I left my 7 month old ds1 for an important daytime conference last week. I was only ever 45 mins away. This is the first time I've left him for more than a couple of hours.
He is weaning well, but refused the bottle at 16 weeks. This, despite my attempts to get him used to it very early on in life (no problems early on!) and then continuing to intermittently try after his sudden refusal (despite soul-destroying waste of milk). I should note that when doing this, every now and then, he drank normally. Say, one time in 10 (trying once or twice a week when at the point of total failure).
So, he is essentially EBF. I'm fine with that- was always my plan- but now, at 7 months old I feel that it's not unreasonable to leave him with my mum for the occasional important occasion.
At the point of weaning I started to introduce sippy cups. Ones with valves, free flow, 360, and an open cup. He sips a teeeeny bit of water but not much. The point is, he clearly knows how to.
So what happened on the day of my conference? He didn't drink a thing. For 10 hours.
He ate, slept, was apparently happy. But screamed blue murder at the thought of a bottle (I have every type on the market), and didn't take anything from any of the various cups.
I'm really at my wits end. Especially as I have to leave him for even longer in a couple of months. I feel like I'm being held to ransom. I really thought that this extended time - where the boobs weren't available - would be a success. I want to cry.
I worry now that his will is so strong he'll go for 24h without fluids (food wing provide enough) and that is simply not ok 