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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Bypassing bottles altogether

17 replies

Mombojombo · 09/02/2012 10:25

DS is 5.5 months and EBF. I'm going to be re-starting some choral rehearsals in a few weeks and need to know he can get some milk if I'm not around.

He's never taken a bottle, and to be perfectly honest, I'm really phobic about them. Not a judgement of anyone who uses them at all, but I really hate them for neurotic PND-related reasons, and would much rather he never had to use one. Also, if I would have to wean him off them in a few months time it doesn't seem worth starting now (and of course there's no guarantee he'd take one anyway at this late stage).

He's taken small amounts of EBM from a free-flow sippy cup a few times, with a lot of help, and I wondered if others DCs were able to start feeding themselves from a sippy cup around 6 months? I've heard people say it's better that they have an association that water/juice is in sippy cup and milk in a bottle but is that bobbins?

OP posts:

JiltedJohnsJulie · 09/02/2012 11:18

"I've heard people say it's better that they have an association that water/juice is in sippy cup and milk in a bottle but is that bobbins?" have never heard of that one and would struggle to see the point in it to be honest.

I should think that at 5.5 months your DS should be ok with a cup while you go out for a bit. How long will you be out for and does he normally have a feed in that time?

bonkersLFDT20 · 09/02/2012 11:25

Yes, need more info. How long will you be out? What time of day? Are you used to expressing?

nickelDorritt · 09/02/2012 11:28

Why can't you take him with you to rehearsals?

Seriously, I take DD (she's 8weeks) and have been doing since she was only a week old.
She sits there in the car seat, merrily listening, or falling asleep.

She seems to really enjoy it, and if she needs feeding, I just pick her out of the chair and feed her (i suppose if you didn't want to do it in front of people, you could take her to the back of the room and do it more privately)
I have no problem singing whilst feeding (i was very close to having to sing a solo (in a service!)whilst feeding but thankfully she dropped off before that slot came up!)

nickelDorritt · 09/02/2012 11:28

(you could take him - i got confused with sex because i was mixing your DS with my DD's experiences )

SardineQueen · 09/02/2012 11:32

Mine never had bottles. They had breast milk and then at about the age your son is I introduced sippy cup with water when I started on giving food. Yes I was 2 weeks early with weaning but hey what can I say

Anyway that was fine and they are both fine. Perfectly alright not to do bottles, don't worry about it, sippy cup is fine. Tommy tippee seem to get the thumbs up in our house

spiffysquiffyspiggy · 09/02/2012 11:56

Never used a bottle for my 3. I went back to work when each of them was around 6 months and they have expressed milk from a tommy tippee. They don't self feed at first so need a little help holding the cup but they get the idea quickly. DS1 I practiced with him from 4 months but the other 2 it was about a week before I went back to work. DS2 is 8 months and will use the cup himself but tends to get a bit of help- mainly because he likes it tipping upside down to watch the milk come out and it is a waste of my milk

bonkersLFDT20 · 09/02/2012 12:00

nickel There is a BIG difference in taking an 8 week old and a 6 month old baby to a singing rehearsal [shudder].

Also, maybe after 6 months this is the OPs time to herself.

nickelDorritt · 09/02/2012 12:17

i know, but it's worth a try if she doesn't want to leave him that long.

(we have no choice, because we both have to be there and you're not supposed to leave babies on their own. )

anyway, I really do think that the thing about milk needing to come out of a bottle is bobbins - that was really quite odd advice
I don't drink milk out a bottle, I drink it out of a cup or a glass. and i don't get confused and think it's juice or water..

thisisyesterday · 09/02/2012 12:18

no there is no reason for you to need to use bottles IMO

cluelessnchaos · 09/02/2012 12:22

My dc would struggle with a soppy cup at this age but took an open beaker or glass. No problem at all to skip bottles. In a few weeks your ds will be distract able with food and water until you get back. It's a shame to introduce a bottle for a matter of weeks.

blondiep14 · 09/02/2012 12:23

Neither of my DS's had a bottle, went from BFing to cups, they started on the Anyway Up Cups with water and then got used to milk in them.

If you fed him before you went and were only gone for a few hours, I'm sure leaving him a cup of water and a cup of milk would be fine, he'd have plenty of fluid availiable then if he wanted some.

ChunkyPickle · 09/02/2012 12:25

At about 5 months we got mine using a straw..

HOWEVER - even now at 18 months, he only uses a straw cup - beakers/sports bottles are fine if I hold them at the right angle (I don't know why he won't hold it up himself... I suspect he's being awkward on purpose ) and he can drink from a cup in the bath, but can't be trusted anywhere else (since he sips then pours the rest down his belly)

He took to the straw immediately..

On the other hand, my nephew is totally comfortable with a sippy cup thing, and has been since about 5 months.

nextphase · 09/02/2012 12:48

We're bottle free house (nearly 3yrs and 8 months).
Also limited access to sippy cups - we have 2, for times I want to take a drink out with me. The rest of the time we use Doidy cups for the baby, and just, well, cups, for the toddler.
Never expressed either, But I did time outings round likely feeds. How long are you going to be out for?

Original poster

Mombojombo · 09/02/2012 12:52

I used to take him to rehearsals, and have no qualms about wopping a boob out in front of my choir buddies - they've seen it all in dressing rooms around the world anyway!

He's too old and rowdy now though, and evening rehearsals are past his bedtime. I would feed him before I went out at about 6pm, but he quite often wakes up for a feed at 9pm, and I'd not get back until 11pm. I know he'd likely hold out until I got back but it would be good to know if he was superduper hungry he could toot on a cup in the meantime. Would also reassure DH who'd be doing the cajoling until my return. I'll also occasionally have full day rehearsals where he'd need more than one feed (and I'd be expressing in a variety of church toilets across London...)

Expressing is not an issue. I've never got on with pumps, but can hand express a goodly amount no worries.

And yes - the bobbins advice I've heard from a number of different sources - maybe it's localised silliness!

OP posts:

nickelDorritt · 09/02/2012 14:08

i would go for a sippy cup then.
feed before you go, and leave sippy cups of both milk and water for food/drinks while you're gone.

If your DH can do cuddly feeding, then that's best.
maybe a couple of trial runs when you're still in the house but not in the room for a couple of hours?

nickelDorritt · 09/02/2012 14:18

what about your dh going to the all dayrs - entertaining ds elsewhere until he needs a feed. he could text you to come out?

JiltedJohnsJulie · 09/02/2012 16:45

Mombo thought you might like a read of this, I particularly like the idea of Momsicles, wish i'd thought of that one at the time!

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