This is my first week back at work. My DD is 12 weeks old. We practiced with bottles prior to my going back to work. My mom would watch baby and she took bottles with no problem and then went back to nursing when with me. Since I have gone back to work she has refused to nurse. Twice I was able to get her to nurse by doing skin to skin and easing her to the nipple. Today that totally failed and she completely refused to nurse. I finally gave her bottles. I am not sure what to do from here. I don't think I want to exclusively pump. How do I get herto nurse again. I feel totally defeated and will be terribly sad if this is how our breastfeeding relationship ends. 
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Aw I'm so sorry! I think maybe just keep offering but not forcing. I've always read the mom should never offer the bottle. That way she knows when she's with you she nurses. Hopefully this is all just an adjustment period.
I went for a job interview the other day and left a bottle for my FIL. She completely refused it.
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Sorry you're having a rough time! What bottles/nipples are you using?
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Ya, I didn't want to give her the bottle but she was hungry and I was the only person home so there was really no other option.
Sorry to hear your LO refused the bottle. Funny, I thought that is what our problem would be.
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Using Tommie Tippee bottles and their slowest flow nipples.
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So this is what my first LC said about giving bottles: http://www.second9months.com/bottle-feeding-your-baby-sets-the-pace/
The idea is that the baby controls the flow, like at the breast. So its a little harder for them. Maybe that would help?
Also, its funny that some people say mom shouldn't give bottles, I've also heard that only mom should give them! I guess there are multiple schools of thought.
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@beckysue: I'd keep doing lots of skin to skin and keep offering. Maybe side laying nursing? Or what about take a bath together, I've heard that is a little trick to deal with nursing strikes.
agree with @Mrs.Someone about the bottle feedings, they need to be slow. Hold the bottle parallel to the floor so the milk doesn't just drip out and baby has to actually suck it out.
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Bumping to see if anyone else has advice. Thanks ladies!
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I've also heard a LC say good things about taking a bath together because for LO it's like being born all over again. So basically you try to repeat the sucking reflex after birth.
Other than that seeing a LC might bring you forward. She might have some advice. Also there might be some advice on nursing strikes on Kellymom.
ETA: here's the link: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/back-to-breast/
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Can you try Dr. Brown's preemie nipples? Then she'll really need to work for the milk from the bottle. Some people have good luck when the baby is a bit distracted. Also, you can try nursing she is both more and less hungry. If she is too hungry she might just be getting frustrated with delayed letdown. If she has eaten too recently she might not be motivated to nurse. Just calmly keep trying, lots of babies go on nursing strikes and get back on track.
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My LO went through a nursing strike at one point and I really thought it was the end for us. The usual advice is to try when they are sleepy (right when they wake up or right before bed) in a dark room with no distractions. That worked for us, though it did take a few days. I won't lie, it was really tough for me emotionally during that time. Just keep offering to nurse first, before breaking out the bottle. Hopefully it is just a phase and she will come back to nursing. Mine did and we still nurse now at almost 14 months.
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@catlady: How old was your LO when your nursing strike happened? How long did it last?
So far I have tried doing skin to skin before nursing (worked one day and hasn't since). I have also tried giving her an ounce of pumped bm in a bottle and then offering to nurse and she has refused. I have gotten her to latch in the middle of the night when she feeds but this only lasts 5 min or so until she fully wakes up and then flips out. I will keep working at it. It doesn't help that I have had to supplement due to pumping less than I need at work.
I guess I should have been more prepared for issues since everyone knows that breastfeeding isn't easy, but we had a fairly smooth journey thus far so this caught me unprepared and has made me quite emotional even though I know it isn't personal.
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@beckysue: She was about 7 months old. Prior to that, we had no issues with latch and she loved nursing, so it took me by surprise. I actually started my own thread about it back then and got some good advice:
http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/7-month-old-suddenly-hates-nursingIt lasted maybe 4 or 5 days total. I never really figured out what happened and it just slowly got better until one day I realized we were good again. It didn't end up being teething.
Best of luck to you and hugs.
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