Exclusively BF 11 Month Old Hates Bottles and Formula

At 11 months don't bother introducing her to a bottle, it's usually time to wean from a bottle. She's old enough for whole cow's milk from a sippy cup.

I would try pumped milk in a sippy cup. You should be able ot gradually be able to combine pumped milk with cow's milk to transition her over the coming weeks.

I have to tell you that the last thing I would do in your position is offer a bottle. She needs to go straight from breast to cup. Can you pump? Take an ounce of formula and put it in your breast milk in the cup and get it in her. Then up it to another ounce of formula. Continue until you have her on complete formula. When you run out of formula, start using milk. OR, just go to milk. The key is to start out small, increasing it over time, mixed into your breast milk.

If you don't have to completely wean yet, wait until you have her doing well on the cup as you "run around" doing things during the day. Give her the cup before she eats food when she is hungriest. Nurse her in the morning and at night before she goes to bed. She'll get nutrients, and you'll get her on a cup. While you are nursing still, warm what's in the cup some so she doesn't have to go from warm breast to cold milk.

Please don't put her on the bottle. By the time she finally likes it, you'll be trying to take it away so that she isn't walking around carrying a bottle everywhere, sticking a dirty nipple in her mouth that she's been carrying around. Ick!!

Dawn

Of course she hates the taste of formula... have YOU tasted it? It tastes pretty much awful... especially when she is drinking the perfect food for her, anyway.....

I bf my 4 kids... they are now 20, 26, 28, and 30 (or almost those ages). For the most part, past a couple of months, they ALL refused the bottle... even if it had breastmilk in it .... I don't remember if they took any formula from a sippy cup when they got older, but I don't think the doctors worried too much about it if you introduced cow's milk a bit before they turned 1.... the guidelines may have been different back then.....

Frankly, if she is eating regular meals with you, she is getting some of the items in cow's milk, anyway..... my kids ate table food at that age rather than babyfood..... just chopped up fine, or put through a hand grinder if necessary....

I did nurse until they were almost a year, for the most part... and they drank other things from sippy cups, like juice and water.....

Why does she need formula and bottles at 11 1/2 months? Just wait til 12 months, which is clearly just a couple of weeks away, when she can have cows milk and serve it in a sippy cup. There's no need to go through the bottle stage and why introduce formula for a couple of weeks? I'd continue nursing for these couple of weeks and go right to milk in a cup.

BF babies get particular, they know the difference in the nipples and what comes out of them and aren't easily swayed. Solids before a year are just to introduce them, but it sounds as if she is already well established as she is eating meals and snacks. And if she isn't drinking the formula she isn't getting the nutrients from it anyway so just switch to cow's milk, 2 weeks doesn't make a difference, she's old enough and is eating solids.

It sounds as if she isn't nursing much anyway, since your milk supply is already dwindling (which happens when they switch totally to solids as she has,) she nurses less and less and your body got the signal to lessen the supply per her needs. At this point you can't make her nurse much, the full diet of solids replaced her need for breast milk. Which I'm guessing you want to stop nursing anyway, or you wouldn't be introducing formula or cow's milk, but would just nurse her. And ditch the bottle, she's old enough to use a sippy all the time, no need for bottles.

Skip the bottle - she doesn't need it.

As for the formula, I'd personally skip it too. If you're comfortable continuing the breastfeeding, then do. If she's eating lots of fruits and veggies, cheese and yogurt, whole grains and lean meats then she's getting all the nutrients she needs.

Yogurt. My 2nd slowed down on BF around 9 1/2 mths and my doctor said offer yogurt. Yo baby is great.

My first BF child was not weaned until 18 months....and would probably still be nursing if I hadn't gotten pregnant with the 2nd one! With the first I had an overabundance of milk. With my second, she weaned herself around 11 months. I think my supply was just really low. At that point, she was already "borrowing" her sister's sippy cups with cow's milk in them. I did try to introduce formula b/c I was afraid she would need the nutrients. She hated it. We went straight to cow's milk. She's now a very healthy almost 3 year old! Good luck!

Forget about the bottle. This is very common in breastfed infants. It happened with my son. Don't force the formula either. Either they like it or they don't. I mean, if you don't like peppers and I kept making you eat them eventually you would eat them because you are hungry but you can't make someone like what they don't. My son got thin around 10 months and I was so worried. My advice is to fatten up her food with good oil like coconut and butter and keep nursing. Even if she gets a little breastmilk from you, it is still better than nothing. Nurse as long as you can and at this point it is time for cows milk in the sippy cup. BTW, my son was drinking from a regular cup shortly after a year and I attribute that to no bottles. You are doing great!

I just talked to a dietition yesterday at WIC and they were willing to start my daughter on milk as of Nov 1st - which would put her at 11 1/2 mo. I was told that it doesn't hurt to start them on cows milk a little (meaning a few weeks) before 12 mo. - but it is totally up to you what you do... if you can nurse till a few more weeks try to, but if not cows milk shouldn't hurt her.

I really wouldn't stress about it. If you have some pumped milk to mix with formula, you could put that in a sippy for her. It would be nice if she could get those nutrients. But at almost 12 months, I really wouldn't be too concerned, and I don't think I would worry too much about introducing cow's milk. I don't think you need to, but my guess is it probably wouldn't hurt her either.

Definitely don't worry about giving her a bottle. The purpose of the bottle is really because babies can't handle a sippy cup. She drinks from a sippy just fine (except for formula), so I wouldn't even bother with a bottle. You would just have to ween her from it anyway.

If you can get her to drink some formula over the next couple of weeks would be nice nutritionally, but really, she's going to be just fine!

Since your daughter is 11 1/2 months old skip the bottles and the formula.

When my son turned 11 months old, my doc had me start "weaning" him off of formula and get him on to whole milk (use whole milk, at this age they need the milk fat for brain development). The weaning process went as such.
The week he turned 11 months old, give 6oz formula, 2 oz. of whole milk at a time in each bottle.
Next week, give 4 oz of each.
Next week, give 2 oz formula, 6 oz of milk
Final week, full on whole milk.
Since you have been nursing, if you pump mix it with whole milk. If you are only nursing let her nurse, then give her a sippy cup with milk when she needs a drink instead of whatever else you normally put in the cup.

Since you daughter won't take the bottle, don't even go that route. Stick with sippy cup.

try mixing the formula with whole milk.. you also didnt mention what type of formula you are using... that could make a huge difference as well

I have a 17 month old who I started on cow's milk a little before 12 months in sippy cups. What is hard on their tummies is simply the digestion aspect. Goats milk is closest to human milk in terms of digestion. It has something to do with the globules. But he did fine just as my other 3 did too.

I still nurse my son before naps, and before bed at night. He gets 3 meals and snacks as well. He refused the bottle period and it was/is too late for bottle introduction. But he likes to nurse for bonding and comfort/pacification. I'm down to one breast with milk because he was sick for a while and didn't want my left side. I thought we were done nursing altogether and my left was dwindling down so I decided not to pump. But he kept on wanting the right surprisingly. So here we are one sided nursing, eating meals and drinking cow's milk.

She is still getting the nutrients and antibodies from your milk, even the little bit you are offering. So do both. :o)

At this point, I'd skip it. Just keep nursing (don't offer bottles) and cows milk.

My kids ate 3 meals of table food (cut and diced baby style of course) plus nursed a few times a day at a year old.

If you think your supply is dwindling, go ahead and nurse more to try to build up supply.

wheaning her at 12 months is recomended. i would not try to force the bottle on her anymore.

Formula to me is over rated. I breastfeed for 7 months with one 10 with one and 13 months with the last. I never ever used formula. I used cows milk. I had a doctor who believed if it was good enough for our parents it was good enough for our kids. I have living proof that it does not harm them and my kids were and are rarely sick. The proof they are now 32, 30, and 29. That is 3 children in less than 3 years. In Nov. they will be 32,31, and 30. I have 2 girls and a boy, so have had both genders also. Relax and enjoy them. Do what your heart tells you and it will be right for you.

Do as much breastfeeding as possible. She is at the age she should be transitioning to regular milk so I would not try formula. That's just an extra cost. She will be fine. All kids in child care start transitioning around 11 1/2 months to whole milk. They start with 1/4 bottle of regular milk then add the other 3/4 in formula. The a few days later they go half and half, then a week or so later it's 3/4 whole milk. and just 1/4 formula. Very soon after that they are on whole milk full time.

For breastfeeding moms I am not sure how they transition nowadays.

Weaning is a very personal decision. At this age, please do not introduce a bottle. Amy E recommends pumped breastmilk in a sippy cup.

If she is eating and your supply is dwindling, breastfeeding time can become snuggle time. If she isn't biting you, I would suggest holding her up to you with your bra on but with some skin-to-skin (say tummy) touch. A few minutes of just time for the two of you. Break that time up to a couple of times a day, then less minutes each time, then once a day (most people pick bedtime). This gives both of you a chance to wean gradually.

I used to start telling my child that "ooh, Mommy's sore, let's sit (or lay down) together for a while" and sometimes adding, "how about if I read to you" (sometimes silence was better).

If it seems that she gets sick when you have weaned her, ask a breastfeeding-friendly pediatrician. As long as you are not adding something new to her diet just because you have stopped the breastfeeding, I don't think you are seeing signs of allergies. But I'm not a doctor. I do have great faith in breastmilk (the best formula can do is be the "next best thing" or "almost as good as breastmilk"). There could be antibodies that your DD is getting in the breastmilk (even in small amounts) that is helping her not be sick.

Good luck, and don't forget a "And then what happened..." note.

I took 2 of my kids off the bottle at 6 months. They drank from one of those beginner sippy cups. And at 10 months I took them off formula. But only because I couldnt afford $4 a can when they drank 2 cans per day. They were just fine. I put the enfamil vitamin in their juice. But every child is different. Observe your child readiness. Call your child's pediatrcian and see what they recommend.

why the rush to wean? let her self-wean, you'll both benefit in many ways, research extended nursing or toddler nursing... IF you have to wean I'd suggest pumping for her for the next month so she can transition, maybe freeze enough for her cereal, cup too... Cow milk is really for calves, so don't feel like you have to do that. Make sure she gets fluids from water and calcium can come from many places.