Need to return to work, but DD wont drink from a bottle, HELP!

I need to return to work for financil reasons (definately not a personal choice but I have no other choice).

DD, 3mths, had a full bottle at 3 days old when my milk came in and I was too engorged for her to lactch on so I expressed it of and gave her a bottle. She has also had a small amount of water and brown sugar for suspected constapation, but that was at like 5weeks old. Since then she has not had a bottle at all.

My DF and I are trying to get her to take a bottle, but its like she either has no idea what to do with it, or will not accept it. She ends up getting so worked up and screaming that I end up putting her on the boob cause she is distreased.


I really need to get her to take a bottle, I dont have any other option. Please someone give some tips for me to be able to get her to take a bottle.

What bottles/teats are you using hun? Pigeon or TT Closer to Nature are great!
Sippy cup?
Hope you can find something. xx

Have you tried feeding her from a cup instead? She might allow herself to taste the milk in this manner, and be happier to take a bottle after that.

Also try to make sure you are not close by when she is being offered EBM as she will smell you and be confused. So go for a walk and leave your partner to it for half an hour and you may find she is chugging it back happily by the time you return.

SunShine, I am using Avent cause the breast pump I had given to me is Avent. I thought about a sippy cup, but have been told no cause she is too young.

Traveller, tried the cup and she took some, but then spat it back out again.
I will try the going for a walk trick.

Thanks girls for your suggestion. But if we can not get her to take to a bottle, then I am just going to have to be tougher on our budget and cut stuff out where possible.

Lisa, getting ready to go back to work is a really stressful time :hug: I have done it twice, and neither of my boys would take a bottle either. However both were able to drink from a sippy cup by 3 months so luckily they were well able to drink EBM. I'm not sure where you heard that 3 months is too young, but many babies can drink from a sippy cup at that age. Some breastfed babies aren't too far off being able to drink from a straw cup either. As I found out, it can be easier to skip the bottle stage all together - we never had to worry about weaning from bottles!!

I think a sippy cup might be worth a try for you. There are different sorts, so you might need to try some different ones, but give each type a few tries as it might not work the first time. The good news is that I have spoken with many mums who have gone through this worry before returning to work, and not one of the babies starved. All ended up taking EBM one way or another when they were without mum during the day and thirsty.

Hun, have you organised to be able to express at work also? Depending on the hours you are working, you might need to express up to 3 times during the day.

All the best.

Hi there,

It is always hard when you feel like you have to make a decision, to go back to work, yet it wouldn't be your ideal choice. Manta has given some great ideas. The sippy cup is good.
But, if you want her to take a bottle - stay calm - she will be fine. Make sure the top of the bottle isn't too tight, so milk drips out freely. Try her with the bottle, but without pressure - don't let it turn into a screaming match or a battle of wills. If she is really hungry she might not be in a mood to try - feed her first, and then let her have a little try at the end of the feed with the bottle when she's relaxed and sleepy. Try to feed her when you are walking around outside - when she's distracted. Or when she is sleepy before bed. Get her dad to try - sometimes he will succeed when you won't. In a few weeks you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about.

I had this when I went back to work, mine was about 7 months. She Would Not Take The Bottle and I was worried I wouldn't be able to go back to work.

All I can say is persist, persist, persist and eventually they'll accidentally have a suck, realise the bottle has food in it and that will be it. But don't push for too long, try just before you feed, maybe break mid-feed when bubs is contented and try and slip the bottle in, but don't push until you have a screaming baby.

As usual, MR has offered some stellar advice. I know that Avent used to sell sippy cup attachments to their bottles - I'm not sure if that'd be more cost-effective than buying whole new sippy cups (because you can still use the bottles, and you can also see how much she's drinking if that's important to you).
Best advice here is don't stress. She'll pick up on your stress and that won't help!
Depending on your hours, she may not need much milk between you leaving and coming home again. If she's willing to take little bits at a time that may well be enough to tide her over until you get home. Will she be going to childcare or will a family member be minding her? If it's a family member, would it be possible for them to come to your work for a feed in your lunch break?
I know the feeling of having to return to work before you are ready - it sucks :( I really feel for you and hope your DD adjusts very quickly to the non-breast alternative you offer.

I just recently weaned my then 4.5mo son. He had absolutely no idea what to do with a bottle, but for my health reasons I had to totally wean him. And I am here to tell you that he is now fully ff, and happily drinks from a sippy cup. It was a had slog, but he did it, and if he could, I am sure your and your DD will make it too.

You have been given some wonderful advice, and I will just add a few points that I used that worked for me. Firstly, choose the bottle / sippy cup / teat that you want to use, and stick with that. I found that the pigeon mag mag stage 2 sippy cups worked best for us. It is soft teat sippy cup with handles. You can get them at most chemists. Secondly, as Barb said, choose a time of day where she is happy and content. I found late morning the best, after the morning sleep, when DS was awake and happy, not at 5pm when he could be very unsettled and in need of the boob for comfort. Also, when you are feeding with the bottle/cup do it in a place where you dont breastfeed, so for me, I used my reclining high chair in the kitchen, and popped DS in that. I usually BF in the loungeroom. Or I would get DH to hold DS with DSs back to DH chest and DH used his arms like a chair (does that make sense). Just to make it totally different.

I would set aside 30mins for "bottle training" and we just made it a game. No pressure on anyone. DS tried to grab the cup with his hand, and I would guide it to his mouth. He would lick at the teat and I could squeeze a few drops for the teat into his mouth. He would then lap it up, a bit like a cat. Eventually, this turned into his being able to work the teat to get the milk out.

I would do this for about 30mins, maybe you would do less as your DD is younger, and no BB was offered in that time, no matter how upset DS got. I would try not to let him get worked up, but if he did, I would find a different way to comfort him, like dancing or bouncing, so that time was just about the bottle. There were times when this was very hard not only on DS but on me, but we managed to work through it. I made sure to let DS know the reasons for us needing to learn this new way to drink, and I would talk to him all the way through this session to make sure he was involved as much as possible. I think this helped us...

We would then have a nice play for about 20mins, then I would take DS to our feeding chair and give him a nice long BB drink. The separation of space and time between bottle and boob, I think, helped with teaching him the different methods of drinking. And then we would do it again the next day.

I really think that consistency was the key for us. But it is different for everyone...Anyway, I wish you all the best with this. If you have any more questions, just ask. Good luck. xo

I'm another person from Team Sippy Cup, although my baby was a bit older (his Dad started offering it to him from 4 months). In our case, because my letdown is fast and strong, he seems to have a strong preference for a fast flow so we actually did best with the very cheap sippy cups that don't come with a valve. A lot of the guides will say that a BF baby should always have a newborn teat/slow flow so that they don't start to prefer the bottle, but we never ever had any luck with that.

Also, he takes far far more milk (we give EBM) from daycare carers than from his father, so if your baby can learn what to do with a bottle or cup, she may be all set at care even if she never seems keen to take much at home.