DS 6 months and bottles

DS is due to start daycare in a few weeks and still won't take a bottle. He is still EBF and We try daily with expressed milk but he just chews the bottle. He will be 6 months when he starts daycare and I'm not sure what to do.

I had planned to do blw which is what I did with DS1 but I think if he isn't taking bottles I will need to do some solids on daycare days. He will be in daycare from 7am-2pm at which time hubby picks the boys up and I get home at 530pm. The only option I have come up wih at the moment is for hubby to drive to my work at 2 to give ds2 a feed and then go home (but not ideal as it is a 45 round trip)

Any tips or suggestions for me? Didn't have these problems with DS as he took a bottle no problems.

Who has tried giving him bottles? Just you? Or have others tried as well? He might be refusing if he knows and can smell the real deal on tap! Could also try different bottles, even a sippy cup. Or try syringing the milk into his mouth just to let him see that milk can come from somewhere other than Mummy?

Hi peekaboo - tried about four different bottles and a sippy cup today. And my hubby and mum has also tried once or twice wih the bottle. He seems to get more distressed if my hubby gives it to him for some reason.

I could try the syringe. That was goin to be a last resort for daycare lol.

There's also straw cups or just a regular cup.
Will you be working full time?
This is a common worry for parents, but it does tend to just work itself out one way or another. Sometimes babies just up and take milk when they're at daycare - even if it's only a small amount just to get them through. Sometimes babies just hold out till they're back with mum. Obviously neither is ideal from your perspective, but at least you can be assured that your baby will be okay.
Your baby's carers can also offer other food and water as a stopgap, as you say. You may find that a combination of these things gets baby through your time apart. It will also get easier as baby gets older and eats more, too.
Good luck!

My Mum had some success using a teaspoon to give milk. And i think she used a shot glass too.

For a reluctant child, there is not much point to Mum offering. They know she has the fresh stuff. Other carers have better luck if baby knows mum isn't there.

good luck

My unsuccessful update so far is I have been able to get 40-60 mls into ds2 from a sippy spout and avent bottle but this week he started two short days in daycare and took no milk at all from 730- 1pm. I have another two weeks before I have to go back to full days (730-5) so I still have some time , but I'm getting pretty worried .

I know he will be fine (at six months and weighing in at 9.7kg he is no light weight) I'm just selfishly wanting to do anything to avoid reverse cycling! Working 40hr weeks and waking thru the night for multiple feeds would not be ideal! I know I could bed share but my toddler is in wih me most nights and I just don't know how that would work.

Here's hoping ds2 just "gets it" over his next few daycare days.

how has things been going since your last post? I am interested to know how you went as I am returning to work in 2.5 months and just started trying to give my 6 month old bottles of EBM to get her used to them. she did the same thing to start with and just chewed the teat. she will be starting daycare soon too so I am worried how she will go.

Hi Teresa,

I dont know if it will help much but DS still doesnt really take a bottle. I have found the only thing that *marginally* works in the Pigeon MagMag Cup with the Spout in it. He maybe takes 50mls at daycare and maybe another 50mls on a good day when at home in the arvo with hubby. I am wasting a lot of EBM at the moment! The Spout on this cup is a white soft silcone rubber so slightly different to the silcone teats, which i think helped. It is a crisscross valve tip as well. only bad thing is it isnt super durable and one of them has already split and that is only been used for about 2 weeks. ATM i am just having to replace them as i dont have much choice with swapping to another type of bottle.

To try and get as much milk into him as possible, i am also sending 80mls of EBM for his cereal in the morning at daycare. I wasnt keen on cereals and purees for my DS1 when he was starting solids, but he took a bottle of EBM no problems so i had to rethink it a little this time around. This way i know he is atleast getting some BM into him! I am lucky in the DS2 loves his solids so he is happy to have solids at daycare and i just make sure he has yogurt as one part of his food (a gp recommended i just make sure he has some other form of calcium?)

if it makes you feel any better, DS2 hasnt started waking at night for any extra feeds yet, and he has been diong this routine for about 3 weeks now. So i think he just must be managing without it on his Tue - Thur day care days. (mind you he is just shy of 10kg at 7mnths so he is a big chubby bub! lol) I know the increased night feeds was something i was really concerened about!

sounds like things are working out just fine!

thank you. i am currently using the tommee tippee closer to nature bottles and the cup. going to try and get DH to give her some in a bottle later to see how she goes. i read somewhere that when mum is bf and she tries to give a bottle of EBM that baby will often only play with it and not take it as they can smell mums milk. i am also about to try her on solids again so hopefully when she starts daycare at least her little tummy will have something in it if she decides not to drink any EBM there!!