How to introduce 7 month old to formula

[Morgsyr]

Hi, my son has been ebf for 7 months but due to my impending return to work in Nov I have decided to introduce formula in a sippy cup at his 11am feed.
I started giving him water in his sippy cup and he took to this really well however when I have tried to give him SMA 2 he refuses it.
I have asked my husband to try for a few days and he still refuses it. I have not given him a breastfeed upon his refusal and therefore he has to wait for his lunch. I don't know whether this is the right thing or not??
He is due to start nursery in Oct and therefore I would like to get this sorted so that he is settled before I start back to work.
I also do not want to pump milk as this will be impractical when I'm back in work.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you

[Shiv52]

At 7 months I wouldn't let him skip a BF. I would just offer the formula as a separate feed for now. Have you tried a straw cup?  They can work well.

When you return to work are you full time?  How long will you be away?  Often there is ways to making it work that you don't need to stress about pumping or formula.

Hugs xx

[Morgsyr]

Thank you for your reply.
I haven't tried the straw cup but will look at this tonight.
I work 7.30am until 3.00 pm but I have to pick my eldest up from school so I won't be at the nursery until 3.45 ish and therefore my plan was to introduce formula for the 11 am and 3 pm feed so that I could have the reassurance that he would be OK. The 3.00 pm feed is not that important at the minute because I'm going to ask a family member to do the school run for me, so I could continue with the 3.00pm feed for a while longer.
I don't even know if SMA was the best option for formula, there are so many options and I don't know the difference..

[Shiv52]

Yeah I'm not sure about formula. I know here they say aptimal is most like BM??

How is your LO getting on with solids? There is a big difference between what they eat at 7 months and 9 months.

You may well find once you're working LO will take milk better.  There was a girl on here a while back and she worked 7-4 and didn't actually need to substitute  as she couldn't pump.  She fed before work, at 4pm bedtime and DF and 3/4 feeds preferably 4 is recommended for 9 months. Only saying that to reassure you should it take a while build up the formula he's taking x

[Morgsyr]

I have reinstated breastfeed at 11am and will just slowly introduce formula in a sippy cup, over the next few weeks. He's almost 8 months so hopefully by the time I start back to work, he will have the formula sorted but if not, like you said he should be able to manage.
The weaning is going well, he has purée food but he has breakfast, lunch and dinner. I guess I just need to take a step back and stop panicking and slow down!
Thank you for your advice!

[Shiv52]

Just checking in and hoping things are going ok xx

[katkniep]

My midwife told me that Aptamil Pre was the most like breast milk (i've had to mix feed with both of mine). I'm not sure how it is where you live though but Aptamil is always sold out here and hard to find. If you have any allergies in the family you should use the HA version.
x

[zissi]

I think its more a matter of trying different cups rather than formula, although I would always avoid any nestle products (SMA) due to the scandals in developing countries. when it comes to formula in general it is recommended to use the first milk also beyond 6 months as the follow on milk contains more sugar and is of little nutritional value. the first milk (in germany called pre) can be fed on demand too.