Margaret:
        I would recommend to a working mother to breastfed exclusively to the last
day. Breastfeeding is not only nutrition, an giving breast milk in a bottle
is not the same thing. A mother expecting to return to work should take
profit of every opportunity to breastfed.
        Drinking from a cup is much more easy than drinking from a bottle (try to
do it, if you have any doubts!) No wonder most babies reject bottles after
2 months of breast milk induced brain growth! :-) If prematures can do it,
older babies can also. Use a small "wine size" drinking glass. We should
never accept bottles as normal, useful o standar.
        Trying to have a baby accostumed to bottles or cups before the mother
returns to work is not only a lost opportunity to nurse, but also usually
very frustrating for both mother and baby. Many (most?) babies plainly can
not understand "why Mom is here and doesn't want to fed me?" Feeling
rejected, they cry and cry, and the mother worries unnecesarily: when the
mother is away, babies usually think: "well, Mom is not here, let's eat
something else..."
        Of course, test other possibilities: part time, bringing baby to mother at
lunch hour...
                        Carlos Gonzalez
                        ACPAM, Catalan Breastfeeding Association
                        Barcelona, SPAIN