Changing from breast to bottle

[Megzmoo]

Hi, first time mum and looking for advice please.
I plan on changing from breastfeeding to formula when dd is 6 months old. She has been exclusively breastfed and on the odd occasion has expressed milk in a bottle but it's 50/50 whether she will take it.

Just looking for some tips on how to stop breastfeeding?

Thank you 😊

Start by introducing a bottle more....the bottle will be the biggest change for her rather than the formula. Id suggest working towards a combi feed before then stopping breast. Your flow will naturally adjust so will be easier. When I was done with breast I could just stop as we had combi fed for a while. The best of luck!

Just literally done this with DS who is 6 months old. Had been trying to get him to take a bottle for months but with no success so had planned to cold turkey him as my MH was suffering. However he must have got wind of it and on the day we chose drank from a bottle like he had been doing it forever! So I was able to stop gradually which is what you need to do to avoid sore boobs/ mastitis.

I fed him for 2 over night feeds and first thing whilst pumping morning, afternoon and before bed to start with giving the expressed milk mixed with formula as bottles at all feeds in the day. I then replaced the first night feed with a bottle for a few days, next dropped the afternoon pump for a few days, he dropped the morning feed himself then a few days later I dropped the morning pump etc etc. Carried on dropping a pump or feed every few days until I was pumping before bed only and then reduced the length of that pump by a few minutes each day until I felt I didn’t need to pump. Took about 2 weeks in total but now I haven’t pumped for about 3 days- still have some leakinn after a shower but otherwise boobs feel soft and comfortable.

Basically find a pattern that works for you- drop the feeds that are most inconvenient first replacing with pumps and then drop the pumps that you don’t get so much on first and so on.

Thank you for the advice 😊 she's 6 months at the beginning of December so will start combi feeding then and hopefully have her fully on formula by Christmas 😁

I did the same at around 6 months... started just before. Dropped a feed every 5-7 days and kept the night feeds til last.
Took about 4 weeks to do this and though it was still painful it was a much easier process

Babe didn't care either way! Also stopped feeding overnight when I stopped BF, had bottles for about 3 nights then stopped. Excellent timing the best decision for us ever and I'm glad I got to 6 months

I meant to add, I didn't express really doing this. Hand expressed a few times but as I was gradual and spaced out which feeds I dropped it wasn't a huge issue

I found it really hard, and mine were older. I think it's because I left it later though. Easiest thing to start with was making sure that someone other than I offered the bottles and I wasn't there!

I’ve just done this with my eight month old as she has started at nursery. She is still refusing bottles at nursery but they have got her to drink formula from a beaker. It will be easier for you if someone else can give the formula, at least to begin with.