with my 2nd at two weeks. She point blank refused until 8 months. Finally took a bottle but then only from me giving it to her, she refused it from anyone else, FML!!! Anyhow she did go to nursery at 10 months, took a bottle there once a day but refused all food there for 3 weeks. 10 years on she still knows her own mind and is super stubborn but is fit and healthy and lived to tell the tale!

I ha this with dc1 and will be doing the same with dc2 also in October (although dc2 will be a year). Just use a sippy cup! This whole bottle thing becomes a nil point as baby gets older - I don’t know why people spend so much stress over getting an EBF baby to take a bottle when you blink and they can use have a sippy cup (not a dig at you I genuinely wish people spent less energy over it). I just bf mine in the eve and night, sippy cup in the day. It took a few goes of DH feeding her with sippy cup in the day, a few years of complaint from baby but otherwise fine. Also your dc may be eating well by then Too!

I send mine in with milk in a straw cup.

My baby started nursery 2x days a week at 10.5months old. She took a bottle from her dad once an evening from weeks old until 1yr old. She fully refused to take it from the nursery staff. So we had a baby who willing took a bottle from her dad (and occasionally her grandparents) but refused in the nursery. She drank water in a sippy cup but refused milk in any cup.

She was eating three meals a day, and was a good eater from 9+ months. She would go from 6/7am to 5pm without milk (she had food and water), then I fed her on pick up, then in the evening before bed. I think she was still waking up at ~1am and 5am for feeds too.

Another here who went back to work at around the same age with bottle refusers. They had full fat cow’s milk from a cup of they wanted it when they weren’t with me and I fed before Nursery, on pick up and before bed.

You might have a few more night wakings as they will probably want to be near to you but you can night wean from 12 months if you want to.

So my daughter is almost 7 months, have been trying to get her to take a bottle since about 3 months, absolutely refused to. Tried her with cups as well as continuing to breastfeed but never took much. I decided a few days ago that I needed to get this sorted as it was stressing me out worrying that she was going to starve when I go back to work soon.

1. i decided that was the day I wouldn’t feed during day. I work 12 hour shifts so would need to only feed bottle between 7 and 9pm.
2. i put big plasters over both nipples.
3. when she wanted boob I showed her and she tried licking plasters until she realised.
4. offered her cup, had a couple of mouthfuls before dribbling it out. Offered her bottle did same thing.
5. lots and lots of distractions. Go for a walk. Or walk around garden looking at plants/cat/planes.
6. gave her lots of milky foods.
7. tried bottle again, took a bit more. Tried cup took a bit more. Made sure milk was quite warm preferred this.
8. continued offering bottle when I thought she was hungry, offering solids if not wanting milk.

I didn’t give up, continued doing this. during night wakings I breastfeed happily. She is taking bottle like an absolute champion. And now getting into routine. Took 3 full days to completely be happy with this new change. The whole time I was making sure she wasn’t dehydrated and she was feeding a lot of night so I wasn’t worried. My breasts also fully adjusted after 3 days so not leaking in day now. also don’t have to wear plasters but so five more cuddles so she still gets that closeness. Hope this helps someone. I had to go cold turkey as the gentle dropping one feed wasn’t working.

This is amazing - well done and thank you for sharing, so helpful

I promise you it will be hard to begin with, you will feel guilty as hell but it does pay off in the end and she’s completely back to her happy self and I get my breasts back for daytime

Nursery have magic dust. My daughter suddenly started taking sippy cups and the magic blue mat where she would just lay down for naps. Never did either at home!