worried about leaving baby

[@llli*babiestl]

this weekend is my cousin's wedding and i have to leave DD (8 weeks old) with a babysitter. On Friday night I went to dinner with some friends and DH took care of her. She absolutely refused the bottle (of breastmilk) and screamed her head off until I came home. As soon as I nursed her she was calm and fell asleep. Yesterday I took my older DD to a bday party and left the baby with DH and my sister. Again, she refused a bottle and was fussy until I got back. She has taken bottles in the past---I don't understand why she's suddenly refusing them. It makes me so nervous to think that I have to leave her for an extended period of time and I don't know whether she's going to eat! Bringing her is not an option, nor is having her stay in another room at the wedding. She doesn't have her shots yet and I don't want her around a crowd like that. I also don't even know if it would be feasible because I don't think there are spare rooms to keep her and the babysitter in. Now I'm worried that maybe there's lipase in the frozen milk, even though she's had it before and it didn't seem to bother her. DH tried to give her formula last night just to see if that would be an option for Sunday and she refused that too. Any advice?

[@llli*esthervegan]

This is one of those really tough conflicts breastfeeding mothers face,
If I could not bring my nursing infant with me to a social event, I politely, with no hard feelings, stayed home.
However even when my lo's were too young for all their vaccinations i did bring them to synagogue, to the grocery store, to La Leche League meetings etc.
So maybe if your cousin will allow you to bring your infant you can be assured that your breastmilk is protecting her from illnesses.

[@llli*auderey]

hi mama, how long are you going to be away from baby?

[@llli*phi]

If your thawed milk smells/tastes off (soapy, metallic, vomit-like, etc.) then there is excessive lipase in your milk. If not (or possibly even if there is lipase) then she has probably just figured out that the breast is better than the bottle no matter what is in it.

I would personally either keep my baby with me in a sling at the wedding if it was permissible or stay home.

If you have no other options but to go and leave her behind, then you can try some alternative feeding methods:

alternatives to bottles

tools for feeding

[@llli*babiestl]

I tasted my milk the other day and thought it might taste a little soapy, but wasn't sure. If I pump that morning, will the milk taste soapy by the evening or does lipase only affect frozen milk? I'll be away from the baby for about 9 hrs.

[@llli*phi]

If your milk tastes soapy, then you probably have excessive lipase and should be scalding your milk before freezing. It sounds like you don't have much time before you need to scald after expressing your milk if it is already soapy tasting by the same evening. Try feeding her freshly expressed milk to see if she is objecting to the milk (my baby didn't mind milk that had been subject to excessive lipase activity) or objecting to the bottle.

How is your oversupply now? You still need to go easy on the pumping, or you risk bringing that back. You'll only want to pump enough to replace the missing feedings while you are gone.

[@llli*happynewmom]

I would also try to bring her to the wedding in a sling or stay home.

[@llli*auderey]

if your concern is her health, i would bring her. in a sling she won't get handled or exposed to very many germs.

[@llli*babiestl]

my oversupply is MUCH better. i've been block feeding for almost a week now and though i wake up with painful breasts, it's nowhere near the discomfort i felt earlier. this whole rejecting the bottle thing is very new with her. before friday, any time someone tried to bottle feed her, she was fine. it's only as of friday that she's rejecting it.

[@llli*phi]

I'm happy to hear you are getting the OS under control. Just be very careful with the pump. Like I said previously, I would tuck your baby in a sling and bring her along if it is okay with the hosts. That is better for your OS and better for your baby.

Bottle rejection is fairly common for breastfed babies and can happen any time. My baby did just fine with bottles then just up and refused them around 8 months. Milk from the breast is always better than milk from a bottle. If you are committed to leaving your baby, then you should look over those links on alternative feeding methods.