Question: Dear Doctors.
I am breastfeeding my 1 yr 4 months old daugher and I am a working mother. Since started working, I have trained her to be bottlefed but unfortunately she refuse bottle and as the solution the nanny has to feed her using syringe till now. So she will drink with syringe during day time and breastfed in the night. Now my breastmilk supply has reduced tremendously due to busy working schedule and didnt have much opportunity to express milk during working hours. Since may daughter refuse bottle, I have difficulty feeding her when she is sleeping in the night as I cant wake her up to feed with syringe and at the same time the breast milk quantity is very litte for direct breastfeeding. I appreciate your suggestion or alternative for me to feed her during sleeping (to top up the breastmilk she consumed through direct feeding).
Answer: Switching a baby to bottlefeeding from breastfeeding can be a challenge. Often, those who have been successful finds the process easier if you get someone else to bottlefeed the child e.g the father during the initial process. Make sure that you are not in the same room when the child is offered the bottle milk. When a child is hungry and sees that you are not around, this is when they tend to surrender and takes it anyway. You have to try this many times, and if failed the process is repeated. Once she is used to it , it would be easier to feed her at night . Try during the day first.