BF baby - won't take a bottle....

[wickedfairy]

Hi,

DD is EBF, although we are justr starting to wean (she is 24 weeks). Previously she had taken the odd bottle (so that I could go out for a while) but recently she is totally refusing to take it.

I have 2months left of mat leave, before I have to return to work - obviously she needs to be able to take milk from another source by then. I have tried one of those free-flow sippy cups (4 mths+) but she can't really drink from that (I have only tried it with cooled, boiled water in it though).

Can anyone suggest what else I can try please? Do I try another style of bottle/cup/beaker thing? Maybe I should just bypass the bottle altogether and do cup/beakers. Anything specific I could try?
TIA

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

We just moved straight onto a sippy cup - I think once they are as old as your DD it's easier for them to get the hang of because it is a totally different thing to a boob.

I would wait a couple of weeks, and then start giving her a sippy cup with water in with her meals. Once she is used to drinking from it, then you can start putting milk in the cup at other times.

Don't panic about your timeframe, 6 months to 8 months the changes are huge and she will be like a different baby.
In fact at 8 months it wouldn't be a disaster if she would only drink water during the day and then carried on BFing from you mornings, evenings and weekends. DS was only have 1 feed or sometimes 2 between his morning and pre-bath feed at that age.

[wickedfairy]

Thanks for getting back to me! I thought maybe it might be a good idea to miss out the bottle, since I suppose in a few months I'd be trying to get her onto a cup anyway!

What cup did you use? I have this this one, but she isn't too keen - not sure if it is the water or the cup though, must try some formula!

I need her to be able to take milk from another source because I work very long hours and would be away from her for 13 hours each day I work, a long time! She will be in nursery a couple of days and with DH the other days.

Thanks!

[wickedfairy]

Oh, also - is she likely to be able to take a full formula feed from a cup at her age?

Would she not only have a little, instead of the full amount? I don't know.....

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

I have no idea about formula sorry, DS never had any - I only stopped feeding him entirely during the day once he was old enough to have cow's milk.

That is the cup we started with. I really can't remember how quickly he got used to it - but it definitely helped giving it to him with meals to start with. All new experiences at once I suppose rather than thinking 'but when I have a drink it is from Mummy'.

Honestly don't stress though, they learn and change so much over this next couple of months that you've got loads of opportunity to get this cracked. :)

[Weemee]

Hi Wicked,

Am in a similar situation to yourself, tho further on (DD is 2 weeks short of 1 year). She is still EBF. I am not yet back at work (start next week :()

We started with EBM to top up then EBF and didn't give a bottle for 2 weeeks cos I was having lots of feeding probs. Tried after that 2 weeks to give EBM from bottle and no joy. Persevered for 16 weeks without success (she's a stubborn one!). So gave up on bottle and gave cup (tommee tippee flip spout) and put a pinhole in the top cos they are hard to drink from (try yourself).

She now takes water from a cup but wont take anything else. At 8 months when I knew she was to start nursery about 10 1/2 months I tried formula from a cup and again no luck. So she gets both breasts morning and nite and is thriving!

I think what I am trying to say (and not very succinctly) is don't worry too much. But do get the cup going now so your DD will at least take water when you are away. By the time you are back at work she'll be eating solids too so you can give yogurt, cow's milk, cheese etc. as part of her solids but they count towards her milk intake! It does get easier and it will sort itself out. I remember being around your stage and people saying that but it is true Hope that helps in some way?

[NovemberAli]

My 4 months old DD recently started refusing a bottle when she had taken the odd one before. Tried a few bottles and had success with the NUK one after a bit of perseverance, might be worth a try? I always made sure the milk was nice and warm as well.