Back to work and my baby is not eating. Has anyone else had this problem?

Question

I started work today after 3 1/2 months of maternity leave. I am very fortunate to be able to work from home. In order for me to work, we have a sitter come in for 5 - 6 hours to watch my baby girl, Maddie. I had the sitter come in yesterday so she could spend some time with Maddie and show her where everything is and also do one feeding. Maddie usually eats at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 9pm. The last feeding is usually very small. I am breastfeeding so I pumped milked so the sitter can feed her for two feedings, the 10am and the 1pm feeding. Yesterday, Maddie would not eat at 10am when the sitter tried to give her the bottle and she would not even take the bottle from me. She has taken the bottle several times from me or my husband so this isn't her first time taking the bottle. She finally ended up eating at 12:30 yesterday. Today she did the same thing except she didn't eat until 1:30. That is 6 hours without eating which means she is losing one feeding during the day. Also this morning, she only took one breast and only ate for like 8 minutes on that breast. Has anyone else experienced this with their baby? Should I be concerned about her missing a feeding? What would you do in this situation?

I checked her temperture today to make sure she was ok and she had a normal temperture so she is not sick. Any advice would be appreciated. I posted this earlier today but want to repost and see if there are any more recommendations.

Answer 1

I went back to work when my older daughter was 8 weeks old, and she refused to eat (at all!) at her wonderful in-home daycare for more than a week. Our sitter tried EVERYTHING. Different nipples, different temperatures, a sippy cup, a regular cup...Nothing worked. She would nurse like crazy at night, though, and after that one horrible, stressful week, she suddenly took to the bottle just fine. I was able to nurse her for more than a year, but we never had the refusal to eat problem again.

Her pediatrician said she was OK as long as she continued to p**p and pee according to her normal pattern and she showed no other signs of dehydration or significant weight loss.

Did your little girl drain your breast in that 8 minute feeding? Babies get super efficient about nursing, and maybe she just got all she needed.

Answer 2

My baby did the same exact thing when I went back to work.

It's called reverse cycling.  Don't be surprised if baby starts to eat more at night.  My little one would only take about 6 oz. during the day while I was gone, but he started waking more at night for feedings.

It's normal and fine...it happens often.  Your little one just prefers the milk straight from the tap.  She'll eat enough to get rid of the hunger pangs, but not fill up.  She'll fill up when mommy gets home and at other times during the day/evening/night.  If her weight gain is normal and she's having enough wet diapers a day, everything is fine.  No need to stress.

Answer 3

Since you work from home, maybe you could take a break when your daughter is ready to eat and just breastfeed like usual.  Then hand her back to the sitter for more playtime.  :)