Breastfeeding exit strategies?

[bluebean]

I need to return to work in September when DD will be 8.5mths. She has been exclusively BF since birth and has just started on mushy solids and taking tiny sips from a cup. I really would like to wind down BF so I can be confident that she's able to get all the milk she needs when I'm not there.

She has no truck with bottles at all. We've tried a few times over the last six months, but never really pushed the issue. Until yesterday, when, on HV's advice, I didn't BF her all day and offered her a bottle every hour. I gave up at 5pm. She had eaten twice as much solids as usual (with as much milk added as possible) but after two pretty dry nappies and one very miserable and confused child, I caved and fed her myself.

I'm finding this hard going. To be honest (and I should probably whisper this) I've never really enjoyed breastfeeding. I would love to be free of the constraints. I don't mind continuing to BF at night and in the morning if needed.

What I want to know is - how do you stop BF? And at 8.5 months will DD be able to survive on solids and cup for the eight hours I'll be out of the house for?

Your thoughts, advice and any suggestions are very welcome!!

Do you want to stop entirely or cut down to a morning and evening feed?

Does someone else offer the bottle?
What bottle teats have you tried? Try her with a bottle with adult standing up, holding dd upright and facing away from you...

I'd like to stop entirely, but I'd settle for cutting down to a morning and evening feed.

DH and my mother have both tried offering the bottle while I hide in another room, listening to her outraged cries.

We've tried the Tommee Tippee bottles with slow, fast and variable flow teats.

I'll get DH to try standing up to feed her - it's worth a try! Thanks!

Am I being niave to hope that she might be able to take sufficient milk from a cup for the day time?

try the MAM teat - fits on wide necked bottles

Babies of her age don't even need bottles! Just go straight for a beaker and leave her to it.

Both of mine survived just fine.

Probably much easier for her (and therefore you) to just drop the daytime feeds and still feed her morning and night. She doesn't understand why you are suddenly refusing to breastfeed her, which must be quite upsetting for her I'd think.
Agree I'd offer her milk in a cup during the day and carry on with the morning and night feeds for now, breastmilk is important for the first 12 months and she can get what she needs during those two feeds.

Try a Doidy cup (you can get them at John Lewis and on the web) - my 7 month old absolutely refuses to drink out of a bottle but will take quite a lot of milk out of one of these. Her dad tried it first and sits her on his knee (her back to his front) and then helps her hold it and drink from it - it's a totally different experience to our attempts at bottle feeding and she's ok with it so far!

Good luck - you'll get there in the end

Thank you all for your suggestions!

It's reassuring to know that she'll probably get enough without a bottle. We will carry on with the cup as she seems to like it so far. I like the look of the Doidy cups too!

Thanks all

i think you are me! my lo is same age, i go back in sept and he absolutely refuses bottle,and although ive always enjoyed bf, i REALLY want to stop now- altogether, but he really likes the omfort and i dont know how to break that - any ideas?