Bottle refusal - 9 month old

[CEJenkins]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone has ever successfully been able to introduce a bottle at around 9 months to an exclusively nursed baby?

I’m going back to work soon and need him to be able to take a bottle for the child minder. I would also like to be able to go out with my friends once in a while 😅

We tried mam and it’s a no.. I’m currently trying this minbie brand which I saw people recommending on a different post for breastfed babies but night 2 and it’s a definite no. I’m doing all the usual stuff, relaxed, someone else feeding him etc… I have tried myself but he’s kicks off worse for me.

Has anyone done this successfully to a 9 month old if so what did you do / what bottles did you use? I’m UK based also so don’t have access to certain brands.

thank you!

I'm really sorry but once my LO started to refuse bottles I never managed to get them to take any, and I tried ALOT.

Having said that, at 9 months baby can drink from cup / sippy cups so you can always try them. Are they weaned yet? How well are you doing with that? For me I knew this would be my ticket to freedom so I focused on getting LO on three meals a day. At that age I could leave LO with care givers with only food and water. When not with me they ate even more than they would with me! Milk is the main source of nutrition untill they are one so I am not suggesting that it is not important but they will make up for it when you are back together. Baby's, especially breastfeed ones are very adaptable with there food intake when not with mum.

As for evenings, we worked hard on get my DH to be able to settle LO to sleep. I would still need to do the bed time feed which meant I couldn't make plans before 6:30 ish but after they were fed it was handed over to dad untill I came home ☺️.

thank you so much for replying!

Ah so not much hope with the bottle then. I have tried to give milk in the sippy cup or my partner tried and it unfortunately didn’t work. I was thinking about trying to teach him with a straw cup instead?

yes he’s weaned he wasn’t great with food at first but recently he is getting so good. And you’re right as long as they arnt hungry it would be fine for a few hours. Can I ask what DH did to be able to settle your little one to sleep? We have tried so many times just at home but it’s really touch and go.

I mean all babies are different so by all means keep trying! The most joy I ever got was out of a nuk closer to nature latex teat, but that was hit and miss. It got to the point where the years weren't worth it and they were eating enough food to keep them happy while I was gone! And my LO eats so much more when with others than me, you will be surprised. We are talking finishing off full pouches / meals and then a packet of melty sticks afterwards 😂 eating a whole wheatabix when I'd struggle to get a quarter in! They know when they aren't with you that the milk isn't available. At that age I could happily leave LO 6/7 hours with food and water and they would be absolutely fine ☺️

So it took a while and alot of perseverance, but my LO is a bit of a classic false starter in the evening, so when they did wake my husband would go first to settle them. At this time of day when already with a fully belly, melatonin high and a bit sleepy the sleep pressure is at it's highest so I assumed highest chance of success. I won't lie they did cry quite a bit at first and I wouldn't let it go on last ten mins or so as it wasn't nice for anyone involved but my husband tried everytime she woke in the evening before we had went to bed and eventually he had a better knack for it than me!

Good luck with it all! EBF is amazing but can be restrictive at times and as someone who thought they'd never be able to go out for more than two hours at a time I'm here to tell you it does get better! I even went out for a few Xmas meals and drinks which I never would of believed 4/5 months ago 😂