My 10 month-old has become less and less interested in nursing during the past several weeks. Sometimes he refuses feedings altogether, and sometimes he only nurses for a minute or two and then tries to crawl out of my lap. Many days he has only had one or two nursing sessions all day. I am completely fine with weaning at this age, but the problem is that I can't get him to drink breastmilk from a cup. He knows how to drink from a straw cup, but he will never take more than a few sips. He eats solid food fairly well, but I know that he still needs a good amount of milk and I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
***Also, I want to add that he will not take pumped from a bottle either. He usually just plays with the bottle, and he may drink a couple of ounces just from biting/playing with the nipple. This is a new thing too...he has successfully taken bottles in the past while I've been away, etc.
I was very sad when my daughter started refusing the breast at just 6 months. It was highly out of the ordinary but after she rejected pumped breast milk from a bottle and after going through several different types of formula that she also was refusing the Ped actually told us to try whole milk and she loved it.
I would try and pump and offer pumped milk from the bottle...lots of luck.
My son weaned himself off the bottle by 1 year. It started slowly with only taking bottles for morning and evenings then only in the morning then no at all. He drinks his milk in sippies all day long. And he drinks about 12-16 oz of milk and the rest of the time he drinks water. We have not introduced any juice. Good luck!
Why don't you try making his cereal with your milk and just incorporating it in other foods. Like make his own mash taters and use your milk. Lol it sounds weird but it might help get more in him. Also have you thought about putting it in regular sippies? My son plays more with the straw cups than the others.
Give it to him in a bottle.... your pumped milk.
MOST babies, will not drink milk from a sippy or cup.
Or he is teething. When my kids were teething... they'd nurse less. Temporarily.
OR... maybe your milk supply... has lessened????
Or, yes, he is weaning himself.
For my son... who did wean himself at about 1 year old... he would literally, SCREAM and slap & push my boobs away... when I tried to nurse him. I kept trying... so that he'd get at least 1 years worth of breastfeeding... but as time went on... he'd just nurse or power nurse for just like 5 minutes and then he'd be done. But I still nursed him on demand. But as I said, at about 1 year old... he just did NOT want anything to do with breastfeeding... totally refusing.
all the best,
Susan
My oldest did this but she was 8 months old , it was just before she started walking. She just would not sit still to nurse. I just had to give it to her in a bottle.She could walk around with it see what was going on. I even tired to put a blanket over her head, sitting in a dark quiet room. I tired everything.
Mine rejected me at 9 months, both of them. It was more disheartening than I thought. I thought I was supposed to be the mean one ends up I was being pushed away and not wanted anymore.
Kids with their new found independence at that age along with teething can make them stop nursing. If they chose to do so dont force them on the breast. You done your job and they are healthy ;) Be proud you made it that long.
