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Parenting

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Original poster

Has anyone cup fed their baby?

22 replies

Writerwannabe83 · 10/08/2014 11:09

DS is 4.5 months old and is EBF.

Yesterday I decided to start the journey of expressing and looking for other methods of feeding to allow me some of my freedom back by being able to leave him with other people.

Me and DH were obviously drawn to the use of a bottle but at DS's age I can't help think it's pretty pointless as I'm aware it can be a difficult thing to do with so EBF and then aren't they supposed to be weaned off bottles at 6 months old anyway?

I have Been considering cup feeding instead but have no idea how to go about it. I have tried using Google for information on how to do it correctly but I can't find anything.

Everything I see on YouTube or read implies cup feeding is only for prem/newborns who are struggling to breast feed. Is that right?

My friend cup fed her baby for 5 weeks when he was born as he struggled yo attach and she said she was only allowed to give him 15oz every 15 minutes (or something close to that) and she was just cup feeding around the click to ensure her baby got enough milk.

Does all cup feeding have to be done so slowly or was it just because her baby was do young?

Any advice or words of experience would be very grateful.

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cakedays · 10/08/2014 11:14

My DC were able to use a doidy cup or tommee tippee dippy cup without the lid from about 4 months (with a little help so they didn't tip it too far back and pour too much liquid down), so why not just try them and see if they can sip it? The only thing I'd be a bit worried about is whether they can drink enough by that method - eg. DC sipped water but didn't drink a lot of liquid from cups. They were bottle refusers though so I ended up resigned to EBF and didn't really express!

cakedays · 10/08/2014 11:15

Sippy cup! My autocorrect is going bonkers today!

AnythingNotEverything · 10/08/2014 11:17

Cup feeding is slow and messy. You may have no idea how much has gone in (but with breastmilk this isn't such an issue). If you want to go ahead with it, they lap the milk up like a cat rather than drinking it like you or I would.

Some people feel babies should be off the bottle by 1, I've never heard by 6 months.

I'd go with a bottle. Plenty of babies have no issue taking one after months of bf.

If you're away from baby at a normal feed time you may get engorged and want to express though. I think this becomes less of an issue as baby gets older.

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fairgame · 10/08/2014 11:17

Ive only ever cup fed newborns when I worked on children's ward. Personally I wouldn't recommend it for a 4/5 month old. It takes absolutely ages as the baby has to kind of lap up the milk with there tongue (a bit like a cat for want of a better phrase). I would hate to think how long it would take to give a full feed via cup to a 4 month old coz it takes a long time to give the small amount a newborn needs.
It might be more convenient to use a bottle til your baby is ready to move onto tippy cups.

fairgame · 10/08/2014 11:19

X post im too slow at typing!
Glad im not the only one who uses the cat example!

Theyaremysunshine · 10/08/2014 14:17

It's not normal to wean off bottles at 6m. A year is more normal.

I ebf both my dc and had to get them onto formula for return to work at 6 and 8m respectively. Both bottle refusers.

At 6m they could both manage a tommee tippee sippy cup for about an ounce (after about a month of daily practice). I persisted out of necessity and by 8m and 9m respectively both could down a whole cupful independently. Tried a doidy at 5-6m but that was just a hilariously messy disaster.

Your DS may take a bottle or may not, but if he won't, a cup will not give you the freedom you're looking for for quite a long time. Personally at 4/5 months I'd use a bottle and keep everything crossed that he'll take it.

Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 10/08/2014 15:18

For some reason I thought Tippee cups should be used after 6 months - not sure who told me that though.

I just offered him his first bottle and it was quite entertaining, he was happy enough to have the teat in his mouth and was munching on it but certainly wasn't sucking on it He seemed very unsure about the whole thing and after 5 minutes he started grizzling and squirming so I stopped. DH then gave him the milk via syringe so as not to waste it.

Pretty much what I expected for our first attempt though

Part of me is slightly nervous that if he starts taking the bottle he will start to reject the breast and I really, really don't want that. It's so hard to know what to do for the best.

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Idontseeanyicegiants · 10/08/2014 15:30

I didn't get any decent results from a sippy cup until about 8/9 months with all 3 of mine and while doidy cups are great the only thing I could think after the first few times was '6 months My Arse' we got much better results at closer to a year old.

Theyaremysunshine · 10/08/2014 15:42

I wouldn't worry about him rejecting the breast, just keep him on a slow flow teat (newborn). He's well old enough not to get confused.

The basic tommee tippee sippy cups are suitable from 4m. They have the advantage of being microwave and dishwasher friendly.

It's best to let someone else try giving the bottle with you nowhere near, or he'll understandably want it fresh. Also, make sure it's warm enough, ebf babies are used to pretty warm milk.

RainbowTeapot · 10/08/2014 18:51

We were told bf babies should go straight to doidy cups at 6 months (which we did) as there was no need to wean onto bottles and off again.

mrsmugoo · 12/08/2014 11:58

Writer - as my LO has never taken a bottle in his life I am just waiting until he's weaned now (going to start in a couple of weeks, he'll be 24 weeks then) and at least then I know I can leave him with someone else and he can have solids and drink water even if he won't take milk in a bottle.

When I return to work he'll be looked after by grandparents only for the first 3-4 months and they've said they'll bring him down at lunch time for a BF if he needs it.

Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 12/08/2014 12:04

Hi missmugoo,

That's brilliant of the grandparents!! My childminder is only a 5 minute drive from where I work so I could always pop in during my lunch hour

I'm having a 2nd attempt at a bottle this afternoon, I have sent DH out to buy a different branded bottle to see if it makes any difference.

My sister is looking after DS for a few hours tomorrow but I will feed him just before I leave him with her and hopefully all will be fine. I am sending a bottle of EBM too though and a syringe just in case

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loudarts · 12/08/2014 12:15

All of mine were weaned off bottles at 6 months as that was the advice when I had dc1. Never used a cup but am considering it as ebf 8 month ds is a bottle refuser and doesnt like his sippy cup either.

mandy214 · 12/08/2014 12:25

I agree with other posters. My twins were premature and fed by an NG tube to start with. I wanted to breastfeed them and whilst I was staying in hospital with them that was fine, but when I had to be discharged but they weren't ready to come home, I couldn't be there for all of their night feeds. They had some of their feeds by cup but as others have said, it is very time consuming (lapping it like a cat) so with the best will in the world, sometimes the nurses went back to the NG tubes.

Fast forward 6 months (completely breastfed) and I wanted to introduce bottles. They resisted - did exactly as described (chewed on teats). Tried cups which they'd obviously had before, but now didn't seem to get on with them - they were messy and they ended up covered in milk. We did persevere with the bottles - they took them eventually (probably took a month or so of trying once a day) before they'd have a decent amount.

My tip would be to choose a feed when they're hungry - we initially started at tea time but when we switched it to 1st morning feed, we had much better results. Also, get your H to try first.

We only introduced 1 bottle a day - the rest I still breastfed. There was no rejection of the boob or anything like that. Good luck.

Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 12/08/2014 12:27

How old do you think a baby can be introduced to a sippy cup, is it 6 months??

DS is 6 months old in about 6 weeks so I just don't think I can be bothered with the stress of introducing bottles to only not use them again in 6 weeks - especially when my leaving him I'd going to be a very rare occurrence anyway.

Is it super super bad to just give it to him via syringe as a one-off maybe once a week??

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Original poster

Writerwannabe83 · 12/08/2014 12:28

Cross paired with you there mandy - thank you for your advice

OP posts:

BlondePieceOffFluff · 12/08/2014 12:36

The medela-bottles with the Calma-teet is supposed to be very good for not creating nipple-confusion. The baby has to suck the milk out same-ish way as from a breast.

mrsmugoo · 12/08/2014 12:43

Writer you can try a sippy cup or a doidy cup now - it's from 4m

DS will sip a teeny bit of water from a doidy now but no milk!

AnythingNotEverything · 12/08/2014 15:52

Writer - not all babies struggle with bottles. I've always been able to get an ounce or two down my almost ebf daughter when necessary.

When will you start using your childminder? Bf habits can change a lot once baby is eating food well. Unless you're back to work soon I wouldn't worry about that just yet.

Skiingmaniac · 12/08/2014 15:58

My kids hated bottles (although not BF) and I struggled to get them to drink milk for the first 4 months (they were vomiters) - despite them growing like weeds and the HV not being concerned - I recorded them as having something like 15-20oz per 24 hours....which I think was half the amount they should have been having.

I gave them sippy cups from 4 months onwards and they far preferred them! Also (and I'm saying you should do this!) I gave them puree from 4/5 months as they kept it down better.

Good luck :-)

Artandco · 12/08/2014 21:16

Mine both used doidy cups from about 3/4 months ( one earlier than the other). It was handy for us as it was mainly for emergencies if I was due back but delayed and dh started taking an small amount of aptimal ready formula out with him so if after hours walk baby wanted something he could offer ( even though they had been fed hour before so didn't need it as such).

Def beneficial here as by 6 months both could drink well from it for all drinks so I could leave as long as needed as new they could eat and drink plenty

Babiesbabieseverywhere · 13/08/2014 23:06

Plenty of good bottles available, look up 'latch', I've heard good things about their bottles for mixing with bf.

If it helps my. 3 month old has been fed by bottle (expressed and formula), cup, breast and breast with shields and is very flexible between them all :)

Cup feeding is amusing and messy and will be fine, but personally I find a bottle much easier!

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