> From: Patricia Sawarna <[log in to unmask]>
     > To:
     > Subject: Mom back at work
     > Date: Sunday, October 05, 1997 9:59 PM
     >
     > A mom contacted me a month ago concerned because she would be
     returning
     > to fulltime employment and hadn't been successful at getting her 4
     month
     > old to take breastmilk from a bottle. She had tried everything and
     after
     > consulting with another LC, I was able to give her some more
     > suggestions. She has now been back to work for 3 weeks and he still
     > refuses to take breastmilk from a bottle. I would appreciate hearing
     how
     > others have supported moms in a similar situation.

     Patricia,

     I had a similar problem with my first child when I returned to work at
     9 weeks.  We eventually figured out that it wasn't so much the nipple,
     but the bottle itself.  The hard plastic bottles required my daughter
     to stop sucking in order to allow air to enter the bottle, releasing
     the pressure build-up.  The bag-type bottles (disposable bottles)
     collapse as the baby is sucking -- the baby doesn't need to stop
     sucking to let air into the bottle.   After the switch in bottle
     types, my daughter went from only drinking 1 or 2 oz. of breast milk
     from the bottle at a time, to more like 4-6 oz. from the bottle at
     each feed.

     With my second child, I figured out (with wonderful encouragement from
     Kathy Dettwyler!) that letting him sleep with me at night would allow
     him to nurse as frequently as he wanted at night (as well as reduce
     SIDS risk), while barely disrupting my sleep.  I found that I didn't
     need to worry about how much he ate during the day, because he would
     surely make up for the difference at night.  He fooled around with the
     bottle, not taking much unless he was really hungry or thirsty, then
     nursed 4x or so each night.  As soon as he was sitting up, we switched
     to using sippy cups with flow-control.

     Perhaps you could suggest to the mom that she:
     1) try a variety of bottles in addition to nipples (or a cup), and
     2) let the baby sleep with her at night so s/he can nurse often to
     make up for anything missed during the day, and
     3) try to arrange at least one (more if possible) break during the day
     where she can go nurse her baby.


     Good Luck!

     Dena Bernhard

     Wife and Mother,
     Software Engineer,
     Member of the Space Coast Breastfeeding Coalition
     Melbourne, Fl.