Need help transitioning EBF LO to bottle asap

[mommykay410]

Hi,

My DD is 10 months old and has never taken a bottle.  I am going back to work soon and really need to start getting her used to what her day will be like without me so it's not terribly stressful when I go back to work.  I have tried various times over the past few months to offer a bottle, but she will not drink more than an ounce or two and then gets mad and pushes it away because it's not the boob.  I really need a plan that I am able to stick to that will get her taking the bottle as soon as possible so she has enough time to adjust.  It has been suggested to me to just move right to the sippy for her milk feeds at this age, but she doesn't associate the sippy with anything other than a sip of water after solids, so she just plays with it for the most part when I put milk in it.  Any advice someone can give me would be greatly appreciated! 

[weaver]

You can get a cup with a soft spout which might be more comfortable for her (we used a Nuk). It probably is best to try to skip the bottle stage as you would just be setting yourself up for another transition after it. What are your hours? You may find that your feeding schedule can be tweaked a bit so you can still feed her and not feel under pressure about bottles.

Oh and have you tried the classic thing of getting someone else to offer the bottle/cup of milk?

[mommykay410]

Thank you for your reply!

A typical day is:
WU around 7
7:30 nurse
8:30 solids
10:00 top up nurse one side
10:30-11:30/12 nap
12:00 nurse
1:00 solids
3:00 top up nurse one side
3:30-4:30/5 nap
4:45/5 nurse
5:30/6 finger foods
7:30 nurse before bed
8:00 asleep, then 2 NW around 11/11:30 and somewhere between 2-5

I am not sure if/how to tweak our schedule so that I don't have to give her the top-up feeds, but if I don't then she wakes up too early from her naps.  I would love to stop the NWs if possible.  I could try to get a different sippy that has a softer spout and see how she takes it.  Before the straw cup I gave her the Tommee Tippee sippy and she wasn't sure how to get anything out of it.  I haven't had anyone else try to give her the bottle for a few months since my husband works too late to be able to try during the week, and we just get too caught up in routine on the weekends.  I will see if she will take it for my mom this weekend. 

[weaver]

I meant work hours when you go back if you're planning to feed her BM in the cup/bottle, you might find you don't need to do as many feeds as you think with the cup.  For example, I used to do morning feed, leave, get back by 4pm have a feed, bit of dinner, have another BT feed, so that was still three feeds in the day, iyswim.  Means there's less worry about what she's getting from the bottle.   I think from what you say you have a few months before you go back?

As regards different bottles and cups, just let her keep trying, they learn new things every week at this age. She'll get it   And remember, if she'll take a bit from the cup or bottle, that's a start! you can build on that.

My LO2 was a totally bottle free baby and was BF to over 2.5 yo, so it's possible. There are a few bottle-free BF working mamas on this forum in fact. So don't freak out about it just yet

[mommykay410]

Oh sorry I misunderstood haha.  My hours are basically 8-4 when I go back to work, and I will be going back at the beginning of April, just before she turns 1.  So yes, I would still be doing the morning feed and BT feed, and I could technically still feed her as soon as I get home.  I would like to get out of the house for longer than 3 hours prior to that though haha, so she needs to start getting more out of the cup soon.  I am planning to start weaning as soon as she is able to drink regular milk, so the easier I can make that transition the better.  I will post on the EASY forum too and see if someone there can give me some advice on tweaking the routine to cut down on the number of nursing sessions with the topups.  I ordered a new straw cup that supposedly allows them to get every last drop because the straw is weighted, so we will see how that one goes!

[*Ali*]

At this age I would also consider offering a solids snack such as a yogurt or banana instead of a BF top-up if you are out and will miss a feed, or even every day if you want to drop the top ups.  I definitely wouldn't aim to replace all the BFs with milk in a sippy. If you wean after 1yo they don't need actual milk, they can get all their nutrition from solid food especially if eating dairy like yogurt and cheese and you don't want her filling up on cows milk and not being hungry for more nutritious solids. Breast milk is different as it is perfectly balanced nutrition and also has the immunity benefits of course.

[Katet]

I agree with the PP, I'd go to a sippy cup & working towards more regular meals & food. By 12months you could pretty much have her on cups of milk & cheese & yogurt in her diet as replacement for the feeds

My DS2 didn't ever take a bottle, went to a cup from 5mo (I was out of the house for 6 hours & he had 150ml in that time  combination of cup & DH spoon feeding him the milk- not great but the only option that we had that day.  I kept at the cup for his 10am feed (although looking at your routine, I'd make it noon solids & followed by milk from a cup & cut out that feed in the day or offer it from the cup instead of the top up feeds. Just accept it will only be a small milk intake & offer other food to make up calorie intake.

what is recommended changes a lot, but when my DS1 was born my Bro & SIL & 9.5mo Niece came to stay, at that time my SIL was working on "solids before milk" as the transition to weaning from the brest & she found that it also worked well with sleep in terms of she got my niece eating more protein at meals & then used milk as the top.

[mommykay410]

Thanks for your replies, Ali & Katet!  DD's favorite food is yogurt, so that would be an easy snack.  I have been giving her EBM in the bottle for the topup before her afternoon nap this week, and she has been drinking about 2 ounces from it at that time, so that's one step.  I think she will definitely do better taking it from the sippy though because she wants to sit up and drink instead of lean back.  I just got her new cup in the mail today, so I'm anxious to see how that works tomorrow. 

So you think in terms of feeding schedule I should work toward something like this? -

7/7:30 WU, nurse (eventually to be replaced by cup of milk)
8:30 solids breakfast
10:00 solids snack with small cup of milk
10:30-11:30/12 nap
12:00 solids lunch, then cup of milk
3:00 solids snack
3:30-4:30/5 nap
4:45/5 nurse/cup of milk
5:30/6 finger foods dinner
7:30 nurse before bed

[*Ali*]

Looks good to me. You can then reduce the milk as it stops being breast milk.