Need DD to take a bottle for one day only...

[Kacie]

My brother is getting married in 2 weeks and I am bridesmaid. This means I have to leave Leah with my SIL for the morning while I help the bride get ready and I wont see Leah again until after the ceremony

I will be away from her for at least 4-5 hours so SIL will need to feed her. I have tried expressing before but she has never taken the bottle. My HV has said to get my mum to try giving her the bottle once every day for up to an hour without me present. But I don't want it to become a routine thing that she has a bottle once everyday. I am worried that she will be forced to have this bottle, then decide she doesn't want boob anymore

Can anyone give any advice on this? It would be great to be able to give her a bottle every now and then but on the whole I want to continue BFing. This just feels like the first step away from BF and I'm not ready for it yet.

xxx

 

[freckleonear]

How about giving her expressed milk from a cup? A doidy cup would be ideal or a plastic beaker without the lid would work fine too. It's slower and messier but nearly all babies can lap some milk up. Try her once or twice before the wedding just so you know that she can do it, but you wouldn't need to do it regularly.

 

[celine]

I agree with the above, a cup may just be easier, she will get milk even though its messy it just for maybe 2 feeds? And its once off

If you want to try the bottle i dont think she would end up rejecting the boob. I was so worried that G would need a bottle one day so when he was 7 months (he was VERY stubborn about not wanting a bottle) i would send dh with a bottle every day with just 10ml of ebm in and when he finished it I would go in to feed, the first few times hw woulndnt take but dh can be persistant
Then I tried with 20ml every 2 days, when he was taking it ok we upped it to 30ml every 3rd day etc and eventually once a week he had a bottle of ebm at evebning but ya know what - it never came to any use cos at 1 year he will use a sippy cup for cold tea and IF i have to be elsewhere he will take milk from the sippy anyway..

Since it IS in 2 weeks i say trying to get her to take a bottle for a once-off seems like alot of effort, if you dont intend of doing a bottle of ebm a week for example i would say cup feeding is fine

Another tip when gabriel was born and we struggled with latch i would have to feed him with a syringe so your mom could try that?

 

[quaints]

For a couple of feeds I would go with the cup as well, just practice with your SIL a couple of times in advance and make sure SIL feeds LO before she gets hungry as it could be frustrating for her if starving hungry and having to master a new way of drinking

 

[triplemom]

Try the sippy cup, but I would insist in the bottle, it is not going to affect your BFing. If nothing works, you will have to take your baby and somebody that takes care of her, with you.

 

[pinkclaire]

I always found if I wasn't there James would take the bottle. It's like they know that's their only option lol.
James always had to do it himself though, ie wait for him to put his mouth to it, rather than putting it in his mouth. It's like it was a control thing.

Good luck with it, and I hope you can relax and enjoy the wedding a little! Xx

 

[maybebaby3]

try with a syringe like when you give medicine. or a cup like the OP said. good luck! my DD refused any bottle but both my sons would happily take ebm in a bottle. every baby is different! good luck!

 

[berrukins]

I have tried DD on a bottle when she was 3+ weeks old, and she was okay with it, so long as I wasn't the one feeding her (to avoid confusion with the boob & bottle). Now that I am back to work after maternity leave, DD drinks expressed milk from the bottle 2-3 times while I am away but she would still drink from the breast twice (once before I leave for work, and 2nd when I'm home just before her bedtime). So I think it shouldn't be a problem - I use Dr Brown's bottles, to reduce gas so she seems OK with them.

 

[LogansMama]

Giving her 1 bottle a day - even for a week isn't the beginning of the end! My son gets 2 bottles a day of ebm while I'm at work, but only nurses the rest of the time. My first son did the same, and I nursed him for 2 years. Im sure it will be fine. relax!!