Help me brainstorm, I am heartbroken!

My baby is 8 months old. She is my 3rd. With my first, I had an enormous overproduction problem and donated 760 oz, plus stored about 300 oz for when I went back to work. I also pumped while at work, so our stash lasted to 14 months for him. With my second, I pumped and stored about 300oz, went back to work when he was 7 months, and accidentally got pregnant a month later. My supply dwindled, so we blasted through the stored milk.

So, I thought I was an old pro. With DD, I stored a bunch of milk in the chest freezer for when I went back to work. She is now 9 months old. I went back 1.5 months ago. She is refusing the bottle... completely. I bring in 2 bottles a day with 2 oz each. They try the bottle, the dixie cup, the spoon, the isolated darkened room, the soft background music, different teachers offering it. Some days they are successful, but most they aren't. They save the leftover milk in the fridge and upon pick-up at daycare, I just unscrew the tops off the bottles and my boys finish the milk. I drive to daycare at lunchtime to nurse her (otherwise she gets no fluids all day since she's not into water either). She subsists on solid foods, including fruit and veggies at daycare. I pump one time a day, which yields about 8-9 oz. We use up 4 oz the next day. I freeze the rest some days and just hand over the rest to the boys on the other days. Seems no point in freezing it these days.

I have a lot of milk in the deep freezer. It's in 4 oz milk bank containers and in 2.5 oz medela freezer containers. I still have a bunch of colostrum in there. It's breaking my heart that I have so much milk and yet my baby girl is starving herself at daycare.

If you can think of anything else to try to get her to take it, I'd welcome the suggestions.

Otherwise, I guess my options are to either donate it, or to thaw it and feed it to the boys whenever they get sick. They don't need it, she does, but that's besides the point. I guess I can also hold on to it until she decides she can drink it from a cup, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

I have a donor (who basically donates for this same reason!) that has a somewhat similar situation. One idea: Does your DD take rice cereal? You could mix breastmilk into the cereal and at least she'd get some from that. That's what my donor does. Some days he hardly touches the bottle at all. I don't know if he takes a cup yet, I tried calling her just now to ask.

Does your DD nurse plenty when you are together to make up for the fact she takes in little to no breastmilk at daycare? If she does, I probably wouldn't worry too much about the lack of intake at daycare. She's just holding out for you!

Could your milk have extra lipase in it? Just a thought - not like it really matters, I'm just wondering why she would refuse it in all the different methods you've tried.

Honestly, though, as long as she makes up for it when you're there, I wouldn't worry too much. The solids that you give her likely have some fluid in them too - you could try making sure the solids have extra fluid, i.e. watermelon, yogurt, etc. But I wouldn't worry too much - she's old enough to let you know if she's hungry!

Nope, the lipase is fine. She does drink it sometimes, and the boys always finish it. I guess I should look into donating it. The colostrum is 8 months old now... but a lot of it is new.

You might also try one of those boob-shaped bottles. Maybe she would take that?

A lot of babies won't take a bottle, even though it has breastmilk in it. She won't starve I wouldn't stress about it..I nannied a little girl who was EBF'd until Mom went back to work at 4 months. She REFUSED a bottle and MAN did I try everything! I tried every bottle, every nipple..I wore her moms shirt over mine so she'd have her scent, you name it, and I did it LOL! I would take her to her mom everyday at lunch so she could nurse..and that would tide her over until her mom came and got her. Finally..about 2 months later, she did start taking a bottle (Soothie bottle)!
I would just offer it gently..Maybe by starting at home in a sippy cup (why bother with a bottle at this age! I would start her on a straw cup (I got one with handles and a straw). Just leave it laying around where she can find it easily..coffee table..book shelf..offer it as she is playing, if she refuses, just put it away. I think that if *she* decides to take it instead of you making her, it will be easier Kids are smart..she knows that you will nurse her at lunch time..she just waits..however, if you are offering it at home, where she knows she can have it whenever she wants it (nursing), she may be a litle more willing to have a sippy cup of milk.
Just my thoughts

Thanks for your thoughts. She did take the straw cup at some point (maybe water out of my straw cup or something), but once this whole bottle fiasco started, she's refused even that. I will start leaving a sippy laying around and see how she does.

I think I may have to donate my stash. I can't bring myself to thaw any more of the colostrum because whatever I thaw, she refuses... and I can pump enough for my random experimentation.