Stopping bf at 6 months

[Bumblebee2002]

Hi! Does anyone have any advice or experience for stopping bf a 6 month old baby and switching to formula. Especially one that doesn't really enjoy bottles. I've tried a sippy cup which he enjoyed chewing on it but didn't drink much at all. I haven't tried using just an open cup yet. I have given him a few purees, bit of toast etc too (obviously not to replace milk but to start him on food to go along with it). I want to stop as I am overstimulated all the time from it as he pulls, pinches, grinds my nipple with his gums etc and it's honestly awful. He wants to hold it in his mouth for all his naps too which makes them even more sore. Now that I've done six months I am done mentally with it and it feels detrimental to our bond if anything.

No clue about bf as mine was ff. But you said he won't drink out of a sippy cup, just chew on it, which is exactly what mine did😂 tommee tippee do a transition cup with a wider teat to go to from a normal bottle one. It's the same material as a teat so if he chewed on it some of the milk would go in his mouth and then hopefully he'd start learning to suck at it. Don't know if it would work but you never know 😅

When you say that he doesn't really enjoy bottles, how much will he take?

Less than an ounce. Possibly he hates formula too.

Ok so an ounce would be better. At this stage he's unlikely to drink more than 2 ounces as a BF baby takes roughly 25 Floz in 24 hours so about a floz sn hour.

Could you try an open cup whilst they're in the bath? I got mine used to drinking from an open cup like this. I think they liked the novelty and I didn't have to worry about any spills.

I've tried an open cup which he yelled at haha but I will try your bath idea and see if that helps if he can chuck it everywhere if he likes. Thank you x

It's a shame to stop now as BF gets soooo much easier and less frequent once they're on food. And the immunity benefits are amazing for older babies. However, if you really want to stop then I recommend doing it really slowly, so slowly stopping one feed and then replacing with another. Not doing it too quickly.

If you've got a DP/DH around this weekend, I'd recommend either sending them both out for a couple of hours with some good and milk or leaving them at home and letting them crack on for a couple of hours.

Mine were always starving after swimming so if you can send them both out to do that, you might find your LO eats and drinks everything offered afterwards, especially of yours not there