Sudden bottle/milk refusal at 9 months PLZ HELP!!

[vlgriffiths]

My 9 month old has been mix bottle breast fed since she was a few weeks old (all breast milk) When we started solids at 6months we found she had a mild milk allergy which meant she couldnt have normal formula milk or cows milk so she has been prescribed wysoy. I started mixing it into her bottle which she has before bed (ie 1/2 and 1/2 with breast milk) gradually increasing the amount of wysoy until she was solely on wysoy. She was drinking it fine no issues so then i tried changing a breast feed for a bottle of wysoy and again she seemed to tolerate this for a day or so then all of a sudden she is now refusing all bottles whether it be breastmilk or wysoy. she drinks water resonably well from a sippy cup so i tried milk in that but she then refuses the cup. bow she is back to full breast feeds which she hasnt dont for about 5 months. but now she has teeth and she bites when frustrated and i dont think my milk supply is sufficient as she sucks so hard it makes my nipples bleed. help please i dont know what to do now. i have 3 months before i start back at work where breastfeeding wont be an option as i will leave before she wakes and be home after bedtime.

I'm no expert but I wd stop breastfeeding. She can have her milk in other things. With cereal,in puddings and maybe in a home made milkshake (banana)? I wouldn't be surprised if she eventually takes milk from the cup again, if there is no alternative.

Anything which makes life easier for YOU. Don't feel bad you've done a great job so far. If breastfeeding is going to stop in 3 months anyway it doesn't matter that much if you stop now.

Thanks for your reply. why is being a mum so difficult! I went into it thinking i would be able to make all these decisions easily and it hits you like a tonne of bricks and twists everything.

vlgriffiths - there's no reason why your milk supply wouldn't be sufficient at this stage, boobs are incredibly flexible (and the increased feeding would have increased your supply anyway). However, the bleeding is a problem and is likely caused by poor latch rather than 'sucking too hard'.

At 9 months babies still need a lot of milk so disagree with Nannytwotimes about stopping feeding altogether (until you can get your DD to take bottles again.)

There are several techniques to re-introduce bottles. Have you tried getting someone else to offer the bottles?

I have tried getting my hubby to feed her her bottle, i have tried putting water in her bottle, i have tried leaving her with her bottle to play with. she just refuses to drink from it. she is a stubborn little madam

Hi I am having a similar problem with DS who is 7 1/2 months. He used to take a bottle every night before bed (originally EBM then formula from 3 months) but once I started solids at 5 months he has point blank refused the bottle regardless of whether it's BM, formula, warm, room temperature, given by me, DH or grandma. I've tried different types of bottles too. I'm also back to work in 4 months and will be travelling a lot so BFing won't be an option then. People have told me just to persevere with the bottle but I don't want to create a battleground plus I need to drop a feed at a time, can't just stop bfing altogether and just offer him the bottle or else I'll be uncomfy and at risk of mastitis. I'm wondering whether to go straight to a cup, he has a doidy cup (sloping one - have you tried that?) which he will take water and milk from but it's not very comforting for bedtime or morning feeds. Agree being a mum is hard! I'm so glad I breast fed but no-one tells you about all these things, my bottle feeding friends are merrily carrying on with no problems! Never mind, I'd do it all again for no2!

It might be because she didn't like the taste of the wysoy on its own and she associates the bottle with this taste.