Been back to work 2m baby still won't take bottle

[@llli*still-learning]

I went back to work when my baby was 8wks she is now 4m. With commute time I'm away for 10.5-12hrs a day 5 days a week. The most my baby has ever taken in a day is 8oz. Most days she eats about 2-4oz. Yesterday she took nothing and I was gone for 12 hrs. I know this is too long for her to go (she only had 5 wet diapers). She nurses non-stop when I'm home in the evenings/overnight, and on the weekends she only eats about every 3-4hrs during the time I would be gone. I know she eats more at night, but needs something in the day. My other two preferred nursing but would still take the low end of normal milk while I was away.

She goes to the doc in a few weeks, and will ask there but wanted some advice. Thing dcp has tried... Feeding her when she doesn’t seem hungry, feeding while asleep (this has had this most success), different bottles/nipples, different positions, trying cold milk vs. warm milk. I don't think it’s the milk because I tried it from different days and it tasted the same. I even asked my almost 3 yr who is still nursing to taste as a second option (although I do not know how reliable his option was).

At work I'm getting advice like just pump for a few weeks and don't nurse her until she starts taking bottles. Any advice would be great.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

That is called reverse cycling and is not common but certainly not unheard of and nothing to worry about really. Just you have a smart and particular baby

[@llli*wdsmom]

My DD never really took a bottle well and I was away for the same length of time. By reverse cycling she did fine. We co-slept so I could get rest while she nursed all-night-long. Keep nursing her on demand when you are together. She need it.

I definitely do not agree with the advice to simply pump for a few weeks until she takes a bottle. This sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. You may have a hard time getting her back to the breast. Exclusively pumping is extremely difficult (just ask the pp) if you need evidence. Your supply may plummet, among other things.

Since your daughter is now 4 months old, you should be able to use sippy cups either now or soon enough.

[@llli*auderey]

if she's gaining well, nothingn to worry about. don't quit nursing for bottles; that will make things MUCH harder in both the short and long term. hang in there!

[@llli*still-learning]

Thanks guys, you have no idea how much better you have made me feel. Before my mom was watching my kids, and was always very reassuring and supportive. I told the dcp provider before we started that the baby didn’t eat much in the day. I guess I just lost confidence.

There is no way I would want to pump full time. My sister does this and it’s a pain. I just need to learn to stop complaining/asking advice from people who did not nurse, because that is the kind of advice I will keep getting.

I talked with dcp today and she said my baby seems happy most of the day and is just not interested in eating. I told her the baby goes to the doc in a couple of weeks, and if the baby is gaining we will drop this.

I had not thought of trying a sippy cup.

Also, I would love to bring her into bed with me so I could sleep more (right now she’s in a bassinet beside the bed that she has almost outgrown), but I can’t seem to get my 3yr and somehow in the last few weeks my 6yr out. That’s a whole different problem…

[@llli*zplum]

That is called reverse cycling and is not common but certainly not unheard of and nothing to worry about really. Just you have a smart and particular baby

my son did this and it was little unnerving to me at first. But when I broke it down, he nursed at drop off (scratch off three hours) and as soon as I picked him up (three more) the left over time was the "not eating time" and that almost always equaled a nighttime stretch. Then he'd nurse all evening and night like other babies do during the day. Our DCP was stressed about it too. But she kept trying and eventually he took a little bottle and then a little more.
This is a great resource to print out and give your DCP about bottle feeding a breastfed baby.