Introducing bottles, beakers etc: how can I do this?

[KittenSLittle]

DS is 6.5 months old. He's exc. BF and we've been doing a mixture of BLW & spoonfeeding, which he's taken to very well.

Problem is, he won't accept any liquid out of anything except me! Water, expressed BM, formula, it makes no difference. It's the same when his dad tries too. I've tried beakers as well as bottles and spouts. Occasionally he'll have a sip out of a glass just from curiosity but that's about it. It's got to the point where he'll start crying when he sees the beaker and it becomes such a battle, which is distressing for both of us.

This is a problem for 2 reasons: I'm worried that with his solid intake increasing he'll get constipated & dehydrated. Also I'd like to scale back the BF (NOT give up completely) as I'm going back to work in a couple of months and he needs to be able to take his feeds from another source.

Any advice would be gratefully received, thanks.

He's still little and it isn't hot . I'm sure if you persist gently he'll take enough when he needs to. Weaning foods will have a high water/milk content anyway and he will compensate with bf when available.

oh kitten, I just came on to write your exact same post about my DD. I'm afraid I have no advice, as we are the same ( I could stock the whole of Mothercare with the amount of teats and bottles/beakers we've tried!)

I just wanted to say that you're not the only one... It's horrible to see them get so distressed as a bottle/beaker approaches. I'll be watching this thread with interest.

xx

Bump

have you tried a doidy cup? we let ds play with one with a small volume of water in it for a week or 2 before trying to let him drink from it. 2 months on he can drink from it himself (he's 6.5 mo)

Have you tried a straw ? They get the idea quite quickly if initially you dip the straw in, put your finger over the end, and then drip the liquid into their mouth (do it to DH first with lots of laughs).

Also, have you tried just sharing your glass of water ? Have him on your lap while you eat and drink, and happen to leave the glass in your hand at his level while you are talking - Ds used to love stealing some of my drink. In fact, he still does now and he's nearly 4.

A couple of months is a long time at this age, so try not to get stressed. Just provide lots of opportunities for him to drink water and he will in his own time