need to start weaning but don't really want to and don't know where to start

[jandmmum]

I always thought I would be mix feeding by now with dd being my dc2 as I thought it would be easier. However, after a difficult start we have ended up almost ebf and I am actually enjoying it and loving the convenience. DD has had a bottle for her dream feed since a few weeks old, but recently has been really fussy and it has been a struggle to get more than an oz down her.
I have to go away with work just as she turns 6 months (is currently 22 weeks so in 4 weeks time). I also go back to work 3 days when she is 8 months. I really need to start getting her used to taking bottles so that I know she'll be ok when I'm away and when she goes to nursery. Would like to keep some bfing up for a while longer though. I won't be able to express when back at work and struggle now as she has increased her feeding recently from 3-4 hourly to more like 2.5 hourly. I have a small stash in the freezer.
So where do I start? Which is the best feed to give as a bottle and how quickly should I replace feeds?
TIA

Would she take EBM from a cup, perhaps? Also, have you tried going out and letting someone else give the bottle/cup?

At 8 months it's possible that if she really won't take any milk from anyone else, she might be alright with solids/water during the day (maybe including some dairy, like yoghurt or cheese) and just breastfeeding more at night or on your days off. Also, this bottle refusal might be a phase, so I wouldn't worry so much about going back to work, it's more the going away in 4 weeks that might be a problem. How long will you be away for?

One thing I would say though is if it's a battle now, maybe leave it for a week or two and then try again when she's relaxed and she might not fight against it so much.

Do I need to sterilise a cup if I use ready made formula? I have a tommy tippee sippy cup. Could try her with that. She seems to be very particular about the temperature too. I'm away for the best part of 3 days and I'm hoping she won't hate me for it. Am dreading it now.

You probably don't need to sterilise it if it will be used straight away, but I probably would because it's difficult to clean every single bit of those cups (I'm thinking around the inside of the lid and inside the spout here). If you have a dishwasher then that's okay though because the temperature gets high enough to sterilise things.

Just to add - you don't have to wean her if you don't want to. You could express while you go away - in fact, you'll need to anyway, to avoid mastitis. And I went back to work FT when DS was 6.5 months and just fed at lunchtines, he had a cup of EBM (expressed the previous evening or from frozen stores) for the rest of the day. By 8m he took enough solids that I could skip some lunchtimes. I ended up feeding him for over 2 years, despite working 10 hours plus most days. If it's what you want, it's doable. :)

I intend go express whilst I'm away but can't really expect her to go from one dream feed bottle a day to all bottles for 3 days. It's good to know that they can manage that long when you are working. I could potentially go to her at lunch time as the nursery is at work but I only have a very short break and I thought it might be more upsetting for her (and me) having to leave her twice. I intend to do blw so not sure how much solids she'll be having by then.