BF Moms Who Pumped at Work...

amberpro

I have a friend who is about to go back to work from maternity leave (baby 11 weeks).  As of now, her baby refuses the bottle.  She is afraid her baby won't eat while she's working... and that stress will definitely effect her supply. 

I've suggested letting someone else try giving the bottle and she completely clear the premises and to continue to try different bottles (she's tried 2 kinds already).  Did this happen to anyone else?  Any suggestions I can pass on?  Thanks!  

MommaA117

yep. it just took time. the first few days she refused but I guess she got hungry enough eventually! Very stressful though

mesr

same here.  it took a few weeks.  i started back to work half days for a few weeks to get her acclimated.  she still really didn't drink more than a single bottle during my absence for a good three weeks.  but she eventually figured it out.  our pediatrician reassured me that dd2 was fat enough to handle the transition until she gave in and drank from the bottle.

CarlaAndJames

in the beginning lexi was really finicky with bottles. Would not take one with me in eyeshot or earshot. And even then she had to be REALLY hungry. Daycare was really good at getting them the exact right temperature and holding her at the exact right angle to get her to take them, and she adjusted quickly!

klingb52

Try the breast flow bottles.  They were the only ones DS would take.

meringue123

klingb52:

Try the breast flow bottles. nbsp;They were the only ones DS would take.

This. And the milk had to be warm. She still refused for the most part, but would take a few ounces during the day.
I thought it would be terrible if she reverse cycled, but she reverse cycled and nursed every 2 or 3 hours all night. We bed shared, which made it easy.
When she figured out the sippy we started offering ice cold bm in that and she seemed to take a little more that way. I also continued pumping at work so I kept my supply up. It was rough, but I loved all the extra snuggle time in the evenings to make up for bring apart all day!

amberpro

Thanks so much, ladies!  I'll pass on the info on the breast flow bottles and let her know your experiences.  We all know they won't starve, but it is nerve-wracking.  I can't imagine dealing with that when starting back to work is hard enough.  I appreciate you all!

bestmaid6

This happened to us. We tried a million different types of bottles. Have her try both silicone and latex nipples. Someone else needs to do the feeding and have her use freshly pumped milk, not stuff from the freezer. I actually figured out I have a lipase issue and LO wasn't refusing the bottles so much as he was refusing the milk. My milk went bad after 48 hours, even if frozen. Once we gave him fresh stuff, he was okay with the bottle.

TCUFrogMom11

H never had issues with the bottle, but, the first time we gave it to her, I made sure she was pretty hungry and let her daddy feed her while I went upstairs and out of site. I also used Tomee Tippees which felt like my breasts... so, maybe that might help.

DreamChaser246

It just took time, we went through several bottle types, several methods, tried latex nipples vs silicone (the brown ones), that is what finally did it.

DH to was convinced that I wouldn't be able to go back to work. It was rough, but we did it, and he did great.