No Schedule on When to Drink Milk

Are you saying that your nurse your daughter and also offer a bottle of breastmilk? If yes, then it's fine that she doesn't drink from the bottle during the day as long as you're breastfeeding her.

If you're saying that she's having pumped milk only... then it's completely NOT ok that she's not drinking her bottle during the day. At three months old a baby needs to eat every 3 to 4 hours. You're the parent -- put her on a schedule and offer the bottle every four hours. If she won't take it multiple times in a row, call your pediatrician and get some help.

I never put my kids on a schedule for food. They eat when they are hungry and never overeat, since I have not pushed them to the point of them being famished. My DD was 100% breastfed for 18 months, since she refused ANY solid food...literally 8-10 hours at a time....and refused a bottle.

Is she 100% bottle bed now? We need more info.

You should be offering your daughter milk (from breast or bottle, doesn't matter) every 3 or 4 hours. It seems to me her tiny stomach probably can't handle 8-9 oz. very well -- babies eat frequently because their tummies are so small and can't hold much. I would offer her 4 oz. per bottle. If she is not eating anything all day, talk to your doctor about why that might be.

So she's still nursing but likes you better than a bottle?

I nursed my DD on demand and she had a generic schedule, but nothing set in stone. I provided 3-4 bottles per day for her at daycare. There were times they offered her a bottle at 10AM and nothing. Then she drank it and her 12:30 bottle. Or they fed her all her bottles and then guzzled the spare I had in the freezer.

I would look at her OVERALL intake. Some babies reverse cycle. They don't take much from bottles all day and make up at night. Kellymom.com has info on this.

If you still want to nurse her when you get home from work you need to get her on a schedule of offering her your breast at the times you hope she'll nurse and bottles at other times, one or the other at least 3-4 hours. The reason I say this is because if your body can't figure out how much breastmilk your daughter requires on a regular basis it will stop producing it. Your body can only do what it knows, it's as simple as that. And, yes, you will more than likely lose some of your supply if you exclusively pump as a baby's suck is stronger.

I was really worried when my daughter wouldn't nurse, she could go all day without getting maybe no more than an ounce into her (even when I was with her) and I was terrified she would dehydrate. Her pediatrician said to offer, to remember there was no way I could "make" her nurse or take a bottle of breastmilk, I could merely coax, and that her body would tell her when she should eat. It was hard on me mentally because I was afraid I'd lose my supply of milk.

But I worked out a schedule of sorts where I got up early to nurse her, then got us ready for work and Nana's house, she was offered bottles every 3-4 hours while I was away from her, I pumped at work every 3-4 hours, nursed her as soon as i saw her after work, (if she would, sometimes she'd want to wait until 7:30/8 p.m.,) then again at bedtime. She slept through the night from the time she was 2 weeks old so I never dealt with middle of the night feedings with her. She met her milestones and where she should be on the growth chart so it all worked out. I hope it does for you as well.