breast to sippycup problems!

[mmmerangue]

Trying to get my 10 mo to drink formula, he will not drink it from a sippycup though (there is another recent post similar but didn't want to hijack it!). He still wakes 2-3 times a night, just for like a 5 minute feed, it's really starting to wear on me cos I know he doesn't need it! I feel if he was on bottle feed he might sleep through because its only the comfort he wants. Trying to not feed him if he will go back to sleep in my arms, but that takes 3 times as long and sometimes he struggles so much I literally have trouble keeping hold of him :( so I fold of course and give him what he wants then feel like a failure cos he should just sleep! I would like to feed him morn and night but theres nothing there in the morning cos he's had it all at 4-5am!!

He had bottles before 3m with occasional formula or expressed milk. Since then he has been EBF and it seems silly to go back to a bottle when he is so good with his sippycup when it has water or juice in it.

I even bought him a straw cup which when it was empty yesterday he was very intrigued by but the minute he smelled milk on it, he actually started bawling his eyes out when I tried to get him to drink a little.. and didn't stop till i breastfed him and he went for a nap 'cos he had cried himself out! the last few weeks he hasn't even had a feed in the day but it was a last resort.. as it always seems to get to being!

Is it worth trying to go back to a bottle? it feels like 2 steps back for one step forward! If I just absolutely quit the boob, will he suffer for it? He does eat formula with cereal with no complaints, loves yoghurt & custard but not keen on cheese. If I cut BF and just gave him those things, he would be getting like half of what the HV recommended :( I'm not even sure if he gets that now, from breastmilk, I don't feel full EVER and I don't think I'm making what the HV seems to think I am :/ Feel like I'm never going to get him off breastmilk, however little there is of it, and its driving me nuts!

Feeling full indicates too MUCH milk not that you have milk. Your body only makes what it thinks your child needs not extra (not a bad thing considering how much your body puts into BM).

There is always milk and breasts are never empty so even if he has fed for ages there is still milk to be had (it may be a bit slower coming out though but that is fine). If he wants to comfort nurse there is a special kind of suckling called non-nutritive suckling that doesn't really stimulate milk let downs so he gets comfort without over feeding.

It sounds like he is making his preference for bfing over beakers known when it comes to milk. Mind you, can you blame him? When he has a bf he gets a cuddle with mummy, skin to skin which releases oxytocin (helps him digest the milk better), endorphins from the suckling so he feels good, interaction from you and it's the comfort he has known all his life. A beaker doesn't give him all those things and a bottle will only provide a few.

That's not to say that you shouldn't wean if you want because if you really don't want to bf you shouldn't feel you have too.

If you want to cut down feeds at night Elizabeth Pantly's No Cry Sleep Solution is very good.

Forgot to add, the pref. for bf will change in time (though it may take a while), but if he takes water/juice from a cup you may find if you need to leave him (work/evening out) he is fine when you are gone and will bf when you are with him.

Thanks, TruthSweet,

have also been to baby clinic think we are going to try Cold Turkey obviously the HV saw something in my eyes cos that was just what she said straight away! Feel slightly less nuts now anyway. See how it goes.