Help: Going back to work on Wed and DS is refusing bottle!

[ekat]

Apologies for this long rant but I really could use some advice.

DS is going to be 5 month on Wed and I have to go back to work full time. This essentially means that I will be out of the house between 8am and 7pm. MIL will be looking after DS at my home. For the last few weeks I have been trying to reintroduce the bottle (DS is exclusively breastfed and demands feeding on average every 4/5hrs) but he has been refusing all types I could find in the shops.

I know he can eat from a bottle (it took me close to 4 weeks to establish breastfeeding and he was fed expressed breast milk whilst I battled on). However, he continues to refuse the bottle and today refused to eat for almost 12hrs until I caved in and gave him the breast. I tried leaving the house and getting MIL to give him the bottle. Tried giving him the bottle myself. He tries to "bite" it with his gums but does not suck on it.

Any suggestions? I know I should have never phased the bottle out but I never thought he will refuse it so stubbornly.

Many thanks

Something very similar happened to a friend of mine. The way she cracked it was for her dh to give her baby the bottle while she (my friend) went for a walk so was out of the house altogether. When her dd didn't have the choice of bottle or breast, she settled quite happily for bottle. She was about the same age as yours too.

Good luck with it.

Thank you PinkyRed. I tried that earlier today and came back to DS screaming the house down. Do you know if your friend refused to give breast until the baby took the bottle?

Yes she did - but I think it only took a matter of hours. I think her dh phoned her and told her it was safe to come home.

Have you (or DP/MIL) tried giving him the bottle when he's at his hungriest? My dd took it better at first in the morning, but she was a bit older and sleeping most of the night. We also tried to recreate the way I'd feed her, with a pillow and lying down cuddling her, which seemed to help at first.

I haven't tried giving him the bottle first thing 'cause I thought that I should try to replace feeds I will not be at home for (10am/2pm/6pm). I will try giving DS his 6am feed tomorrow as you suggest. Hopefully it will work.

Thank you for your time

I guess you just have to keep trying - and I do recommend getting someone else to try, so that he can't smell your milk at all.

I know loads of people who had trouble getting their dc to accept the bottle - but I don't know anyone who wasn't able to do it in the end!

Hope it goes well tomorrow.