Difficulty giving bottle or sippee cup to drop a feed

[absandme]

dd nearly 8 months & looking to start dropping a feed to start a slow weaning process.

I don't push the bottle or cup if she refuses it as I don't want to make it a bad experience for her.

She takes water from sippee cup lunch & tea no problem (well I hold it & tip it up) & then when she's had enough she plays with it.

If she's had an off day on solids (teething sometimes puts dd off solids a little) & if she's acting hungry on final bf before bed I top her up with bottle of formula (1-2ozs) no problem. This doesn't happen very often maybe once a week but she's happy to take the bottle until she's had enough.

I know people recommend cups not bottles as you have to wean twice but I'm open minded (not that those who give this advice are closed minded, please don't get me wrong I just want to succeed at either cup or bottle, don't mind which!)

It's really hit & miss trying to give a bottle in mid morning to drop that feed (shes on 5 feeds/day). I try a bottle, nothing taken then later will bf, i'll try for a couple of days then give up & just bf for about a week before trying again. I might then try with a cup, fail for a couple of days then continue bf, week later try bottle & partial success for one day then fail next day & go back to bf full time.

Any ideas or experience in dropping a bf/introducing bottle? I don't really want to have to express all the time but may consider to encourage bottle/cup drinking. At the moment I'm trying with formula as I know she takes it occassionally,
Please help!

Have you tried your DD with a cup with a straw fitting?
My DD is 9 months old now.
I too am starting to slowly reduce the BF, but I have never given her bottles. (She won't take them even with expressed milk)
I have never given her formula, but am gradually increasing her solid intake and she happily drinks water from her straw cup.
As a result of the increasing solid intake her BF intake is slowly decreasing. Maybe not the number of feeds specifically (hard to count!) but the volume of milk taken at feeds after eating is definitely getting smaller.
Do you want to reduce the number of feeds immediately, or are you happy to gradually reduce the volume of milk taken?
Do you need to reduce the amount of BF or are you happy to BF until she gets to one year or so when you can stop both BF and bottles and go straight to cows' milk?

I'm wanting to reduce bf a little as I get v emabarressed feeding in front of people as shes getting big but also I'm wanting to reduce feeds to ultimately just do first am & last pm feed probably up to 1year.
It's a bit selfish but I also want my body back and generally feel ready to stop.

I just have big difficulty getting her on bottle or cup, will try increasing solids to see if that reduces bf.

Thanks for your help. Now I just need help getting MIL off phone so I can concentrate on MN!!!!

Hi abs

I am in the same position as you - except I want to stop bf completely (and asap as repeatedly bitten again last night!).

DD is just not interested in the bottle but I don't think she is very interested in the breast either at the mo and she is not quite there with using a cup. My DD is only on 3 bf a day now and I suspect she is hardly taking much at all during the 2 day time feeds. The only time she really takes a lot is the bedtime feed so might try her on the bottle at bed time tonight and see what happens.

Sorry not being much help am I. The only thing I have noticed is that she is learning very quickly with the cup and yesterday when I was busy I turned around and she had picked it up herself and started to drink from it so you never know your LO might be ok with a cup sooner than you think - they learn so quickly. (by the way I am using an Avent magic cup and DD seems to get on better with that one than the Tommee Tippee one).

Good luck.

DD2 is 1yo now and I have only just dropped her down to 2 feeds. One in the morning, and one before bed. So every 12 hrs really.

Don't feel embarrassed about feeding an older baby. She is only 8 mths old and it is wonderful. I am so proud that I have totally bf her. She had full feeds in the day til she was old enough for cows milk in a cup. Which was on her bday. She has taken to it well. I had to warm it for a few weeks, but she will drink it cold now too.

A cup or bottle is totally alien to her at the moment, so just persist and be firm and she will get the hang of it eventually. Don't try then give in as that will confuse her. I started DD2 on milk just at lunch first, then at bfast too. Then mid afternoon. Slowly cutting out each feed.

Just wanted to update you - tried DD on a Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottle here just before lunch and she drank 6oz. Very surprised as she took virtually none from the Avent bottle I tried her on this morning.

They are apparently good for babies that have breast and bottle feeds and she looked much more comfortable with it.

Thanks, I had a look at the link, will get some.

How old is your dd & what size teat did you use?

thanks for your help.

DD is nearly 8 months old, same as your DD.

I used a size 1 teat only because thats what came with the bottle but it seemed to work fine. She looked like she was using the same action that she uses when breastfeeding so to her it obviously feels the same - I couldn't believe how well she drank from it after taking nothing from the Avent bottle so I can definitely recommend the Tommee Tippee ones.

Good luck.

Jumpyjan, thanks so much, I feel a bit more reassured & will nip to boots tomorrow to see if they've got any!

Any other tips & recommendations gratefully received!

She's still refusing the bottle, what am I supposed to do???????????????

Do you let her go without??

Eventually resort to bf??

She's got really upset when I tried the bottle, played for 10mins to cheer her up before trying again, same thing repeated 3 times.

she would normally have a bf at this point.....

Anyone else have probs ..... ?

Do I wait & try again tomorrow?

oh abs - poor you. Sorry the different bottles did not help.

The only thing I can think that might be worth trying is to get someone else to give her the bottle as I have heard they sometimes wont take it from the breastfeeding mum.

Good luck.

bump

& thanks again, dh tried & failed this morning with ebm,I'm thinking I'll keep the bottle low key and not too much of a fuss but to keep trying as I guess it's really alien to her.

It's my own fault for not keeping up with the bottle over the last few months.

I like the tommee tippe bottles you suggested, I got a set of 3 for £8 from sainsburys = i like em, she doesn't!

Anyone got any further help for introducing bottle?