Breast to Bottle - 4 Month Old

[Ritz]

Our 4 month old has been exclusively breastfed and has never accepted the bottle while gently trying one bottle/day the past few months. Since I returned to work yesterday, we had no choice but to quit breastfeeding cold turkey and have her take expressed breastmilk in a bottle. DH is home with her and attempting the feeds. Yesterday was day 1 and in a 24 hour period, she took about 4-5oz. Most bottles she just refuses and chews on the teat and starts crying, a few bottles she tried to suck but didn’t really drink and a couple where she drank ½ or 1 oz.

Today is day 2 and no milk so far. We are worried with her lack of milk intake and how long we can stick to this without risking her health. We need and want to get her on the bottle, but at the same time do not want to unknowingly starve her.

There has not been any dirty diaper since yesterday and 2-3 wet diapers. Want to ensure she is not dehydrated either. Since she is 4 months, solids are not introduced yet.

To add, we just got back from an international travel this past weekend (12+ hrs time difference) and so I feel her jet lag is impacting the whole cold turkey shift to bottle method as well.

We are using comotomo bottles and started with the newborn flow, but she seems to prefer one size up and so sticking to that now.

She also had a lip and tongue tie that was released via laser about a month ago. Not sure if this has any impact.

Really looking for some advice on how to proceed and how long should i expect the hunger strike to last. And lastly, what are the odds fo this not working out. I am really at a loss of ideas. Cannot imagine quitting my job becasue she wont take a bottle.

[Lolly]

I will move this over to the breast feeding board as there is more experience there for transitioning.

 I am sure they will say that she’s too little to go cold turkey and you really need to feed her yourself. Not having her usual amount of milk over 2 days could be very dangerous to her, especially as she isn’t having the usual wet and dirty nappies.

A lot of babies won’t take a bottle and if work is your reason for stopping rather than you actually want to then you can continue to feed her while you are home. Getting her breastfeeds when you are there is better than going cold turkey at this age.


Laura

[Ritz]

Thanks so much for the prompt response. I am more than willing and happy to BF my baby, but I am afraid if I do so, she will continue to go without milk the whole day until I get back home and offer her the breast. She is a stubborn one; I have been giving one bottle per day since she was a month old and while she used to drink an once here and there back then, as she grows and becomes more aware, she now won't even let the teat go near her and screams at the sight of a bottle. I would love for combination feeding to work for us (that's my end goal in an ideal world), but am not sure it will work.

Should I just cave in and offer the breast when I get home this evening? I don't want to have gone through the last 2 days of trauma (on her and me) for nothing. are there babies who would never bottle feed no matter what we try?

[eva026]

I had a similar issue with my dd, never got her to take a bottle 😟
We did bf in the morning,bf before bed and a night feed. Otherwise I’d pump and make the milk into custard and she got that instead of 1-2 bf when I was away.
Can give you the recipe if you’d like. That worked for us till she got to 1yo and then the pressure was off and bf in the morning and evening was enough

[*Ali*]

3 out of 4 of my kids never took a bottle.

I would feed her morning, evening and overnight. She will likely do what we call, reverse cycling to catch up  at night on the calories she misses during the day until she works out the bottle.

It's not a good idea to do cold turkey as she can become dehydrated and ill and you could get mastitis.

Hugs. It's tough but it will work out

[Ritz]

Thanks to all your wonderful moms for such valid inputs.

eva026: Really appreciate your custard idea. And would love to try it if you wouldn't mind sharing the recipe and if a 4-month-old can eat it? (i mean will she learn to eat from a spoon at this ag)

We are on day 4 today of trying breast to bottle cold turkey and sadly no progress at all. To ensure my DD stays hydrated, we dream feed her with bottles at night when she is in deep sleep and takes with no problems. She is able to take down about 4 oz at night in a DF. I am trying DF's during the day as well while she is napping, but she wakes up when the teat goes in and if i get lucky to not wake her up, i manage to get a few ounces down here and there throughout the day. On an average, she is surviving on 8-13 oz of EBM per 24 hour period in the last 4 days. Does it still seem too risky to continue? We are visiting our Pediatrician today to know her thoughts on this as well. So far, she has encouraged us to keep trying as long as we keep dehydration at bay.

Honestly, I am very close to giving up and unable to bear this. I see 2 options:

1. I continue to stick to my ground and let this problem fix itself with time. But am worried such a low milk consumption will impact her growth if followed beyond a couple days.

2. I give up and BF her in the morning before work and then in the evening and overnight. This will mean she wont drink a sip of anything in the 10 hours during the day that we will be separated. I know thats not ideal either. [/li][/list]


What do you all recommend and what's worse in my situation?

Many thanks to all again. This forum is SO SO informative and encouraging. I am only a couple days new here and have read up a ton already.

[Katet]

My DS2 refused the bottle, what we managed to do was get him using a sippy cup at 5mo , he'd only take about 20-30ml (so 1 oz max) at a time around 4mo  when we first started (I tried about 4 types) , but he'd take about 100ml in an awake period, if I kept giving it to him. Before we got to that stage DH  managed to give him some by syringe.

[eva026]

Sry, missed the fact that she’s only 4mo. I guess you’d have to consult your dr before giving solids. I thickened the milk with egg yolk or a bit of flour, added cinnamon and dd gobbled it up.

[*Ali*]

How's it going?

[Ritz]

No luck still. Now after not offering her the breast for like a week, she now isnt a big fan of eating at all - regardless of where it comes from. Acceptance from breast is still better than from bottle.

Ped recommended going to a pediatric GI and now she's been put on Zantac as the doc suspects there might be some reflux in play and it seems like she somehow associates feeding with un unpleasant experience. We are also asked to do an upper GI test scheduled and see an infant feeding specialist. Got appointments for both early Jan, but for now in the Zantac. Its been a week of zantac and i am yet to see any positive impact. All is so confusing and stressful. Fingers crossed!

[Lolly]

What’s her current weight and Zantac dose? It can take a while to help and it’s very weight sensitive so you have to watch the dose.

Are you keeping an eye on her weight? Is she having the usual wet and dirty nappies?

Laura

[Ritz]

She is on 1.3 ml Zantac twice a day. He weight is around 14lb 11oz (at least at the time when she was measured at the doc's office for the meds)

Currently, our feeding method is - 4 bottles of expressed breastmilk in a bottle during the day and nursing twice through the night - so 6 feedings overall. All the bottle feedings are dream feeds as she won't otherwise eat. Nursing is relatively easier and she is willing to eat in drowsy/less alert state, but not in a full awake state.

I think she is in the 50-75th percentile for weight. Was born close to upper 90's.

[Ritz]

and to add, yes she produces a good number of wet diapers everyday and 1-2 dirty diapers. The only way we are able to maintain this and avoid her getting dehydrated is by feeding while asleep. If we rely on her to eat when awake like normal babies do, she wont consume more than 5 oz of milk in a 24 hour period. We tried the cold turkey method for a full week and that's what she did and ended up getting a bit dehydrated. So doc suggested that focus should be getting some milk into her, else we will impact her growth. Really hoping that soon she starts eating in awake state and accepts the bottle.

[Katet]

Honestly if you are managing to get her to feed in dream feeds, then keep doing what works. This stage will pass all too quickly & their will be another bump in the road to navigate. As long as she is getting wet & dirty nappies that's the main thing.