10 months old bottle refuser and my options

[BlueFrenchHorn]

I go back to work when dc2 will be 10months old. He's ebf but we've just started on solids (6 months), but he's always refused a bottle. My dc1 took a bottle at 4 months eventually but dc2 just isn't going for it.

I was planning on stopping bf at 8 months. Same as with dc1, but if he won't take a bottle what are my options?

I know the advice is to give a cup, but realistically, which they get much milk in them at 10 months through a cup?'y dc1 is 2 and can only drink larger amounts from a cup. At 10 months she was just sipping water.

If I breastfed once in the morning say 7am, then again when I picked him up at nursery at 6pm, is that enough? Would I need to express in the day at work?

I know babies need either bm or formula until 1 so this is worrying me slightly. The industry I work in isn't very baby friendly and I'd be expected to go out at lunch or any point in the day at a moments notice, so worried about finding a regular time to pump.

[CharleyFarnsbarns]

I had this with my DS. I used to express once at work and send in a bottle of BM to nursery. He used to take a tiny amount of it but drank water through the day. I BF before and after nursery and he was fine.

He had a massive BF when we got home and lots through the evening and night! Then one before we left in the morning.

I think as long as they eat and drink in the day they can get enough milk from you during evening/night/morning.

[CharleyFarnsbarns]

After a couple of months I stopped expressing as he just didn't want to drink it unless it was from the source.

[BeQuicksieorBeDead]

by ten months I think the nhs recommend you use a cup anyway...I am sure my health visitor said something about it last time I was at the clinic. You can get some quite funky baby cups with sippy lids, she said these are better for their teeth.

But I might have hallucinated the whole thing, will check on the nhs website.

[BeQuicksieorBeDead]

And this might not be helpful but by law your employer has to support you with breastfeeding, by providing space and opportunities to express. My old boss had his knuckles rapped for suggesting someone used a toilet for expressing in.

[LBOCS]

I went back to work when DD was 9mo. She is both a bottle AND a formula refuser.

She had a bf in the morning and before bed, and 1-2 cups of cows milk a day, with a straw. She has been fine - I did worry but given the situation I thought that something was better than nothing! She's 14mo now, and has 1 cup of milk instead of 2, but has shown no ill effects. She has nothing in the way of food intolerances or anything up to now though.