Going from bf to bottle

[OneLilac]

I’ve been exclusively bf my 9 month old son and trying to get him to take a bottle might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done! I’ve tried all different types of bottles and tests but he refuses everything. I’ve tried expressing and formula but I’m just stuck. Does anyone know anything I can do or any tips because I’m at my witts end I don’t want to keep breastfeeding

My DD was like that but in those days you could start weaning at six months which helped.
Don’t think that’s the thinking these days though for some reason. DD now 39!

He has 3 meals a day but still has between 3-4 feeds a day.

Maybe he will go straight to a feeder cup and miss out a bottle?

Yeah mine was like this. Beaker of water only in the day, tons of BF milk at night. Sorry!

My three never did take a bottle. Get someone else to try with a sippy cup.

I think that’s the case because he’s really good with his beaker with water but he instantly knows when I put milk in the beaker instead of water. I’ll just keep trying i suppose. Thank you

Open cup. I bought my DS a really cute porcelain Peter Rabbit mug and he drinks milk from it (with my help, he's only 12.months). He won't drink milk from a sippy cup or glass or any of the other cups, only water.

I think he likes to know what to expect I.e. sippy cup has water and his Peter Rabbit mug has milk.

Also, at 9 months you might as well BF for another couple of months and go straight to cow's milk. It tastes nicer than formula, and much easier.

Another who wouldn’t bother introducing a bottle either. I would just go to a cup, maybe a different type to the one he has his water in?

Yeah I’ll see if it works , thank you

Just wanted to add that 2 to 3 ounces is a full feed. BF babies don’t need to drink huge quantities like a FF baby woukd have to.

By 10 months they only need 15 Floz a day of formula and that’s if they are exclusively FF.

One thing you could try is adding a bit of non-alcohol vanilla essence to the formula. Might make it more appealing?

i never know how much he gets when BF and most of the time when pumping I only get 2-3 ounces. I had no idea if that was enough considering he only feeds 3-4 times a day now

I don’t think there’s any need to worry about how much milk you’re producing at 9 months. Your supply will be very well established and BF babies will take as much as they need

Thank you , very helpful. I didn’t plan on breastfeeding for this long. I only managed 5 weeks with my first baby as it dried up randomly. It’s a struggle being his only source for milk

Shall I try my breast milk in an open cup ? I have a lot frozen so don’t want to waste it

Why not try formula? Then there's no waste.

Why are you nervous about trying an open cup anyway?

I tried milk in an open cup when they were in the bath and they drank a bit. It gets then used to an open cup and you don’t have to worry about spills.

Because of how many bottles and beakers I’ve tried when he refuses it really gets me down and I feel like he’ll never stop BF

Honestly, at 9 months how much are you even breastfeeding? He should be on 3 meals a day.

I went back to work at 6 months and was desperate to stop pumping.

Paedetrician advised by 9 months I can stop feeding in the day if he takes food well. So I did. I still breastfed morning (twice), late afternoon, evening and at night. It really took a weight off my shoulders. I still breastfed in the day at the weekend, your milk supply is very flexible at this point.

I think it's just too late to introduce a bottle. And some babies hate them. Mine did. Even though he had had a bottle of expressed milk every day since 6 weeks and lots of bottles between 6 and 9 months while I was at work, he only ever took 2-3 oz and was desperately hungry when I would get home. The kid just wanted only the original as much as possible, can't blame him.

He has 3 meals a day, usually two feeds in the morning, one after lunch and one/two in the afternoon and one before bed

Replace the after lunch feed with a snack. Keep going until 12 months when you stop altogether. Might be less stressful than trying to get him to take a bottle of formula at this point.

You can also skip the first feed and offer breakfast with a cup of milk?

He usually has porridge that I add milk to but I’ll try with a cup of milk thank you