Introducing the bottle at 7.5 months

[cookiemonster527]

DD is 7.5 months and is currently EBF taking 4-5 feeds a day. She's been doing really well with solids and we are at 3 meals a day. Selfishly, I would like her to occasionally take from a bottle (maybe once a month if even) so that I can be away for a little longer if need be and still have the peace of mind that she's getting enough milk. I don't want her to wean too early and I love and cherish the BF times. I hope to continue nursing until at least 1 year if not longer. I know she is taking more solids than recommended but she loves solids and I don't want to take that away from her.

Is there a way to start introducing the bottle at this age? Are there any recommendations on how to do so? Is it "too late" to introduce the bottle? I just want to make sure I do it "right" so she doesn't wean too early or reject BF. Thanks in advance!

[Lolly]

At the age she is, if it's only going to be the very occasional feed you could try an open cup or a straw cup. Have you tried a bottle at all? Some BF babies will totally reject them but others take to it quite naturally. I wouldn't think the odd bottle would have an impact on your BF at this age.

Here are a couple of links to have a look though though!
A bottle (or more!) a day…  Mixed breast and bottle feeding
Breastfed babies and bottles

Laura

[cookiemonster527]

Thanks so much for the links! They are very helpful. I had tried he bottle at around 7 weeks and DD had 2 oz. The next couple times she didn't take any at all. I think there could have been more I could have done to help make the introduction more successful (my heart wasn't truly set on bottle feeding at the time). These links will help. Thanks a bunch!