I need advice on my bottle-refusing 11mo and infant feeding is dead...

[Caenea]

I did try posting this over there but got literally no answer.

My DD is 11mo and has been ebf from birth right up until she went onto food at 6mo.

She has never, and still will not, take a bottle. It doesn't matter what is in said bottle and it doesn't matter if it has been hours since she fed - she also won't let me breastfeed her in public - she will push the bottle away, scream, cry, choke if I do manage to force it on her.

I have tried sippy cups, different kinds of teats, expressed milk, hot/warm/cold milk, hot/cold/warm water, the squashes you can buy in the formula aisles. She won't drink out of a bottle, meaning her only liquids come from breastmilk.

I have tried and tried to explain to health visitors that she won't take a bottle. They brush it off by saying she will if she's thirsty enough. No she won't - she has literally gone nine hours before without any liquids because she refused both breast and bottle - screaming, fighting, pushing me away, choking, gasping as if she couldn't breathe. I ended up in OOH with her.

Please - did any of you experience this, and if so, what do I do?? I want to stop breastfeeding - she's got teeth now and she's just getting too big - but how can I when it's the only liquid she'll take? I daren't even go out for too long because I know she won't even let me breastfeed her.

[BendingSpoons]

Have you tried an open cup? Either a normal adult one or a doidy cup? When I went back to work at 9 months, it was the only thing DD drank from. It was slow going and messy but you could practise with her.

[FittonTower]

My eldest wouldn't take a bottle and I never managed to change her mind, I concentrated on cups. At first she would only drink from open cups with help so that was messy and annoying but she soon got the hang of it. I also made sure I have her lots if food that have high water content like melon so she was getting lots of fluid from other ways.

[PotteringAlong]

At 11 months I'd try her on cows milk in an open cup. Get a doidy cup and give it a go. Or will she drink if it's a sports bottle?

[InDubiousBattle]

Have you tried a straw with a cup. Just water to start then cows milk.

[Therealslimshady1]

I had this with DS1, I taught him.to drink from an open cup (at 7 months , it worked as well!) And from a straw (special natural watered down juice they used to sell there).

For travel a sports bottle with a flip up straw.

Ideal

[WishUponAStar88]

I had this with my daughter. She would never take any milk but eventually would take sips of water from a straw cup or beaker. I know it’s so hard but try not to worry. It isn’t the only liquid she takes as she’ll have some in food. I used to make her very milky wheatabix in the morning and then yoghurt or custard made with powder with fruit after dinner (didn’t add the sugar it tells you too and she still loved it) as I was worried about her calcium without milk as well as cheese most days with lunch. She’s 3 now and still doesn’t really like milk but is fine and has drank water from proper cups with no problems since about 15m.

[WishUponAStar88]

Yes lots of water in fruit too ... melon, grapes, oranges etc.

[Caenea]

What is a doidy cup, sorry?

I've never tried giving her a straw, I suppose that might help! We've also got a few empty sports bottles about - I could wash one of those out and try.

She's obviously got no problem suckling - she always breastfed well, and still does.

Thanks all so far. I will have to pop out and invest in some little plastic cups, as all we have are glass and that's probably asking for trouble!

[Callamia]

My eldest didn't take a bottle either. He would use a nuk sippy cup, ajd my niece would take milk from a spoon. Will she eat yoghurt (you can water down with milk)? Or eat fruit?

Will she mess around with a straw? It's tough, and I remember that getting my eldest to drink from a cup took time. At the same age, he wasn't terribly interested in using anything else, but he did eat ok instead and caught up after nursery with bf.

[liz70]

No experience but have you tried a straw, maybe a wriggly/novelty one? Just wondering if that would appeal or trigger her curiosity?

I don't know if this link would be any help:

yourkidstable.com/how-to-teach-your-baby-or-toddler-to/

[BertramTheWalrus]

How about feeding her liquids with a spoon? That's what I did with DS2. It's a pain and a mess but surprisingly effective!

[Changerofname987654321]

My DD loves drinking out of her espresso cup because it looks my mug of tea.

[Caenea]

She eats absolutely everything - she'll take milky porridge and indeed just milk from a spoon and has no issue with that.

She loves fruit and cheese and yogurt so she's not deprived of liquids in food, but she really should be drinking more than she does. I shall go and see if I can find one of the straw-top bottles, and maybe get one for me too, see if she'll drink if I'm drinking out of the same thing?

[tiirred]

Skip the bottle and try an open cup or toddler soppy cup/straw cup/sports bottle.
Be easier in there long run to not have to wean off a bottle too.

[tiirred]

Sippy *

[Ecureuil]

DD2 never took a bottle so I switched to normal cups at 10 months, which she took to pretty well.

[BendingSpoons]

If you are buying a cup, definitely go for the doidy one. It means it doesn't press into their face and is easier to see into.

[Pistachiois50pmore]

Doidy cups are absolute genius. If you haven't tried the Tommee Tippee free flow ones they're good too as they don't have to suck, just tip it into their mouth. You can definitely stop worrying about teats by 11mo!

[livpotter]

My kids liked the doidy cup but also the munchkin miracle. Less messy but still like using a cup.

[museumum]

My ds wouldn’t take a bottle after about 4mo I gave up at 6mo when he went to Nursery a couple of short days and taught him to drink water from a cup along with feeding him bm porridge at first then cow milk porridge and lots of wet food like soup.
He would drink from a cup with a spout (like an insulated mug) but nothing with a valve or teat or straw.
If a child isn’t taking bottles by about 8mo I would start them as they’re supposed to be stopping them around 12mo anyway.

[redsquirrel2]

I had this also with my DD. My health visitor suggested making it very different from expressed breast milk in a bottle, which was what I was trying to give her. She suggested cold cow's milk in a cup. It worked - eventually. Could you sit her next to an older child who is also drinking in this way, she might want to copy? On the plus side my friends with older babies were amazed at how quickly I'd weaned her off bottles! (when she never even had them!)

[Caenea]

Those cups are rather smart! I shall look into getting some of those.

We've tried the tommee tippee ones and she hasn't cared for those either, i think she gets too much at once and it catches in her throat.

[dodecahedronandonandon]

My kids like the Babycup, it's smaller than the Doidy and was easy to control as a first cup.

[summerson]

@Caenea did you have any luck with the doidy/ 360 / any other magic? Or still solely BF?