Advice on moving 6 month old breastfed baby to bottle or cup

[AWishYourHeartMakes]

So far we have just breastfed and now started to introduce finger foods. I know HVs suggest moving straight to cup at this age but I’d love to know real experiences. Currently feed to sleep and I’m wondering if introducing a bottle will allow DH to do bedtime on occasion? How long did your babies have bedtime bottles for? Can they get the same comfort from a cup? Thanks!

My first DD we introduced a cup with water at 6months meal times. Took her a while to do it herself. We carried on breastfeeding to sleep. She unfortunately refused expressed milk in the cup (munchkin 360) but took to water and the cup. As her feeds reduced naturally and by going back to work or, she increased her water in a cup. We stopped trying with expressed and at a year tried cow milk but she refused it too.

Spoke to HV and they said as long as she ate dairy like yoghurt and cheese and on breakfast, porridge etc not to worry and try again after a few months. DD decided to stop breastfeeding at 14months and at about 16 months we tried milk in a cup again and she loved it!

Dd2 ripped the cup of water out of our hands at 6months and cracked on! However it is looking like she will go same route too...

We tried a bottle with both babies but the just choked and the advice is cup from 6months as it is better for their teeth.

Comfort at bedtime i believe comes from the parent and routine not the items, my dd1 gets comfort from the routine of milk and stories, dd2 still from the breast.

I would start just offering a cup of water with meals and see how it goes. Once your lo is keen on drinking out of a cup, you can start offering breast milk or formula.

My first was bottle fed by 6 months and absolutely refused any water or milk in a cup until 13 months. My second is ebf (never had a bottle of anything) and happily gulped water from a cup from 6 months. He’s 7.5 months now and starting to introduce milk in a cup so I can get him used to taking it for when I need to work or be away. He’ll happily drink it, but it hasn’t yet replaced a feed, though I think it would if I wasn’t around. I think to start though, it’s just getting them used to a cup and then you can go from there.

Oh and as for bedtime, my first who was bottle fed had milk in a bottle til 15 months and then in a straw cup. She continued the cup of milk at bedtime til she was 4.5. Yes, she did get the same sort of comfort from it because the sucking is much the same. We used Moma straw cups, which I loved.

Thanks mindutopia! Good to know how it worked for you and will look up those straw cups for later on

DS2 never had a bottle. When he was 3 he didn't even recognise a baby bottle.

I started giving them cups with meals, when they gave up bfing they'd have a cup of milk sitting on their bed.

This was convenient for us, as DH would be washing up and doing our dinner while I was doing bedtime, otherwise we'd never have eaten!

Cup cup cup! Don’t you bottle unless you need to

Hi my DD is just bit older than yours and is ebf. I just decided to try formula in a sippy cup see how it went and she took it no problem at all! I was so surprised as I've really struggled to get her to take a bottle.

It hasn't replaced any feeds though but I think it will gradually as I need to go back to work. Doesn't comfort her to sleep though she still feeds to sleep which is something im going to have to change.

But just give it to a try either water or formula/ expressed milk and see how it goes. Good luck x

Thanks all! Some good advice here. Think I will go for the cup x