Weaning from Breastmilk to Formula

Is there a reason that you have to wean him? If you are going back to work then it definitely makes sense. Otherwise I would just continue nursing until the baby can go on regular milk. My third was my longest breast fed baby since he hated formula. I left him for 4 days to visit a dying friend and when I came home he could not wait to go back on the boob and refused to take a bottle again (he had never taken a bottle before this time). So I waited until he was a year old and then just put him on whole milk and the transition was extremely smooth. My other two self weaned themselves at 10 and 11 months old and did formula for the remaining two months without much difficulty.

Good luck!! Also maybe try one of the older aged formulas they seemed to work better with my older two.

Hope this helps, H. (SAHM 5, 3 3/4 and 14 month old boys)

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I had issues with my dd not taking a bottle, but it was my milk, not formula. I'm just wondering why you would be weaning so early if you're not returning to work? I know it's a personal decision, and I'm not judging you, but if you can continue to breastfeed until he's a year old, you may avoid the hassle of weaning, the expense of formula, and you'll be giving him a huge benefit. For more support and info, try LaLeche league- they may have more creative solutions for the formula refusals (although I don't blame him- have you tasted that stuff?). Haha.

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Hi J.,

My son was the exact same way. To get him to eat the formula I did the following:

Make the formula a head of time (4-6 oz) and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. It's less powdery that way.

Then at his next bottle, mix together 1-2 oz of the pre-made formula and then rest breastmilk to fill his bottle (depending on how he drinks) Do this all day today.

Tomorrow do 2-4 oz formula and the rest breastmilk. Adding more formula and less breastmilk every 3-4 bottles.

In about 3-4 days he will take just formula with no problem. The taste is very different and they just need to adjust a little.

Good luck!

Mix formula and breastmilk and see how he takes that first.
Maybe try a few kinds of nipples? As much as manufacturers claim it is "just like the breast" NOTHING is EXACTLY like YOUR breast!
Since he is 7 months old you can also have him start experimenting with a sippy cup too.
GOOD LUCK!

Hi Jen:

You might try a 60% breastmilk with 40% formula to start and then gradually increase the forumal amount. This would gradulally get him used to the different taste.

Good luck!

What kind of formula are you using? My son (who got the occasional bottle from week one and then transitioned entirely to formula at four months) always made a face we when we gave him similac and didn't really seem to like it. Our pedi suggested that we try good start (it's a little thinner than other formulas when mixed) and he slurped it right down!

Instead of watering down the formula with water, mix it with breast milk, say 50/50. Once he accepts this, you can decrease the amount of breastmilk over time.

Have you tried different formula's? My girlfriend went thru many until her son finally took and didn't have any issues with pre-digested formula.

Good luck,
L. M

I'm sorry that I haven't read the previous responses yet. In my situation, my son lost more than 10% of his body weight after birth. Although I breast fed him, the doctor was considered about his low weight and slow gain. So, he suggested that I supplement his feeding with formula. After each feeding, I offered him 2 oz of formula. As he grew bigger and older, I gradually increased his amount of formula. Then, at around 10 months, I began to substitute a whole meal with formula (but by this time my son was also eating solids.) I kept his first meal and end of the day meal with breast feeding. I chose a less important meal, such as afternoon snack time with formula. Much to my surprise, my son gradually let me know in his way that he was no longer interested in breastfeeding. He stopped around 12 months of age. By then, I was beginning to introduce small amounts of dairy milk.

I hope that this might help you. It seems like every child is different. Being a parent has made me feel like a detective.

I did have this problem! I mixed breastmilk and formula, and gradually diluted out the breastmilk. You could try half an ounce of formula (or even less if your child really hates formula) in the breastmilk bottle for a few days, then keep increasing the amount of formula every few days. I found that by the time I was using a 50/50 mixture I was able to switch to formula outright, since my baby was already used to the taste. I know you aren't supposed to mix breastmilk and formula, but that's because you aren't supposed to keep unused formula. But you'll know pretty quickly whether this will work for you, so it won't be too much of a waste. Also, maybe you can try a different brand of formula? Good luck!

Since he takes the breast milk from a bottle...just do what they tell you when you wean them to whole milk.....just add more and more formula mixture (over a span of a week or so) to the breastmilk bottle so that he gets used to the new flavor/texture.

Try mixing fomula with breast milk. More breast milk than formula at first. Than a little at a time more and more formula.

I had the same suggestion as Becky.

First try giving mostly breast milk-with a little formula mixed in, then keep increasing the % of formula in the mix. Also, all formulas are not the same, so consider trying others. (You might want to see if friends have different ones that you could try- to avoid spending too much). Good luck.