12 answers

NO Weaning! - Help!

My daughter took a breast or bottle whenever until we decided it was time to start weaning at 7 months.
Now she refuses the bottle all-together and will only breastfeed. Any suggestions?
We've tried formula & breast milk in the bottle. Me being out of the house for hours and given by several other people
all sorts of new bottles ... Adiri & BreastFlow..... She hated it in a sippy cup even though she loves water in a sippy cup!!
help!
Also, Mallory will only nurse for 6 minutes at a time and that has been going on since she was 3 months old. She is growing well and seems to be a very happy, healthy smiling baby.
I have heard about letting her wait until she is hungry enough but often she will just hold out and make up for it in solids - seeing milk is supposed to be her main source of nutrition this is an issue - right?

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Thank you everyone for your help, I really appreciate your taking the time to write in. I am reading them all very carefully and I have gotten some great Ideas. For those who wrote about continuing to breast feed - I am am open to this but I want to scale it down from 6 feeds a day. I also want to get pregnant again and currently I am not ovulating (according to my Clear Blue Easy fertility monitor. I have read all over that its different for each woman and it will come back in time but we would really like to get the ball rolling. Thoughts?

Featured Answers

sounds like she wants to continue breastfeeding. Are you open to this? There are still plenty of benefits she can get from breastfeeding-

More Answers

While weaning try pumping some breast mild and putting it in the sippy cup. After the first feeding of only breast milk start mixing breast milk with formula with the breast milk being the larger concentration and gradually increase the formula ratio until breast milk is completely replaced by the formula. I did this with my daughter and it worked great after I found the right sippy cup with the spout/nipple that worked for her - the one with handles worked great because it gave her little hands something new to try.

Don't give up... Reality is that eventually your baby will get hungry enough to take it from the bottle or sippy... you and her will just be a bit miserable till she does.

2 moms found this helpful

I'm not sure what your asking. Did you wean her off the bottle at 7 months old or off breast feeding? Are you saying that your daughter no longer wants the bottle? Are you using a sippy cup? How about those sippy cups with straws (playtex, etc.)?

What do you want?
For her to cease drinking a bottle or to breastfeed?

If you were trying to wean her off both at the same time, well, that's not gonna work. One thing at a time.

WHat do you mean by you being "out of the house for hours and given by several other people?"

Did you try to wean her cold turkey? Weaning is supposed to be gradual.

It sounds like she knows that you are trying to take breastfeeding away, so she is clinging on to it! Have you ever tasted formula? I personally think it tastes awful, so if you go from sweet breast milk to yucky tasting formula, that could definitely be a reason for some refusals. It might be a real attachment thing and she's not ready to let go.

sounds like she wants to continue breastfeeding. Are you open to this? There are still plenty of benefits she can get from breastfeeding-

Hi D.!

I think you're having trouble weaning your daughter because she might be a little too young to stop the bottle completely. If if she just has one a night, she'll adjust.

Sometimes you can't "follow the books" because they don't pertain to your child. Go with what she wants and needs. She'll let you know when she's ready to go without the bottle :o)

N.

Put her on a sippy cup. As long as she is still drinking enough formula/milk to sustain her...it doesn't matter how she drinks it.

I would just let her drink from a cup - either sippy or the spill proof ones with straws. Have it readily available for her so that she can take frequent sips throughout the day.

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