Baby hates formula! Help!

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Hi everyone

Has anyone else had a problem with their baby not liking formula? I've tried every one going from pre made to powdered, cold to warm, in a bottle and cup but she just won't take it! She's never liked a bottle anyway so that was always a problem. Basically she's 8 months nearly 9 and I'm looking to cut down on her daytime breast feeds in preparation for going back to work. But I'm worried that because she won't take formula, she's not going to get any of the necessary nutrients that she should do up until she's a year old.
Any advice? She eats very well, a wide variety of fresh foods but loves her milk still!

All help appreciated

Claire x

Can you express for her while you are apart?

Have you tried a cup rather than a bottle?

Try making it really warm or mixing with bm and gradually reducing the bm amount as she gets used to it. Otherwise ensure she eats lots of dairy during the day and she'll make up her feeds morning, evening and night

He didn't risks it but st nursery he has 2 bottles a day of hipp ready made

You do not need to express at 9 months IMO. I fed when I was around and baby had solids the rest of the time, easier all around for us.

when do you go back to work and what are your hours like?

a lot of babies by 9/10 months are actually fine during the day with just food and other drinks, and breastfeeding while they're with mum... so don't fret too much if she won't take it

Hi guys
Thanks for the replies. Ive actually tried her with a cup but unless it has water in it she wont drink it!
I used to express when she was 3/4 months and she took it from a bottle for a few weeks before deciding she hated drinking from it! Ive tried persauding her with a bottle since then but no luck. I thought my days of expressing were over but perhaps ill give it another try and try her with my milk from her favourite cup!
My work hours could be 11 hour shifts when i go back as im a nurse so not sure where that leaves us...but by then she'll be a year old so cows milk will be okay to drink by then??

If you are not going back till a year don't worry, she will be fine to eat and drink water in the day then feed on a night. With your long shifts you might find she wakes for a feed soon after you get home and then on your days off she will feed loads to make up for the days she doesn't feed. Really wouldn't stress trying to make her take formula.

I went back when DS was 9 months. He refused formula and was fine with a feed in the morning and as soon as we got in (he'd scream if I tried to take my shoes off before feeding him when we got in!). He was fine - I don't think you need to worry.

Indith and Confitdecanard...you're right, I shouldn't worry! Thank you for all your advice x

My nearly 1yo dropped to 2 feeds a day at 10 months, as have most of his friends. Offer snacks and water instead of boob, ds happily started to accept the rice cake without insisting on milk over the course of a week or so. Cheese, yoghurt, chick peas (eg hummus) and green leafy veg all contain calcium so a good variety of solid food will make up any deficit.

Congratulations on making it this far, why put money in the hands of the big corporations when you don't have to

Only 16 years ago when my DD was a baby it was perfectly fine to give cow's milk at 8 months. Have you tried that?

I really want confit now

I think there is so much pressure sometimes to think about going back to work. But babies change so fast and your feed patterns now at 8 months are really not what they will be at a year. By a year they are perfectly capable of knowing that there is food and there is milk and that for milk you need mummy so if mummy isn't there you drink g from a cup and eat from a plate. Then when mummy comes back you scream a bit too make here feel bad and refuse to let her or your shoes on and leave the childminders until she has fed you .

my 19 month old still sticks his hand down my top and asks for milk when I pick him up. thankfully though he goes to bed fine without an evening feed for dh when I'm on a long shuft. He won't go down without it if I'm there but is happy to if I'm not so don't stress about that one either! babies are adaptable creatures.

glad you've decided to relax about it. Enjoy your remaining time off.

The first few kind shifts ate a nightmare for full, leaky boobs mind!

middle that is not a good idea. apart from the fact that the digestive system can't really cope with the component parts of cows milk (that is why it is modified for formula) cows milk is too high in sodium for such a little baby. Our knowledge of nutrition and the digestive system etc has changed a lot in 16 years.

Yes to the leaky boobs. I was fine with the day but if I had to stay later than normal I was very quickly leaking all over the place - one meeting was particularly embarrassing, involving a red dress and a leaky right boob! Stock up on breast pads for the first few weeks - it settles down quickly.

My DS still does the hand in my top thing too Indith, even though he only feeds about once every three days. This morning he lifted up my pyjama top over breakfast and enquired; "why aren't you wearing a booby holder Mummy?".

Well we're all still alive and kicking!!

Confit - lol 'booby holder' love it :-)

Indith - sounds like your little one has adapted well, babies are truely briliant!

Purplepidjin - good idea, ill get her eating lots of high calcium snacks to make up the decrease in mummys milk! And thank you for the congrats, i am proud to have got this far with the bf-ing :-)

I had the same problem and was even losing sleep about it all. but miraculously at about 11 months (I was going back to work when she was 1) my dd no longer seemed to need day feeds and I now feed her first and last thing. I would suggest cutting out the day bf about three weeks prior to going back. Hope it all goes well!