OK ladies, here is the problem. My beautiful 3 1/2 month old grand daughter has been EBF. My DIL will be going back to work on
10/08/12. For 3 weeks we have been trying to get her to take a bottle. We have tried every trick in the book known to mankind.
Every nipple etc. Twice she manaaged to take about three ounces. Usually she just plays with the nipple. Does anyone out there
have a trick up their sleeve that is different but works. Thank you and oh how I hope someone can help. It might just come down
to Mom going to work, GD being here with me and having no choice. I would hate to have her scream all day. That would be
cruel. Thanks again.
The one bottle we did not try was Dr. Browns. So off I went to get one for my DIL. Gave it to Keira and she smiled. She really
did not play with it like the others but actually sucked a bit!!!! Hooray. So I think if we stick with that one, we should be good to
go. She was just so funny every time we put it in her mouth she smiled and giggled. Who knows, as long as she did not cry!
Thanks to everyone and your expertise.
Well, if it comes down to the latter... it will only be a time or two that it happens. She will drink a bottle when she is hungry enough to do so. Babies eat to live, they dont live to eat...
Getting fussy because the breast isnt there is something that will be short lived and she will find the balance as long as you stay calm during the transition.
It will be fine.
Keep encouraging (practicing), you have a few more weeks to go...
"It might just come down to..." is exactly what it's going to come down to... :) ...and I am sorry for all that, because it sounds like you will be the one stuck with it.
But to encourage you, your beautiful granddaughter will quickly realize (because they are OH so smart) that you are not mommy, that you're not taking out a boob for her, and that this bottle will give her the same stuff. Just cuddle her close...at your breast, essentially, and let her head turn in towards your breast...and hold the bottle there. I promise, it won't be days and days of screaming.
Maybe a few times. ;)
It will be okay, I promise. Congrats!
If you don't want to wait until Mom goes back to work have her leave a few hours at a time now around feeding time and try. Your GD can smell the breastmilk and knows when Mom's around. And it has to be someone other than Mom giving her the bottle or it isn't going to happen. Little ones are SO much smarter than most people give them credit for!
Otherwise it's wait until Mom goes back to work, GD is with you and has no choice. She may scream, babies do that when unhappy, it doesn't scar them, and she may not. It may take days, it may take weeks, but her survival instinct will kick in and she will not starve, honest.
http://mommby.com/Breastfeeding_and_Bottle_Feeding/Weanin...
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/breastfeeding/faqs/getti...
These websites can help. Good Luck P..
This happened with my daughter. After struggling to get her to drink from a bottle unsuccessfully, I sent her to daycare at 12 weeks. She did not drink from a bottle for four entire weeks (6 hour days) of daycare. BUT, she didn't scream at all, she was perfectly happy until they tried to feed her. They would just squirt a little formula in her mouth at a time then while she cried. As soon as they stopped trying to feed her, she was happy again. The daycare women were extremely patient with her. Suddenly, on Monday of the 5th week, she took the bottle and drank it down.
I've had several kiddos in my care that had no intention of taking anything but the breast!
You are on the right track. Don't expect her to take more than a couple of ounces at a time, sometimes they'll eat only enough to not be starving then "wait for Mom".
In my experience breast fed babies like the milk very warm.
Good Luck,
M
I had to use a nipple shield for most of the time I bfed. It wasn't that big a deal, and I retained my sensitivity thanks to it. I also think it was part of the reason why my son would take a bottle with no problem. I wasn't comfortable nursing in public, so I would pump and give him a bottle. Didn't faze him at all. Maybe she could try one as a transition? At first, baby will still be with mom seeing /tasting that she's getting the same stuff through the silicone, so then she might be ok w/the bottle nipple later. For $7 it's worth a shot!
Good luck!
