What Do I Do???

I am seriously struggling right now. I have to pump and dump for about a week and my daughter (a few days short of 10 months old) can't nurse during that time. I haven't been able to pump any milk for a stash so I have no breast milk to give her. My partner got the breast milk mimicking formula for her and she drank the first 6oz bottle in the morning with no issues but after that she refused to drink any. As soon as she tastes a drop she starts crying and shoving the bottle/cup away. I just put her to bed and she's only had the one 6oz bottle today (not counting solids) and I feel like I'm failing her. We don't have the money to go out buying a bunch of formulas until we find a kind she'll accept, especially since we only need it for a week or so, nor can we afford to buy breast milk from someone else but I don't know what I can do. Do I replace it with water or juice? Do I give her cows milk? Plant milk? Or do I just give up and not give her bottles the entire week? But I feel like she'll get so hungry without her milk and I'm just so lost and frustrated.

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Have you looked into Human Milk 4 Human Babies…not sure if you’re in the US though

Look around your area, maybe reach out to the children's hospital nearest you or search online for motherhood support groups. Or maybe talk to your OBGYN. There are often programs that donate breast milk to moms in need. With thar said, also check in with your pediatrician because maybe there's an easy solution where you can substitute something else like cow's milk.

Baby’s kidneys can’t process a lot of water yet. They can only have up to 8 oz a day. Any type of milk or juice should be avoided until 12+ months. Keep trying the formula. It can take time for them to adjust. Your pediatrician can also give you some tips

My area has a Facebook group for free things and people post unopened formula cans on there quite a bit. You could see if your area has something similar. You could also talk to her pediatrician because they often will give out formula samples, which may be enough for a week.

I would continue offering the formula, some extra water to avoid dehydration (not too much per kidney function mentioned above), extra solids for calories, and put in a call to your pediatrician. Hopefully baby will cave and drink the formula soon!! Babies are stubborn!

@Lianna I'll definitely look into that thank you so much

@Brooke before the nursing pause she was already drinking about 4-6oz of water a day with her solid meals to help her bowel movements so I'm a bit hesitant to up the water intake in case of over hydration but I'll try to get more solids in during the day until I hear back from her pediatrician

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