7 month old suddenly refuses bottle after 4 months

[marsup]

My ds has had 1 bottle feed a day,usually from dh, from the age of 3 months (otherwise he is breastfed but also on solids and has a very healthy appetite). He is starting nursery now and spent short days there Mon and Tues; today, Wed, is a home day. On Mon and Tues he cried quite a lot at nursery and refused to take his bottle but did eat his solid lunch. Now at home he is refusing his bottle from my husband, and won't take it from me either. As soon as he sees it he starts howling and is very upset - I think he is quite hungry/thirsty. We think he is associating the bottle with nursery and separation from home but don't know what to do about this. Any suggestions?

I wonder if perhaps he is missing the breast during the day and that's why he's not keen on the bottle at home? You could try moving on to a cup now at home instead. Or perhaps try a cup at nursery?
Ds2 hardly took any milk at nursery when he first started (he was having an avent spout rather than a bottle but I knew he 'could' take it) but he would eat well and drink water at mealtimes, so I wasn't too worried about it. Two months on he's still pretty hit and miss with his milk but will usually take about 4oz through the day. Its early days and things should settle down as he gets more used to the new routine and to a new person giving him the bottle. He's probably also a bit tired too.
If he's eating well you can always try and up the milk content of his food. HTH