Tell me about leaving your bottle-phobic BF baby

Zenya · July 2011

I go back to work (very PT retail job) tomorrow. It's a 4.5 hour shift so I'll be gone for 5.5 hours (during the day). Katie is 2 months and in spite of many, many attempts she won't take a bottle. If the milk goes in her mouth she spits it out. Sometimes she screams hysterically during this and other times she's cooing happily.

So, worst case scenario is that she just waits it out right?

Tell me about how you left your baby and they

a - magically drank the bottle with no issues

b - happily waited it out not crying hysterically for 5.5 hours

I will also hear horror stories if need be

Not going back to work was an option (I don't really make any money there) but it's great for my sanity, it's not that many hours and I get 40% off Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn.

Rebekah1021 · July 2011

I always left a bottle. She never took it. I nursed her right before I left and prayed she wouldn't have a meltdown. She always took a binky though.

aglenn · July 2011

My DD was the ultimate bottle hater. I work FT (and not close to her daycare), so it was super stressful. With her, it took about a month before she would kinda consistently take bottles during the day. I say kinda because she still took pretty small amounts and would randomly have days here and there where she totally refused. She was a big reverse cycled and made up for it when with me. I had to eventually let it go; I can't make her drink it, all I can do is make the milk available. She did fine and never had any issues with weight or anything (and I ended up with a ginormous freezer stash that I was able to donate). That said, DD was far more extreme than most. Most people say their babies get the idea after a week or two and take a bottle just fine.

Zenya · July 2011

aglenn:
My DD was the ultimate bottle hater. I work FT (and not close to her daycare), so it was super stressful. With her, it took about a month before she would kinda consistently take bottles during the day. I say kinda because she still took pretty small amounts and would randomly have days here and there where she totally refused. She was a big reverse cycled and made up for it when with me. I had to eventually let it go; I can't make her drink it, all I can do is make the milk available. She did fine and never had any issues with weight or anything (and I ended up with a ginormous freezer stash that I was able to donate). That said, DD was far more extreme than most. Most people say their babies get the idea after a week or two and take a bottle just fine.

thank you! I don't have to leave her v. often (maybe one shift a week). I guess I just want to know that she'll be OK if she doesn't take it. At night she'll go 5+ hours alright. So I guess she will. I anticipate her nursing all night tomorrow night!

I feel bad for my husband having to deal with it and the 2 others tomorrow.

lsufan · July 2011

My younger two wouldn't take a bottle. Maybe I just blocked it out of my memory, but I *think* they just waited it out without screaming. The only times they screamed were when I was trying to give them a bottle, and they wanted the boob instead. I do know that I tried every single bottle I could find to get DS2 to take a bottle, and none of them worked. DS3 would take a bottle for a few weeks right after he was born, and I tried to keep it going by giving him one every day, and it didn't work. Eventually I was just torturing us both by trying to force a bottle in his mouth, and the times I needed to leave him were few and far between anyway.

I think if she's hungry enough she'll take the bottle.

KimW · July 2011

My DS never took a bottle, and luckily I didn't have to return to work right away so I didn't push it.

I've never tried this, but what about giving her some formula from a bottle? Maybe it's that she associates BM with you and won't take it any other way. But if it was formula, she would be interested enough to even take a little? Just a thought. Good luck!

Zenya · July 2011

I debated trying formula but it would have to be a hypoallergenic one and those taste really nasty. I guess it might be worth a shot though. thanks!

Jodi&Joe · July 2011

Have you had your husband try to give her one? Or Christopher? If you are the one giving it to her, that might be part of the problem. Mom=boob. Mom =/= bottle!

AggieCouple · July 2011

TB never did take the bottle well. Even with my being gone for 9-10 hours, he'd MAYBE finish 2 bottles. According to H and the nanny, he didn't seem unhappy. He just nursed like mad when I got home.

Zenya · July 2011

I haven't had C try but Mike has tried a lot. No luck. She's actually a tiny bit better with me than him.

Jodi&Joe · July 2011

Oh, and I'm not a BF'er but in this case, I wouldn't go the formula route. If you were going to be leaving her for 10+ hours and she denied all food during that time, I might go there. But don't introduce her to that unnecessarily....she will be fine for 5.5 hrs without eating. As you said, she does it at night already!

buffalo_buckeye · July 2011

Dd never took one. I was working ft during Jan-march and the most she ever took was 5 oz (and she chugged it!). She's a very stubborn child

. She was about 7 months at the time so she ate lots of solids and nursed twice during the night. I wouldn't worry about 5 hrs. She might get fussy at the end but I bet she will learn to just wait 5 hours until you return. Gl!

mamarazzi · July 2011

I've been leaving Ruby for 3-4 hours at a time since she was about 3 weeks old. She JUST started successfully taking a bottle last week. Before that, she would fight it and maybe get an ounce total the whole time I was gone (which, from what I've read, is just enough to coat their stomachs and keep them from feeling hunger pains).

My H, mom and sister (the only ones who've watched her) have said she's never been hysterical. She just seems hungry and then won't take the bottle. She takes her pacifier instead, is maybe a little fussy and then chows down when I get home.

I'm sure you've tried different types of bottles, but it might be worth it to leave a couple so if she gets really hungry your H can transfer the milk to a different one and try that. That's what finally got Ruby to take one -- I tried the one she initially fought the least and she sucked a couple times and then gave up. I didn't want to waste the milk, so I tried an old Playtex Nurser again (which we'd tried in the beginning and she wouldn't touch). She latched right on and sucked it dry. She's taken it consistently several times since.

Good luck!

winomom22 · July 2011

DD2 wouldn't take a bottle and I work evenings-8 hour shifts. DH would try different things- prop her in a pillow and give her the bottle that way so it didn't remind her of being nursed or he would walk around holding her facing out and giving it that way. He would do little by little and not force it or she would just get more pissed. She would make up for lost time by nursing a lot at night while I was home. There was a lot of crying and I know everyone one was pretty miserable. Eventually she did take the bottle though and did fine. We tried all different nipples/bottles and none of them worked, so we just stuck with the same one and kept trying and eventually it worked. Good luck!

AggieCouple · July 2011

mamarazzi:
I'm sure you've tried different types of bottles, but it might be worth it to leave a couple so if she gets really hungry your H can transfer the milk to a different one and try that. That's what finally got Ruby to take one -- I tried the one she initially fought the least and she sucked a couple times and then gave up. I didn't want to waste the milk, so I tried an old Playtex Nurser again (which we'd tried in the beginning and she wouldn't touch). She latched right on and sucked it dry. She's taken it consistently several times since.

We also use the nursers, and both ML and AM took/takes them fine. I think they're marketed as being for BF babies.

Also, AM was picky about the flow speed. Slow took her forever, fast made her choke. We went out and bought the one speed we didn't have, which was medium, and that turned out to be just right.

DandelionMom · July 2011

K was so picky about bottles. I couldn't be any where near her or she wouldn't take it and it had to be warmed up so that it was almost too hot. But she always did end up just fine when I wasn't around.

ghm · July 2011

You could try syringe feeding if she's starving but refuses the bottle. Bella would have starved before taking a bottle.

Bride2b2004 · July 2011

I haven't had to do it lately b/c I have been able to SAH since I was pg with DS2, but I went back to work when DS1 was 6 mo and he wouldn't take a bottle, but took a sippy cup (or a cup with lid if you hold it) very early. Have you tried cups at all (I know it seems really early), some are sort of a cross b/w sippy and bottle?

Zenya · July 2011

TY for all the tips!! I will let you know how it goes tomorrow!

Alexandra*sMom · July 2011

My DD boycotted the bottle at 3 months. She would nurse before work, at lunch and after work. She'd go 5 hours between nursing sessions and reverse cycle at night. She was only fussy when DH tried to push the bottle on her. I had to stop taking my lunch break to feed her and that fixed it, but at 4 mo, she switched daycare and the first two days (9 hours) ate 2 oz and 4 oz!!!

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