HELP my baby is refusing bottles!

amother

Thu, Oct 11 2012, 7:38 am

I need HELP! My seven month old used to take bottles. I work long hours and DH, the babysitter, or even DD would give the baby a bottle of pumped milk. About a month ago we gave the baby a bottle of dairy formula.

Baby broke out in a red rash and started throwing up. We gave benedryl.

Since then the baby refuses ALL bottles of pumped milk. I've tried. DH tried. Different babysitters have tried. DD tried. My mother came for chag and she tried. The baby cries horrible heartwrenching sounds and refused the bottle.

We've also tried sippy cups of milk. Different bottle brands. Feeding the baby in a highchair, sling, while siting on the floor, in the carseat. We've tried spoons of milk. Nothing works!

I went back to work yesterday. The baby went all day without drinking anything! I spoke with the pediatrician before sukkos and she said to start solids. I spent sukkos getting rice cereal and breastmilk, pears and breastmilk, and I've tried mashed bananas in the baby's hair, on the high chair, but I'm not sure anything has actually gotten into the baby. When my babysitter tried yesterday, the baby cried and refused.

I'm getting desperate. While the baby hasn't lost weight, the pediatrician had us come in for a weight check and the baby hasn't gained weight either.

The baby spent last night nursing nonstop. The baby has a great latch and loves to nurse. I just can't deal with a baby that nurses every two hours for fifteen minutes at a time all night long and refuses all food during the day.

The baby is currently with the babysitter and I left 12 ounces of pumped milk for today. The sitter is supposed to call me and I'm to take an extra long lunch break today if nothing else is working. But I'm not always at my office that is four blocks away. Tomorrow I'm downtown with over an hour commute in each direction. I CANT avoid going to work. We NEED my income. I have very little PTO left.

Advice? Could this be a feeding issue that needs OT? Is this just because of the formula bottle?