Sad Baby During/After Bottle Training

Every time I see a post like this, I think of my oldest (now a vibrant 5yo) and laugh at just how far we have NOT come. Lol. She is still as stubborn as ever!! Lol.

After 4 months of remote part-time working, it was time to get back to the office full time. We were lucky enough that Daddy would be her care-giver so this was suppose to be easy, right??? Well by day 3, he took her to the doctor to have her checked out because she refused all bottles (aka ANY food) until I returned and she got the breast. After a clean bill of health was given, the doctor told Hubby it was a "preference" issue and to remove ALL breast feeding for at least 3, preferably 5 days and when we re-introduced the breast to vary when she got it until she fluidly switched back and forth.

I am not sure who cried more over those 5 days, especially when she went almost 24 hours before taking one (yes, one) tiny ounce then passed out from sheer exhaustion. With nothing in her belly she woke up like 45 minutes later and the struggle started all over. Things got really bad when dad left for work that weekend. I wore one of his shirts, and wrapped her up in another. I had to be sure to pump every time she took a bottle. By the end of 5 days, she was drinking everything I was pumping from the prior session like a champ!!. It was the toughest 5 days I remember with any of the kids.

Once I re-introduced the breast, switching up randomly as suggested, we were finally anle to settle into a nice routine with a very early (5am) feeding and another as soon as I walked in the door (6pm) with a final pre-bed (8pm) feeding. On the weekends, it was a free-for-all. Lol. She could not get enough mommy time.

Lesson learned - I start them all on a bottle ASAP at random times. I also pump post-feedings, especially in the beginning when I seem to have a super abundance and freeze as much as possible.

On a side note, she is still as stubborn as a bull and so damn free-spirited (its definitely her way or the high way!!)

While my case might be extreme, I'd withhold the breast for a few days and then switch it up to keep her guessing. If mommy is always there to rescue her (4 hrs is not that long to wait for mom...), she may never truly take to the bottle like you need her to. Also, be sure to use the slowest nipple available since this will make her "work" for it, just like nursing. And don't be afraid to give the bottle to her yourself. It is okay. They wont confuse the warm loving breast with a bottle. Best wishes!
-C.

This sounds totally normal. She is getting used to a new "feeder" (Daddy) and new feeding mechanism.

Hunger will soon take over and she will take the bottle with ease. This doesn't mean she won't miss the breast. She'll probably want it more to make up for lost time :-).

It's great she gets to bond with Daddy in this manner. My husband felt "left out" when I was nursing exclusively, and boy the extra sleep helped when we introduced bottles.

Good luck :-)

Yes, she is dealing. And dealing out her frustration when you get home, lol!
She will be ok.

I can only see one issue. She's not near old enough to do sippy cups so take those out. Those will only confuse her mouth at this time. She's way too young to use one even if she liked it.

Otherwise I think that it sounds like you are doing right.

I know it can be hard to move to a bottle. One piece of advice that helped us a lot - don't try to act like bottle feeding is a substitute for breastfeeding. My babies did better when bottle feeding was done when they were in their swing, carseat, or highchair. They weren't expecting to get the breast in that situation, so they weren't upset when it didn't happen.

Most people go the other way - getting daddy to cuddle while trying to give the bottle, or even taking his shirt off for the skin contact. But that just confused my babies, because then they were looking for a breast that wasn't here.

All that said, yes, your baby is showing you that she's stressed by the change. Sounds normal, but of course it's up to you how far you want to push it. Is there a reason why she HAS to go to a bottle instead of waiting for you? Babies, especially as they get older, can go 3-4 hours without eating, so you might be able to work around it and not force the issue if you feed right before you leave, and as soon as you get home.

Yes. Don't worry about it. In the coming weeks, it will all be forgotten and everything will be fine.

Dawn

Personally I do not believe that babies are meant to be "trained," however realities of life can make it necessary. For your daughter this bottle training is traumatic, she cries so much because she is trying to communicate and say as clearly as she can "This is not what I want! I want to nurse!" It is normal for her to want extra cuddles and nursing once she finally gets her mommy back at home, and you should indulge her as much as you can. Breastfeeding does not work as well when it is rigidly scheduled, babies naturally want to nurse more when they are going through a growth spurt or are feeling ill or sad, etc. Another idea to feed her when you are not able to be with her is syringe feeding; you fill a large medicine syringe with breastmilk and have the baby suck on a clean pinkie finger, slide the tip of the syringe into the corner of her mouth. When she sucks you squirt a bit of milk into her mouth towards the side of her cheek with the syringe. Some breastfed babies prefer this method because they are not drowning under a drippy bottle nipple. Best of luck!