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