8 month old b'feeding...when to wean to bottle/cup?

[caygill132]

I have been b'feeding my lo from birth, she took a bottle at 1st for 1 feed but refused from 12 weeks & it's been boob or spoon, when I'm not there, ever since. I give her a cup of formula with her breakfast & a cup of water at lunch, doidy cup seems to be best, but she only take a few sips, prob not even 1oz. I am feeding her 3x a day, when she wakes am, 2.30ish after her lunch nap & at bedtime. I am hoping she will soon drop the 2.30pm feed on her own???? Which will leave am and pm...but I don't want to bfeed after she is 1. I only planned on feeding her for 6 months but due to her bottle rejection I am still here at 8 months. Don't get me wrong I am enjoying it & don't regret my choice but I think 12 months is long enough for me. Any suggestions how to get her to take more from her cup & does she need to be taking as much milk at 12months. Or will a few sips & milk in food be enough...perhaps she will just take more with practice I don't know? Just wondering if there is anything else I could do to encourage her. She won't drink from the non-spill cups she thinks they are just for chewing on, but I can get her to drink from the Tommee Tippee free flow cups but again just a few sips...and a few dribbles, bubble blowing etc!

[Elasticwoman]

As I have said on other threads, I offered my 3 children cow's milk after 12 months but did not care whether they wanted it or not. None of them took much, and one continued bf for several years anyway. Dd2 rejected milk as a drink and on cereal altogether, but all 3 had plenty of dairy products in various other forms.

They all seem healthy and big enough to me, and at ages 12, 10 and 6 they only have one filling (baby tooth) between them, which I think indicates they are not short of calcium.

[MaeWest]

My DS is about the same age and still fully bf. He has has the odd bottle, but last time it was offered a few months ago refused it. I haven't pushed it as I'm not back at work and happy to continue.

What I do is regularly offer him a sippy cup of water at breakfast and lunch (the only times he regularly has solids at the mo). He pretty much does what you describe, sips a bit, blows raspberries etc. Most of it runs down his chin i think. I'm just trying to relax about it and know that he will get it in time. He also enjoys messing around with open cups when I hold them. My theory is that if I wasn't there for a few hours and he was really thirsty, he would probably be ok with the cup, but as long as me and my boobs are around he's not that bothered.

I would also prob like to wind up bf when he's around a year, but think I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. See you on a thread about it in about 4 months time maybe?

[caygill132]

Well it's good to know I'm not alone. Sometimes people can make you feel a bit of a freak for still bf, but I don't care..she's not their daughter! Anyway, I'll keep doing what I'm doing & hopefully it will all resolve itself. It usually does!

[yogimum]

My DS is nearly 8 months and I am still Bf though I offer a cup at lunch and tea. Most of the time he just chewed the end but now after a couple of months he does drink some from the tommee tippee free flow cups. I was concerned he wasn't getting enough fluids so i put water in a bottle and he just plays with it throughout the day in hope that he gets a few drops down his neck. Perserverance is the key one thinks! The bottle has handles so he likes to hold it.

[Jelley]

My ds is almost 13 months. At 8 months he took tiny amounts of water from a free flow sippy cup, but nothing else. I have never tried a bottle, but jst before 12 months I gave himcows milk in an avent cup with a spout, and he got the hang of it within a couple of days.

If you can manage to keep going with the bf as it is, I would try and relax and try again in a few months.

[NappyChange]

Same boat, have 8 mth old dd, breastfeeding and hope to continue till she is 1. I don't want to give formula and there is NO WAY I am starting expressing. When can I give cows milk as a drink - 1 year? Will it hurt if I give it a few weeks early??

[yogimum]

one year is the earliest for giving cows milk as a drink. I hated expressing and produced very little when I tried so my DH gives formula occasionally when Im not around.

[Jelley]

If you are breast feeding for main drinks, a little cows milk is ok to try a couple of weeks early, but generally from 1 year.

[lillochum]

I bfed all 3 of my children for the full year each. My eldest gave up of her own accord at 13 months, when I was half-way through my 2nd pregnancy, (I was told that the taste of the milk can change then, which puts some babes off). My second gave up of her own accord at 15 months, and my last stopped at 18 months when I stopped offering the bedtime feed, (he didn't seek it, when it wasn't offered). I didn't give any of them dairy products under 1 year, to prevent allergies. So far, none of them have had any allergies despite there being lots of asthma, hayfever, excezma etc in the family. When I started cows milk, I put it straight in a lidded cup (no bottles) - the spilling kind, because the non-spill ones certainly used to be really hard work to suck on! I only used the non-spill ones for water between meals etc Hope this is helpful.

[bionicley]

Babies over 8 months don't need spouts - these are just a gimmick. Ok babies will pour the cup's contents but they'll do this whether they start with a lidless beaker at 8 or 18 months and there will be a period of spilling and pouring whenever you atart.
Water is a good drink to start with. Cows' milk is best for calves IMO. All my children have disliked cows' milk and I have given up drinking it too recently. You can get all the nutrients from other foods easily. Your baby's main nutrition is in your milk until he is at least 12 months.

[NappyChange]

Bionicley - your kids don't drink milk at all - do they get all they need from cheese/yogurt etc? Or do you give them rice milk/soya milk.

My HV visited today for the 8 mth check and said I could actually start giving a couple of oz a day of cows in a beaker to get DD used to it - not convinced this is right.

[Elasticwoman]

See my post lower down the thread Nappychange.

Kind of hv to give you permission! Probably wouldn't kill your baby to have cow's milk but why risk future dairy intolerance/allergies.

I agree that cow's milk is for calves.

[bionicley]

One of my boys eats cheese but the other two get calcium from vegetable sources. I think it is a myth perpetuated by those with a commercial interest that milk is good for you. It is just about the commonest allergen in babies. You don't need it. There is calcium in lots of fruit and veg, just as there is iron.

[caygill132]

I guess it's just drummed into you from all the hv, mw & books that milk is sooo important for babies & children. I have been giving my dd formula in food & a small amount of cheese. I will just go with the flow & see what happens. I will try giving her a drink of water throughout the day, although just in the free flow spouty Tommee Tippee as she really has no clue with the non spill one's, think she would play around with it for 6 months & still not get anything from it!

[Elasticwoman]

The Japanese don't have any non-human milk in their diet at all, I understand.