Weaning breast to bottle at 12 months is it possible?

[tami2k]

FTM due to go back to work next month. My DS is such a fussy eater really struggling to get anything down him. He's 12month but his diet is of a 6 month old. Just wants milk.
He screams before I even put him down on his high hair.
Tried BLW he hates textures and wet things, he ignores it and makes faces. Today I gave him a nectar he squeezed it n cried (normally he would eat nectars. Only thing he likes is grapes but won't pick it himself.
I'm due to go back to work next month so stressed how I will leave him as I still a BF him.
Pulled out day time feeds now he's always crying. Tried every bottle Tommy tippie mam nuk nothing. Is it still possible to wean him to bottle at this stage? I would prefer to as they have milk for longer. He doesn't drink nothing other than water in his sippy cup.
I'm so stressed now have anxiety my other option is just go cold turkey. Which I have tried then gave in as he was not eating nothing. Don't really have anyone to leave him with his dad works long hours.
Tried all the usual things suggested EBF BLW - idk what I'm doing wrong :(
I will be going on sick leave at this rate
Appreciate any pointers

The nursery staff are likely to have better luck than you. Once they turn one regular milk can be given as a drink, they don’t need bottles.

I would focus on getting him to eat more food instead, at one he needs it. If he won’t pick it up, what happens if you spoon feed? You can call your health visitor for advice.

My ds is 16, BLW wasn't around when he was a baby. If he won't pick up & eat, why not spoon feed him? Start on sweet tasting vegetable chunky puree, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, with some protein, maybe scrambled egg or something like lasagne, don't make it too smooth & increase the texture every few days. Give him porridge made with formula & put some pureed fruit in, mash up a banana after his lunch, give him a spoon as well while he is concentrating on his spoon, get some food in his mouth. Give him an empty bowl & a spoon to feed his Teddy or cuddly toy, so he learns that feeding is fun. As for the milk, have you tried him with a cup? Either one with a top on or if he can manage, an ordinary one, the Avent ones are good as they mix & match with the Avent bottles. Does he have a dummy? I know in mumsnetland they are bad, but if you look at bottles of the same brand you may have more luck, try someone else giving him a bottle of expressed milk, once he starts to accept it, start mixing it 50:50 with formula & gradually reduce the expressed milk. Are you intending to still feed him yourself when you are at home, or will he be having formula?

Maybe try to bypass a bottle and go straight onto a cup... ideally babies should stop drinking out a bottle around the age of 1 anyway ( trying to explain that to my 19 month old at the moment isn’t going well).

Once at nursery he may eat more once he’s sat around seeing all the other kids eating and there’s no option for a boob feed!

At 12 months my DD was similar and I went back to work four days a week and she went to nursery. We introduced milk in a sippy cup, never did bottles as she refused. Also, she loved nursery food! Always ate it - not like at home!! I still breastfeed in the morning and evening and have only just stopped now at 2.5 years old. I worried so much but the transition wasn’t that bad. Good luck.

I wouldn't bother with bottles. If he'll drink water from a cup then he'll be hydrated so won't need milk while you're at work. You could still feed yourself in the morning/evening if you wanted (that was what I did). You'll probably find he'll eat much more at nursery as will copy the other children so I wouldn't worry too much.

I also thought I'd chime in to suggest a cup. DS wouldn't take bottle when I returned to work but would drink water out of a cup, I just used that.

Not every baby takes well to BLW, just be patient and he will get there.

Definitely a cup at this age.

Both of mine were like this. Not interested in eating food until well over one. I remember seeing a baby boy (probably about 6-7 months) happily being spoon-fed in a cafe and looking at 13mo old DS dropping all his food on the floor and despairing. I tried literally everything to encourage them to take in more actual food rather than breastmilk - they did manage fine at nursery when I wasn’t there though (and they drank from sippy/regular cups).

You shouldn't be giving a bottle or formula after 12 months, so I'd go for cows milk in a cup or a sippy. But tbh I'd be prioritizing solids at 1 - he needs the nutrients.

In a word, no.

@Pluckedpencil

In a word, no.

Any helpful suggestions to go with those words of wisdom?

Babies behave very differently in childcare and he will likely learn to eat food. I cared for a fully breastfed baby who was like your son and initially he tried to avoid eating and breast fed all night instead. He soon learned to eat food.

My ds was like this! I bottle fed ds1 and he took to eating so well. Ds2 is breastfed and he has been hit and miss with eating. He loves milk so much. I got incredibly stressed about it! My health visitor said:

1. dont get stressed with meal times eg 12 for lunch, 5 for dinner. If he's had a feed at 11, wait a few hours for lunch.

2. their tummies are so tiny still, dont get stressed with portion size per meal, look at what they've had the whole day.

Bm is still so amazing for their health. It's brilliant that you're still giving him this. When I returned to work, my ds would eat amazingly then when I got home, he'd want to have a big feed. He's nearly 2, still feeding but eats well too. Just wanted to share my experience as I was really stressed too!