dh wants me to stop breast feeding

[donnacb]

My dh wants to start giving my ds a bottle. but he is allergic to cows milk. he is 7 months. so either have to express (pain in the arse). or start special formula. We have lots of decorating building work to finish ds 2 months early and it would be handy for someone to look afeter him for the day so we can get it finished once and for all. V depressing for us all being in a building site for past 8 months. Am i being selfish not wanting to yet. Have to go back to work in 2 months. Have tried with a bottle before but screamed house down until we couldnt stand it any longer. Any advice help reassurance greatfully recieved.

[Gwenick]

If you have to go back to work in 2 months I'd definitely advice trying to give at least one bottle a day (one should be fine) so that DS gets used to it.

When you tried the bottle before - who fed him?? It's best if DH feeds it to him with you well out of the way, in another room, or they see/smell you and kick up a fuss until they get what they want. Alternatively you could try giving it from a beaker/cup instead of a bottle....

[Nightynight]

Why not start him straight onto a cup?
Mine were on breast/cups at 7 months (I was also back at work)

[donnacb]

hi ds has a cup but plays with it more than any thing. has about 5 10 mls from it. The bottle was given by dh with me upstairs. it got to the point were every time ds saw dh he would cry. so we stopped. have to go back to work having 4 months off un paid but then all saving gone. need to pat mortgage etc. I think must be brave and may be try bottle. Would prefer if took from a cup, but ds still like sucking

[donnacb]

nightty night. was your baby taking enough milk from the cup. I will be working 3 days a week from 7am till 8.30pm so wont see ds at all in eve

[Nightynight]

donna, yes, they were getting enough. He will be 9 months wont he? should be OK. Can he take goats or sheeps milk?

[donnacb]

hes been given nutrimigen to try. Just about to make some home made yoghurt. oh its so hard not sure what to do. maybe ill try at lunch to put some milk in his cup and see what he does with it

[Nightynight]

you could get him onto cups first by giving him something different and interesting, eg juice in it?

[aloha]

Not selfish at all. When you have a baby with a cows milk allergy breastfeeding is definitely the best thing for him. You don't have to stop breastfeeding. YOu can express and breastfeed in the morning on work days and and weekends and days you aren't working. Expressing isn't really so awful if you aren't feeding as well - it's trying to do both that is difficult IMO. I really wouldn't put you and your baby through hassle and do something that isn't as healthy for him just to do decorating work. I know how depressing it is to live in a building site but your baby will only be a baby for a few more moths and I think this sounds as if it will blight your precious last weeks of maternity leave. What childcare have you set up for when you go back to work? Can't it wait until then? Once he is on a good varied diet at nine months milk does become less important, esp as you will be able to breastfeed on five days a week.

[chipmonkey]

donnacb, I have had terrible trouble trying to get ds3 to take a bottle. Like your ds he would scream when dh brought the bottle anywhere near him. Perseverance is what seems to be paying off at the moment. I have picked the 11 o'clock feed to give him a bottle. Yesterday he refused to take it. I refused to bf him for that feed. He took the bottle for the next feed! Today, he objected to the bottle again but took it after about 15min, decided he wasn't going to starve till the next feed. If you need to you can pump at that feed-time to keep up supply. Last night ds3 woke for an extra feed at 2.am when he had been sleeping through but I put this down to missing the 11 o'clock feed so hopefully won't keep doing this. If you are going back to work, expressing sounds like it might be the best choice for your baby rather than trying different formulae

[robinia]

With 3 of my 4 children I gave up trying to get them on a bottle (all around 8-9 months). It was very difficult with the first as she went to nursery 2 days a week and hardly drank anything there - but made up for it as soon as I was there. She only really started drinking from a cup when I gave her cows milk at 1 year old. With my last I gave up trying to get him onto a bottle and gave him cows milk in a cup at age 9 months - was desparate to get him off breastfeeding as he was biting me and was advised by breastfeeding counsellor that cows milk is OK as long as no family history of allergy and baby has a varied diet.

[fletchie]

I agree with chipmonkey - I had dreadful problems with my (then) 12 week old to accept the bottle. Perserverance paid off and she will now drink from both breast and bottle happily. I tried giving the bottle a break for a few days and then tried again. The break seemed to pay off and reduce what was becoming a highly charged situation! It has taken about 4 weeks to get this far though!

[JulieF]

If your baby will be 9 months when you go back to work then I wouldn't worry about getting him to take a bottle. he will be well established on solids by then and will probably make up his milk intake when you are there.

I went back to work when my ds was 7 months and thats pretty much what happened. I started off expressing but he went down pretty quickly to morning and evening breastfeeds and drinks/solids in the day.

You are not being selfish at all. It will be much more hassle for you to stop breastfeeding, especially as he has a milk intolerance.

[donnacb]

Thanks everyone it is very difficult decision. But good points about his age. He will be corrected age of 8 months when i go back to work. so do peeps think cup may still work. At that age does he still need milk during day. Only prob when go back to work. I dont get home until 20.40 and he should have been asleep for an hour or so by then.l;;;/o;kp thats ds typing lurves the computer