Giving up breastfeeding - DS not taking bottle, what are the alternatives?

[vez123]

Hi, title really says it in a nutshell.
DS is 10.5 months old and has a breastfeed in the evening before bed, one or two during the day and one in the morning. Sometimes also in the night when he wakes, but usually sleeps through (touch wood). Generally I have really enjoyed breastfeeding but I am getting to a point where I would like my body back to myself (and DH). Also, DS has started twiddling with my breasts during feeds and pulling down my shirt, so it's not so enjoyable really..

I am going back to work when he is a year old and I am thinking about giving up breastfeeding by the time DS is 15 or 16 months old latest. Unfortunately he stopped taking the bottle at 3 months and I tried a few times to get him to take it but it was all a waste of time and very stressful so I gave up. My plan now is to phase out breastfeeding naturally by going back to work, which should cut it down to only two feeds.
My problem is, what should be the alternative for DS. He is drinking tiny sips of water from a cup during meals but nowhere near the amounts that is recommended for milk. He so far has refused formula from the beaker/cup.
Also, he often wakes at 5 and we just take him into bed with us, I pop him on the boob, he drinks and then sleeps until 7. This is the one feed that I am finding hard to give up. I don't think a cup full of milk will work the same way...

It would be great if people could share their experiences of giving up breastfeeding in this sort of situation.

Cheers!

If breastmilk is still his main milk, you can just try him with cows milk? And milk isn't essential for them, as long as they are drinking plenty of fluids, and getting plenty of calcium etc.

So if he doesn't take to drinks of milk, but has cereal with milk on, plus yoghurts/cheese, he will be getting enough of the right stuff.

I found that when DS stopped having breastfeeds in the night he just went without, he didn't have a drink of anything else instead.

Keep offering the water/milk in beakers or open cups, he may well take to it in the end

I gave up bf at 11 months and he wasn't keen at first on bottles of formula but after a week or so of refusing it, he accepted it and grew to love it as much. He had reflux and we were advised to keep him on the toddler formula rather than switch to cows milk. He obviously also had water in a sippy cup as well. So could be worth persisting.

Our german friend recommended Nuk beakers. You can get the basic beaker on amazon but the uk design seems to only come with free flow teats which out DS struggles with (as in he ended up soaked every time he tried to use it). So we ordered teats from the german website
( www.kidsroom.de/epages/Kidsroom.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectID=323050 )
which DS has to bite to get the flow. They are a great half way house between a bottle teat and a beaker spout. Our DS loved these and it was an excellent transition from the breast. And they don't spill.

Depending on your breasts you don't have to give up on that 5am feed (especially if it gets you all some essential extra sleep) - DD1 kept up her bedtime feed (with no others) for six months (til she was 20 mths) with no supply problems.

We never used a bottle - went straight to a sucka-mug - we use Playtex as they do not leak and went to cow's milk at night (with water or squash from the same mugs during the day). It took about six weeks for her to convert to cow's milk - we just kept offering a small mug of it (warmed) every night - she'd have a sip and then ignore it, til one night it all got guzzled and (3 years later) she still takes a sucka mug of warm milk to bed. During the day we use the straw cups for the car & wandering about with a real glass at the dinner table.

If you are going cold turkey (as we eventually did) then I was advised to get to DH (or someone else) to put the child to bed since you will smell of yummy mummy milk for about a week & so are a more tempting / annoying / upsetting person to have doing bedtime.

Good luck

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, I will definitely look into getting a few more beakers and will also start replacing the daytime feeds with snacks.

DS1 was breastfed till he was 14 months. I went back to work at 1 year and fed him before work, after work and before bed. He wouldn't take milk in a bottle or beaker at all. Not even EBM. So he had water when he was thirsty, and was being weaned anyway. Still now (at 4.3) he doesn't drink milk at all but I just don't worry about it, he's growing and healthy.

It kind of dropped off on its own accord anyway, I never planned to 'stop'.

Good luck, it'll all be fine.

My dds wouldn't take bottles. Dd1 took a Doidy cup. dd2 used a sippy cup.

Hello!
I think my situation was very similar to you. DD never took a bottle. I gradually phased out BF from 8 months, although very gradually (she was a real boob monster still at 8 months), so that by 10 months she was on 2/3 feeds and then by 13/14 months she was on 2. I gave those 2 up together at 18 months when we conveniently stayed the night away for a wedding.

At 10 months the 2/3 feeds were the same as yours. The 5 am one stayed there until about 13/14 months when we managed to tweak it to 6 and then to 7 so that the "third" feed had gone. Possibly could have got rid of it earlier, but like you it seemed rather ingrained and I didn't want to have to fight too hard.

Don't worry about not getting enough milk/liquid when you cut back- they do get much better with the cup, or at least DD so that whilst she was offered a cup from 8 months she really only got the hang of it by 12/13 months by which time she was glugging down cow's milk. She never drank formula, well not in any quantity at all- a lot got thrown away!!!

Between 8 months and 12 when she wasn't very good with the cup I offered lots of yoghurts/fromage frais and she did eat quite a few. Also, the cup that worked the best for us was tommee tippee for water and cow cup for milk- although she'll drink milk from tt as well these days (now 2.5).

My HV told me that 2/3 milk feeds is fine at 10 months, and to chill out about it so I did! Good luck!