Right I have less than two weeks to get DS2 to drink milk from a bottle or cup or something else other than me....

[cece]

Yes I know I have left it a bit late to try...

DS2 is 6 months old and exc bf. He has been having solids for about a week now and today he had two meals; breakfast and dinner.

My problem is I have a party with an early start in a week and half. DS2 is used to being bf to sleep and usually goes to bed at 9pm. The party starts at 7pm! My mum is babysitting...

Tonight I expressed some milk and DH tried to feed him with a bottle - no success - so we trasnfered the milk to a lidded cup - again no success...

How on earth am I going to get him to drink his milk so I can go to the party!?

Any tips out there?

My dd is now three and I remember what a struggle it was to get her to take a bottle - she is still very strong willed! I hate to say it but you have to be extremely strong (mentally) and keep going with it. There are some bottles on the market that are supposed to be much more like a boob but I can't for the life of me remember what they're called. They sell them in boots (and boots online) and it's pretty obvious which ones they are, as they're well, kind of round! Might also be easier to try and feed exclusively with the bottle, otherwise he'll know the soft warm fleshy option is still available. I really feel for you but wish you luck. Keep trying

I never managed to get my DS onto a bottle (he drinks from a cup now, but he is 2.5), despite trying lots of times.

For a one-off though I really wouldn't worry about if you don't manage it over the next 2 weeks. Give him a good feed before you go out and he may cry a bit but he will be with your mum who i assume he is comfortable with. You just have to put it out of your mind and enjoy yourself. When you get back in, give him a good feed if he wakes and all will be forgiven!

That's the thing it is just a one off, so not sure I want to go cold turkey! I guess if he is hungry enough when I am out then he will take something. Just feel a bit bad leaving my mum with him and two others to cope with! LOL

Many a time (well not that many, I don't get out much nowadays....) I have come back from a night out to find DS curled up on my mum's lap in the living room. That's what mums are for! Enjoy your party and try not to worry about it. They can be darned stubborn about bottles, but who blames them really?!

You're right! At least she can give him some food if he won't take the milk! LOL. Intend to enjoy the party and stop stressing...

Have you tried using an open cup? My dd2 will take milk this way. She is also 6 months and will not take a bottle. Quite a lot ends up down her front but she dose get enough to keep her happy for a bit.

Yeah, got him into bed by 8.30pm tonight! Only let him have two daytime sleeps today

No actual experience (DD only 12 weeks!) but were you in the room when DH was trying the bottle/cup? I did read somewhere that if you're around it can make it tricky as it seems to DC that there's still a boob option

Either way, have a fab party.

Ni I went and hid in another room with the laptop DH not that patient and tends not persist enough in my opinion. My mum will be here on Sunday to stay so will get her to try! LOL

CeCe - totally empathise. My 8mo also won't take a bottle. Tried again last week, but Dh also doesn't persist very long. If it's any consolation, I did persist with her and told her calmly that she would either take a bottle or fall asleep - the stubborn little madam chose the latter option and proceeded to sleep for 3 hours! I too am going to my Mum's next week armed with expresser and bottles as she is also more persistent that DH is. I did go out for the day for my best friend's hen do when DD was just 17 weeks old - I was gone for 12 hours and while she only took a couple of ounces on two occasions, by 6.30pm she gave in and downed 7 ozs and went to sleep on MIL's lap. So, she can do it if she's desperate. TBH - go to your party, she will either take a bottle or go to sleep in the end and you will get your time out and she won't remember it after ... just wish I could be this philosophical when it comes to my DD...

We tried to get dd1 onto a bottle from 3 months, I was going back to work at 5 months and needed her to take a bottle from then. It was a huge struggle and incredibly stressful. She was (and still is!) very strong willed, but we kept trying and kept trying and eventually stumbled on the MAM teats, which she took to immediately. It is defintely worth trying different teats but perserverence and all the old tricks - get someone else to do it so he doesn't smell you, distract him while you are feeding him, try doing it while he is asleep etc - are also worth doing.

I gave dd2 a bottle of EBM from about two weeks and we never had a problem getting her onto a bottle permanently! I learnt my lesson and always pass that tip on to other mums-to-be.

My BF son went through a phase of screaming his head off at the idea of that MURDEROUS bottle. Which was awkward, at a wedding we had gone to, my expecting to drink. I am sorry to say that he ended up falling asleep tired.

My mother had some success later with a bottle, as she was used to bottle feeding (my brother and I were both bottle babies), and also because she was no-nonsense about the need for him to feed when I was not there!

It was a pain for me weaning him off the breast and onto a bottle, but what seemed to crack it was making sure we were using fast-flow teats. He had hated the slow flow from the bottle, and seemed much happier. I enjoyed being able to kiss his head and hold him in a new way.

Good luck! I hope some of this advice on the thread helps! Some people have had some really useful sounding comments.

Mine went straight from me to a cup. Never liked bottles at all.