how do I drop bf in favour of a cup??

[julietbat]

my 8 month old bf dd has never taken a bottle (and oh, how we've tried!). She gets a bf in the morning and the evening and sometimes in the afternoon if I'm with her. She's slept through since 6 months old and I've recently dropped the dreamfeed. She drinks water from a Tommee Tippee first cup (and a normal cup too, although with rather more spillage!) with no problems but, up to this point, has refused any milk (EBM or formula)from the cup.

I would really like to be in a position where I don't HAVE to bf her (so dp and i can spend a night away together) but not quite sure how to manage that. She loves her evening bf in particular and, for her, it's really part of the eve routine. I just can't see her sitting on the sofa drinking milk (or, at least, enough milk) from a cup in the same relaxed way (that's assuming I could get her drinking milk from a cup in the first place!). Does anyone have any suggestions apart from the obvious keeping on trying with the cup?

Also, if I did find that it was impossible to wean her from bf to milk in a cup, when do they stop needing so much milk anyway so I could just drop the feeding, full stop?

Thanks - and sorry for the slightly rambling post

Have you tried maybe using a TT bottle? Or a cup with a soft sp[out? May fool her into thinking is a breast I know hard to believe but it must work.

I think they just graduyally give up milk sometimes, is she recieving any solids yet? Normally when they get these they start to need less milk.

thanks mamadiva - we've tried every bottle on the market i think! and the cups with spouts they have to bite to get liquid out of. she won't have a bar of any of them!

she's fully weaned on solids - has 3 full meals a day and is great with finger food too. i'm not worried about her not getting enough food but i am worried that if i decide to stop the bf in the next couple of months that she then won't get enough milk because without my boob she probably won't take much milk if any at all.

juliebat - I hope I won't get attacked too viloently when I say that DRINKING milk is a cultural obsession in the UK and it is not somehting you dd need ever do!

What is important nutritionally from cows milk is the energy levels from the fat content plus the vitamins and protein as well as the calcium.

ALL of this is available from eating cheese and yoghurt and having milk in her diet like on cereal or in macaroni cheese etc.

Both my dds have NEVER EVER drunk a drop of EBM, formula or cows milk. They went from the breast to a cup of water (or juice ) and their dairy comes from their diet.

So my suggestion would be to bump up the dairy in her diet on the days you are not going to be around and give her plenty of water and carry on breast feeding for the next couple of months as you suggest.

Then at 10-12 months if you do stop (or she's on one breast feed at bedtime or in the morning) all the milk protein will come from her diet and she will be just fine.

Will the world come to an end if she goes to bed one night without drinking milk???? All she needs to do is have enough fluids to be hydrated and enough food to not wake hungry - doesn't matter if it's milk or not. I don't really understand the obsession with babies and young children having a milk drink before bed - what is meant to happen if they don't get that magical drink, I wonder? ;-)

Will the world come to an end if she goes to bed one night without drinking milk???? All she needs to do is have enough fluids to be hydrated and enough food to not wake hungry - doesn't matter if it's milk or not. I don't really understand the obsession with babies and young children having a milk drink before bed - what is meant to happen if they don't get that magical drink, I wonder? ;-)

gagarin - thanks, that's a reasuring post. I have been quite worried about her not drinking milk when I stop breastfeeding and you're right it is because you see babies and toddlers everywhere with their bottles of milk. I am already quite conscious of getting dairy into her - she has cows milk with her b'fast, a yoghurt or fromage frais after lunch and on days she's at nursery or with grandparents I make sure she has some sort of cheese sauce or cottage cheese, etc with dinner.

Can I ask, what age did you stop breastfeeding your dds? I'm more likely to stop at 10 months rather than 12.

lindenlass - you're right, the world will not come to an end over one night but I was actually giving that as an example and it's more about what I do when I give up breastfeeding altogether. I'd really like to try again for another baby early next year and I can't do that breastfeeding (or not on 2 feeds a day because my periods are nowhere to be seen!)

You're welcome Julie - mine are very grown up now (teenagers even!) but I stopped breast feeding at 8 months with one and 21 months with the next.

When dc1 refused all milk and stopped breast feeding (her own choice) I panicked and rang a dietician as I was convinced drinking milk was important. That dietician suggested I either increased the dairy in her diet or gave her chocolate Nesquik - a piece of advice that was so silly I calmed down instantly and just gave her water, orange juice and dairy in her diet.

She stiil loathes milk so much shs has her cereal dry and doesn't drink tea or coffee - only cold drinks.

DC2 can tlerate the taste of milk on cereal but heaves at the thought of drinking it - and doesn't like cheese!

Good luck

ps no-one in our extended family drinks milk - we all loathe it.