From breast to...

[Dontfencemein]

I am sorry if this has been done before, but am feeling a little daunted and confused, so bear with me.

My DS is eight months old and is breastfed. Rightly or wrongly, I have never tried him with a bottle or cup. I am going back to work at the end of July (a bit earlier than planned) and need to get him drinking from something other than me! I plan to continue to breastfeed him at night and first thing in the morning.

I have a few questions -

Is it okay to give milk (expressed or formula) in a cup at this stage? I would rather bypass the bottle if possible and go straight to cup.

Should he have a free flowing cup or something that he needs to suck? I am prepared to try out a few but money is a bit tight so I cannot go crazy and buy lots.

Pardon my ignorance but what is a sippy cup?

I have heard that using some cups can contribute to tooth decay. Is this only when juice is given or does it apply to milk too?

Any advice on how to get started would be gratefully received. Am feeling very wobbly about the whole thing. I guess it is the end of an era of being at home with him. However, I am terrified of him going to nursery without being able to drink well.

I recently went back to work when my ds was 9mo. He already knew about bottles so we had that option but a cup is perfectly fine. Tommie tippie free flow cups are the most commonly used. Not expensive. Then you can give ebm/formula. Or you may find he's ok with food and water during the day and will just get his milk from you at night. That's fine too. As he has more solids he would naturally reduce milk intake anyway.
I bf just before I drop my ds at nursery then immediately when I pick up. Express once during the day to maintain supply for the weekend and for comfort. It was really tough going back to work but doing this has helped.
We started with 2 x 5oz bottles but are now phasing these out as he put on 1/2 a kg in two weeks at nursery as he grows

Good luck

At 8 months it probably makes sense to bypass the bottles. A sippy cup has handles and a lid with a spout; ones with valves make the cup no-spill, but I found with our bottle refusing baby he didn't really work out that he was supposed to suck it. Tommee tippee basic ones are usually about £1. I've been assured on here that a lot of mess is normal
You can use an open cup; Doidy cups are good because they can see the liquid they're drinking. Obviously you might have to keep hold of the cup!
This link should help:
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/Pages/drinks-and-cups-children.aspx