Adapting to Baby Refusing Bottle at Daycare

Hi B.,
Both of my children did that and they did just fine. My doctor assured me they will not starve themselves and they didn't. Once they acclimated, they started eating just fine at school, but it took forever. I was chronically sleep deprived, but to me it was worth it. I enjoyed breast feeding them both and let them both chose when to quit. It was very difficult, but we made it through and they are both healthy and happy toddlers. I know it is hard, but follow your instincts and it should turn out fine. I kept in touch with my doctor and monitored their weight, was worried and made it through.
Good Luck!
A.

My 3 year old did the same thing(reverse cycling). I was really freaking out at first, but then talked to La Leche League and was calmed down. They won't starve themselves. James nursed wonderfully and took a sippy cup early~never really took a bottle(would take 1/2 an ounce on occasion). I'd just keep doing what you're doing. Have them offer the bottle before he gets fussy, he may start taking it or he may keep waiting for Mommy!
BTW~I only pumped once a day in order to have something on hand. He never took it~so I quit pumping every 3 hours.
My 18 month old loved his bottle and I pumped religiously for 10.5 months. He's still nursing, but only at night.

Hi B.,
I am a Childcare Provider that just went through this with one of my daycare children who is 12 weeks old. She would not take a bottle for Dad at home or me at daycare. We tried many types of nipples that worked for her early on, but when Mom went back to work, stressed, she held out from 6 am until 5:30 PM for several days. It took us trying the Gerber nipple that is weird shaped and we, Dad and myself, rocking side to side under a fan to finally get her to take a bottle without fighting, crying, and pushing the bottle away. Please be patient and try not to stress - he feels your stress. Also, have your daycare provider take several deep breaths before, and during feeding attempts to try and settle him. Now after three weeks, when she is hungry, she eats - no problem.
Hope this helps.

My 8 month old still won't take a bottle. The daycare she is at has been really patient and kept trying bottles until I started sending sippy cups (which she still won't use). Daycare now offers a sippy cup two times a day along with baby food. They offered bottles when she would fuss until she was old enough for baby food. When she was tiny, she reversed her sleeping cycle a bit so that she was having long periods of sleep in the morning and afternoon and would nurse all night.

My baby nurses right before and right after daycare. I also go at lunch and nurse her. I pump once in the morning and once midafternoon. I don't have a real use for the extra milk, but it keeps my supply up to pump.

It was easier for me to adapt to the baby than to starve her into taking a bottle.

B.,

I went through a similar situation with my baby, too. She's now 5 months old. It has gotten better, but she's still not the best/easiest bottle eater. She does enjoy her rice cereal and baby food while at daycare then does the best she can with bottles. You might try the NUK gerber bottles. A sippy cup is also a good resource. I would continue to pump because if not, you might leak at work plus weekends will put you on a different schedule.

Good luck!

I babysat a friend's child who did this same thing. She would nurse him in the morning, then he would hardly drink a thing all day from a bottle, then nurse like crazy when mom got home in the evenings.
I kept him on a good routine and he eventually started drinking more from the bottle, but not much. He would drink a couple ounces in the morning and a couple in the afternoon. He was growing and learning normally, so he was obviously getting enough to eat. Also, we learned that he preferred room temperature milk, rather than warmed milk.

If you can feed him yourself in the middle of the day, that's a MUCH better option than pumping anyway, so I'd do it!

If not, I think you should definitely keep pumping if you can, and find out more about milk storage. Fresh breastmilk is safely stored in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days. You can freeze is for 3 months, but once it's defrosted you need to use it within 24 hours. You don't have to waste as much if you are careful about how you store it and how much you store. If you're freezing what you pump, you might think about freezing just one ounce at a time. That way you just defrost a little bit. Defrost a couple ounces, then leave bottles of fresh milk that you pumped the previous day in case he suddenly decides to drink a lot. If he doesn't drink the fresh milk after 2 days and it has been continually refrigerated, freeze it.

And, keep it in mind that he will not starve himself. If he's hungry enough, he'll take what's offered (just make sure the daycare workers are, indeed, making an effort to offer it at regular times!). If he's got the stamina to hold out for mommy, so be it :-).

One thing that I want to ask. Sometimes when babies refuse a bottle they may have an ear infection. It hurts them to suck on a bottle. Has that been ruled out?

B.,

Do you have the Avent slow flow silicone nipples on your bottles? You want to mimic the breast feel and flow as much as you can. Your little boy may be overwhelmed by the difference of having a bottle versus your breast. You could also try the Avent feeding bottle that really helps switch from breast to supplemental feeding. Check it out:

http://www.avent.com/uk/en/learn_more_faq_bottle_feeding.php

If none of those work, you might want to consider the Medela SoftFeeder: http://www.medela.com/NewFiles/specialtyfdg.html

Good Luck,
A.

B.,

When I was in school I had a professor who hired a university student to pick her baby up and drive to her to nurse in the late afternoon.
I think this could be fairly cheap. It may seem drastic,but breastmilk is so important for babies health,and how long can you last every 2-3 hours at night???
Just a thought.