Time to stop bfeeding my 12 month old - but she now won't drink formula...

[amiandlils]

I think I have reached a stage where feel happy to give up breastfeeding, having loved every minute of it for the last 12 months.

Although my dd has happily taken formula or ebm from a bottle in the past, she now refuses to. She won't drink it from a cup or beaker either.

I can't work out whether its the taste or the vessel she doesn't like, but I'm now stuck as to what to do.

My HV says I need to phase out the bfeeding, even if she wont take other milk now, as otherwise I'll always end up giving her the breast. She says she will take the formula or cows milk eventually but it may take time.

Just wondered if anyone had any tips about making the transition at this very willful age!

At 12 months, there probably isn't much need for her to drink formula. That's when most HV's recommend you start on cow's milk ... so you may as well lump for the cheaper option!

I don't have any suggestions for the bottle problem, however. Maybe you'll need to play around with it for a while.

Good luck!

replace a feed at a time give her cowsmilk in a cup just a small amount at a time (i use tommee tippee sipper without the lid)
as long as she having milk in foods she will be ok,
when i first started my dd with cows milk she refused keep trying (i added small amount of sugar so it was sweeter like the formula)
took my dd 4months to take cows milk without sugar!

Will she sip from a "grown-up" cup - I'm just wondering if copying you, and sipping from a cup you hold may encourage her to sip milk, and then decide she likes it.

Does she drink anything else from a cup?

My ds would never drink anything from a lidded cup. Only an open one.

If you've loved every minute of it for 12 months, and your dd doesn't want to stop, then why not carry on? You won't always end up giving her the breast - children do self wean at some point.

She drinks water all day long from a variety of lidded beakers, but as soon as I offer it to her with milk in it instead of the breast she goes ballistic.

Tried getting dp to do it instead so boob wasn't on offer, but she still had a hissy fit.

I feel concerned about putting her to bed without having had a proper milk feed in case she gets hungry in the night. She's a rubbish sleeper anyway so really don't want to create more reasons why she wakes up!!

Do you want to give up BTW?

Good idea about copying me habbibu - that often works with other things like nose-wiping!

Will probably start with the morning bfeed which is less fraught than the bedtime one with a tired, cranky baby.

I always thought I'd give up bfeeding at 6 months, but couldn't bear to so carried on without any further thought. I hadn't actually planned to give up at 12 months, but somehow I do now feel ready to.

I have started to give a small amount of cows milk in a cup after a bf so she is used to it for Nursery. The idea being that once used to it she will take it instead of a bf at Nursery. I intend to keep bfing as well though. I have friends that just bf in the Morning and evening - have you considered that for a while?

I'd say she doesn't want to stop
my dd1 used to lob the beaker across the room if I tried to give her cows milk, took a chunk out of the kitchen cabinet once. personally, I would just carry on bf for a bit and try again in a few weeks, gradually introducing it once a day or something. without turning rather than cause myself (what I would term) unnecessary hassle, but I like a quiet life .
you could try buying a special big girls bedtime cup or something and make a big deal of that?

LOL at 'she will always want the boob'... How many teenagers do you know still breastfeeding?

btw your HV is talking a crock of shoite, surprise surprise . babies do self wean (usually on average between 2 and 4, but lots before that) and you can wean them at any time you like.

In fairness, I think what the HV meant is that for as long the option to bfeed is there, I would probably always give in and bfeed if she creates at the sight of the cup (think she's actually quite right...) If I had actually stopped bfeeding then there wouldn't be any question of giving in every time.

I don't think she meant I would be bfeeding forever!

oh i see, yes fair enough that's true, she probably won't willingly give up the breast unless she is ready to self wean or you force the issue.