In preparation for returning to work in two months thought it was time to try to get my LO used to a bottle (expressed milk). Started on Monday and left my LO with my mum (who will be looking after Abigail while I'm at work) for an hour with a bottle (first time I've left LO). Mum phoned me within the hour saying Abigail was refusing the bottle and was getting stressed. Did some more research and read that to begin it might help giving a bottle with LO in her chair until she's used to it so tried again today, I stayed this time to try and show Abby that all was ok however Abigail again refused the bottle from my mum. I took the bottle and Abby got excited, opened her mouth and took it from me! Very strange don't you think? What do you think I can do to get her to except a bottle from someone else. By the time I go to work she'll be 6 months

Babies are just strange!! Thomas is very fussy about the bottle too. He went through a phase of refusing it completely but he will now generally take it from me or OH once it's heated up to the temperature he likes, LOL. However when we left him with his auntie he refused to take the bottle from her, but then took it when she sat him in his bouncy chair to give it to him.

If she takes the bottle from you, maybe if you give her a bottle every day for a week or so to get her accustomed to it, then try getting your mum to give it to her. Thomas didn't used to take the bottle from me, only from my OH, but after a week or so of getting a bottle every day he started to take it from me too.

Good luck - I know how stressful it is when LO won't take a bottle. I think it's a good sign that she's taking it from you and not refusing it completely though.

Thank you, it's just all so confusing trying to work out what will work for her. Glad I started the whole bottle thing now otherwise think I'd be even more stressed about going back to work.

The expressing has me confused too! Trying to work out when to express when I'm at work will they be ok with me disapearing to express etc etc, will I be able to express enough........ arrghhhh!

Don't know about where you are, but in Ireland your job is obliged to give you one hour break per day (with pay) to facilitate breast-feeding/expressing - you can split this up into two or three shorter breaks. It's in the maternity protection legislation.

Just wanted to wish you good luck!

We introduced a bottle early on as i felt it was important that Toby get used to having ebm from a bottle from OH as i hoped to still be breastfeeding when i go back to work, and intially he took to it quite well, taking 2-3 oz or so from OH...However a few things happened all around the same time- my pump broke, my dad died, Toby started suffering from reflux and OH started working nights So i basically stopped expressing, and OH stopped having time to offer Toby bottles anyway, and we had a week where we tried him on infant gaviscon in a bottle with cooled boiled water before every feed (for his reflux) and he hated it...so, basically, i feel that that combination of events has now lead to Toby now associating bottles with yukky nasty gaviscon, and me feeling stressed about starting to express again knowing it might all be in vain if he won't take a bottle anyway.

God knows what we'll do when i go back to work, i guess we'll have to give the bottle another go and hope that by then he's forgotten he doesn't like it?! I've heard people recommending doidy cups for babies who consistently refuse bottles so if that becomes the case for us, we might just have to get one of those and see if that works out.

I'm sorry sounds like you had a rough time all at once .

I am thinking of getting a cup/beaker instead and Abi seemed very keen to hold the bottle and so maybe thats the way forward. Will look into a doidy cup too

Is Toby still having the infant gaviscon? Abi has reflux too and I give it to her by syringing it into her mouth a little bit at a time which she takes (although we still have days where she pretends to swallow it and then spit it out while looking at me cheekily!)