BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Breast Feeding => Topic started by: JKL on September 07, 2006, 23:35:20 pm
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Hi! My son is almost 8 months old. He has always been exclusively breast fed. When he was 4 months old, dh tried giving him a bottle of EBM, and he did fine. Over the next 2 months, he had a bottle maybe 3 times--no problem. So, we figured, he's fine with the bottle, but I always make sure to had him with me when he needed to eat, so he didn't get the bottle any more than those few times...Well, you guessed it--last week, I was out, and dh tried giving the bottle. He kept grabbing it out of dh's hands, and then taking a quick sip, then playing with the nipple, then sticking it in the sides of his mouth, etc. Hardly actually drank any. So, my questions:
1. I'm assuming 8 month olds hold their own bottles, right??? (I really have no idea!). Should we just let him hold it and play around till he gets the idea (like we did for the sippy cup?)
2. Is it even worth it, if I can be around for all 4 of his feeds? Is it possible to wean straight to a sippy cup, even if it is before lo turns 1 (I don't know how long I'm going to breastfeed--I keep extending my goal (3 months, no 6 months, etc. :); think I'll for sure stop by 1 year, though, since we want to get pregnant again soon...) He is not great with the sippy cup now--spills alot of it. Does this typically improve by, say, 10 months--enough so he could get all his ounces from the cup???
Thanks for any advice!
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Lots of moms have success with sippy cups around 6-9 months- but it does take practice!
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I had a similar experience with my dd. Gave her a bottle when she was a few weeks old 2-3x and expected her to know how to take a bottle at 8 mths! I gave up on giving the bottle, she just chewed on the nipple. We went straight to the sippy (I offer her water with her meals). First I had to take out the stopper and hold it to her mouth, she finally gets it now, with the stopper back in. Took 6 weeks though I didn't try too hard as she's bf and given solids. Oh, I also had to switch to the soft spout (she still doesn't have teeth).
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You certainly can go straight to sippy. I would suggest removing the valve so the sippy cup is a bit easier to use.
Be wary of soft spouts with bf babies though. With a soft spot the valve is released by the baby literally biting down on the spout. This is not a technique you want to be encouraging!!!! I have read a few horror stories where soft spouts led to different techniques being used when baby goes back to bf.
First time mom - you may be fine but just a warning!
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I use a sippy cup with the valve removed. I am also trying the nuby soft spot cup. Both seem to like that better than the sippy cup and no problems biting, yet! Thanks for the warning ;)
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Yes,thanks for the warning! Now I'm paranoid! No teeth yet but I do know those gums can feel sharp.
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Thanks for the info, guys. We use a sippy with a soft spout/valve out. Sometimes, he drinks from it like a pro, usually, he spits half out (lets it run out his mouth). I just hope he gets better at it before I wean him (still haven't decided when that will be...) Oh, ds does bite the spout (and everything else!) like crazy--gets it between his 6 teeth, and then yanks back as hard as he can, before letting go. But, he hasn't bitten me during a nursing session for months. (knock on wood!)