Re: Baby still wants breast ..
Its quite common for babies to reverse cycle on the days they are in childcare, if they won't take milk - as long as you can get some water in them - then they will simply take more milk in the night. Don't mistake baby feeding from mummy on her return as being a sign of being ravenous though - yes I dare say she will be hungry - but she will be also desperate for her source of comfort as well - so it will be a mixture of both.
Also don't be surprised if mum did try to offer a bottle more times. The problem of course is mum is not supposed to feed with a bottle in babies eyes - because she feeds with boobies - where in the main most people other than mum are more successful at introducing a bottle.
Baby doesn't have to take from a bottle, you can try a cup - open or sippy, you can try a spoon, syringe, you can give icecubes, milk pops, you can even give them a cold wet cloth to suck on - which if they are teething can also give relief as well. If the bottle is the chosen route - then try and choose a teat that is a similar size to mums nipples, soft as appose to hard and a shape not dissimilar to mums nipple when it leave bubs mouth (some babies squeeze nipple so its flatter, some nipples come out rounded) another thing to try is to warm the teat slightly before offering - in hot water (not too long) this will soften and warm the teat because after all mums nipple is not cold and hard.
You can try a number of holds when feeding, mimic the bf hold, or have baby's back leaning against your chest and feed essentially with no face contact. You could try a rugby ball hold and give lots of eye contact and singing to sooth.
If offering a dummy you could also try warming that we well to introduce.
Suggest to mum if she can express some milk for you in the early weeks to encourage baby to take a bottle and then change to formula if the expressing is too much.
If you want any more support please feel free to PM me. I am a BF mother still, and trained as a support helper for bf mothers in the local and wider community.
There is quite alot of anxiety attached to leaving your child when you are still BF. Most women have strong roots in their childs 'eating' so please try not to presume that your friend is being slapdash - I have rarely seen a bf mother who doesn't struggle with this transition emotionally or physically. I rather suspect that she would struggle to get through the day without expressing the missed feeds and if she does - that feed on collecting the baby will be a massive relief for her as well as I expect she will be quite engorged. The baby also will smell that milk immediately and demand it.
At 6 months though baby is probably only missing 1 or 2 feeds - which they can more than make up with the collection of baby feed and through the night.
Hang in there - I know its not easy listening to babies crying and the effect it has on your son as well - but its not going to be something that will be solved overnight - it will take a bit of time and its a massive transition for your son as well.
OOOOH and I forgot to say - at 6 mths you could try swaddling baby for sleeptimes - especially in a blanket from home - or one mum has cuddled the night before. swaddling is massively comforting. You could also try swaddling for feeds - this may help as well.
triangle sandwiches are better than square ones...
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