Cold turkey?

[kchivs]

Has anyone had to go cold turkey to move baby from breast to bottle feeding? Did this work? 5 month old refuses bottle would like to wean slowly but see no option but to go cold turkey.

could you try ebm in bottle or even from a cup?
cold turkey would be hard for you, too

Tried breast milk in bottle every day for last month. He has water in cup but doesnt drink enough to make a difference.

I was planning to stop breast feeding him but continue expressing so he has breast milk in bottle and slowly cut down? But until he takes the bottle it wont work hmm

is he teething or coldy? I think that can sometimes be an issue. Or can you get someone else to try to give him the bottle? If he smells your milk he'll just think that he'll get that if he waits for a few minutes.

bump for more expert advice

He is teething. But yipee i didnt feed him in the night and he took expressed milk in bottle from dad! But this morning he wont be we know he will do it!

Yes I did. I had tried on many occasions to give DD2 bottles of EBM but she'd have none of it. I only intended to bf until 6 months so when it came to it I just took a deep breath and stopped bf (she was extremely healthy, good weight etc). I expressed so that my breasts didn't explode, and gave her EBM, but didn't offer her the breast. The first few feeds she took no more than about 1 oz from the bottle, with much crying (which upset me dreadfully) but by the end of the day she took pretty much a full bottle and went to sleep fine. The next day was improved (although still a bit fussy and hit and miss) third day was absolutely fine. Once she took the bottle of EBM happily (i.e. after 3 days) she showed absolutely no sign of caring whether I gave her EBM or formula or which of the many many teats I used (I'd bought the lot when trying to get her to take bottles over the previous months).

Hello - just spotted this thread. I need to get my LO (3 months) to take a bottle after exclusive BF, and have one week to do it! I am going to be working one day a week so he needs to take a bottle all day on that day, but I'd like to BF as normal apart from that. I honestly don't think I can do the cold turkey thing but he wont suck from a bottle, although quite happy to have it in his mouth and let the milk dribble down his chin! Any tips on what I can do? DH has offered to take a day off work and spend it trying to get him to take a bottle while I go off and pump somewhere where I can't hear the screaming! If this works, do we think LO will take a bottle if he gets one a day with me during the week and all day one day/ week with the child minder? Or will I just have to stop totally?
Help!!!

Why don't you try a cup with milk in it, not water! Get someone else to do it, not you. Make sure you go out of the room, or even better out of the house! Babies like to breastfeed from their Mummies. It's their favourite place to be! They don't want to be given a hard cold plastic bottle or cup, instead of their Mummy's nurturing breast. Remember it is a comfort, not just food!

Lexy, you might find that baby takes the minimum from a bottle with the child minder and then saves up for when you get home! He'll probably feed like crazy when he sees you. Make sure you express when you're at work. try to express as many times as he would normally need to feed to keep your milk supply going and to avoid getting engorged and mastitis.