Any tips on getting a baby to take formula?

[DuckWaddle]

My dd is 8mo and I need to get her onto a bottle as I have an operation looming and also I will be returning to work in a couple of months. She's always refused a bottle so I've been trying a beaker (she happily drinks her water from this) but she just happily spurts the formula out her mouth and then doesn't want the beaker. I've tried to express before but get pitiful

Sorry my dd pressed post to early! Supposed to read pitiful amounts. Has anyone experienced the same or got any ideas.

I would think at eight months she can probably go without milk for the day when you're at work and just catch up at other times?

Re your operation, of course I don't know anything about it and it may not be practical but there is usually an alternative to any drugs/anaesthetic that are not bf friendly. The Breastfeeding Network have a helpline that offers really good support and info on bf and drugs run by a pharmacist, might be worth a call.

Thanks celticpromise, that's really helpful - I'll give them a call. I can't imagine my dd coping a whole day with no breastmilk! She's a guzzler. But you're right, in a couple of months (in theory!) she won't need it anymore. The childminder may end up with an irate baby though!!

as cruel as it sounds if she is hungry she will take the formula if nothing else is on offer. when she refuses are you still offering her the breast?

have you tried alt brands of formula (buy the odd bottle of premaid to save a bit of cash) i have been warned by my midwife that although they are all technically the same they can taste different so she may just not like the taste of the one you are using

I've just returned to work (ds is 9 mths) and had the exact same problem in that he wasn't interested in bottles at all. This may sound odd but I started to give him those squeezy, pouchy kids yoghurt/fromage frais things to up his dairy intake in place of an afternoon feed a few weeks before. He demolishes them and since then will now take some milk from a bottle, i think it helped teach him to suck something other than a boob! He still doesn't take a great deal of milk at nursery but takes a couple of ounces and Ive given nursery a stock of the pouches so if he's not feeling the bottle that day, they give him a yoghurt and he's still getting something until I get home rather than going all day without milk. Whatever works guess