No Bottles...

I never was able to give my boy a bottle--I started the process too late, and then he wouldn't take it. He never took a binky either. But I was glad by the time I weaned him, because I only had to wean off the breast, not the breast AND the bottle AND the binky! I would start soon if I were you, because after they turn one, they start to figure out that they can get you to give them the breast when THEY want it, not when you want to. So just start by eliminating one feeding during the day, and I would go right to a sippy cup. They make cups that are more like bottles than cups, and when she sees the novely of that, she will go for it. Just eliminate one feeding after the other, until you're left with the bedtime and/or morning feeding. These are the hardest to break, but over time you will manage. It's all part of letting them grow up, which was VERY difficult for me, but if I got through it, anyone can! Good luck...

I went through this exact same thing. No need to start with a bottle now - quit the power struggle. Give her a sippy cup (I like Nuby with the silicone nipple because it is easy for them to get the fluid out of) with apple juice or water. Just let her play with it. Show her how to hold it and tilt it up to get the fluid out. Don't get frustrated because this will most likely take a month or more. I weaned my son at 12 months at which time they can take whole milk. I taught him how to drink milk out a regular, small, plastic cup. He is now 14 months old and drinks out of a regular cup like a pro! He's taking about 25 oz. of milk a day, plus water. He also uses the sippy cup but prefers a regular cup. Some kids just don't like bottles and sippys.

Try a sippy cup! She may just not want the bottle and be ready for something else! Lori

Hi, A.. Babies that old can often use a cup. You'll only have to wean once. Hooray! Lots of cups to try... spouts, lid or no lid, straws, etc. Current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics say breastfeed at least one year and as long as mutually desired. The World Health Organization says at least two years and as long as mutually desired, because many of breastfeeding's benefits are dose responsive. Maybe you'll be able to find a cup for your baby so you get more freedom, but can continue nursing at bedtime etc for some accrued benefits. Just a thought.

The only thing that I finally found that worked for me was to put the formula/breast milk in a sippy cup. She liked the big girl cup and eventually she was getting all that she wanted from that. We never did use a bottle.

At 11 months she should be able to drink from a small diameter glass if not a "sippie" cup. I weaned my oldest at 11 months because he started getting teeth--4 one week and 4 the next! So breastfeeding ended quickly and he made the transisition to a glass very easily--the feeling of having "lots" in mouth was exciting to him.

My son was the same way. I left him with my husband once so I could go shopping, and he didn't eat for 6 hours. I assume your daughter is eating solids, so that should tide her over a bit. SHe is old enough to try a sippy cup, with breastmilk or formula. Once she is 12 months old, she can try cow's milk. If she has trouble understanding how to use a sippy--my son had a hard time--try a straw cup. I think they are made by that Nuby brand. You can teach your daughter how to use a straw very easily--just get any kind of straw, put it in a glass of water, put your finger over the end, and it will hold the liquid in. Put the other end in your daughter's mouth, and slowly let your finger off the other end so some trickles into her mouth. Slowly let her try to suck the liquid out. She'll figure it out quickly--it took my son about 10 minutes.

I wouldn't even try to get her to take a bottle. We started introducing a sippy cup to all three of my kids when they were 6 months old, and by the time they were a year old and ready for regular milk, they had the sippy cup mastered. Skip the bottle and go straight to a sippy. Otherwise, you'll have to teach her to use a bottle and a sippy, and then wean her from a bottle in a few months. A sippy she can use for several years until she's good with a plain cup. Good luck.

R.

My breastfeeding son won't take a bottle either. I've found, though, that he'll take breast milk in a sippy cup. That might be worth a try.

My oldest two children I cold turkey wiened them. My daughter went right onto sippy cups and my son fussed off and on for about 6-10 hours and then he took the bottle. My kids were also eating a lot of solids and baby foods by that point. So missing a nursing for a little bit was all right with me.

how about sippy cups, or just regular cups?

If she's 11 months old don't even bother with a bottle start giving her a sippy cup. My daughter was the same way (purely breast feed and never took a bottle) but once she was 10 months old i started giving her a sippy cup of milk just once a day to try. She would only take a few sips out of it a first but by the time she was a year old she was drinking cows milk out of a sippy for all meals and i just nursed her for her naps and bedtime then 2 weeks after her 1st birthday she was weaned completely. So i would just start now and just let her take her time getting used to a sippy.

A. have you tried giving her a sippy cup sometimes that works.
R. M
www.workathomeunited.com/momof3forever

with my two boys, I nursed them to 10 months, we never used a bottle. We just went straight to a sippy cup. They caught on to those well, and they really seemed to like the straw cups.

My son didn't wean until 14 months and he never took a bottle. I would say after a year, just start cutting out a feeding at a time and make her drink out of a regular cup. I think weaning was the hardest thing I ever did... EVER! Freedom is great though now, so just decide when you're ready and don't look back. Good Luck.

My little guy is one in two weeks and I just weaned him. He too loved the boob so much, would not take bottle. I did warm up the whole milk (vitamin D) to body temp and a friend told me a trick, to get the Carnation Breakfast powder (tons of sugar) and mix in a few tablespoons to sweeten it up. Breast milk is very sweet. Now after a week, I am letting the milk get less warm and hardly put any powder in. Oh, also, I found he took a bottle well in morning when he was starving, that is the first feeding he started with, then I dropped one breast feed a day and now down to none. I understand the ball and chain feeling, and I am happy to say I am a free woman!!! Unteathered by the nipple!!!

Hope that helps! I think it went better when I decided on a day to start dropping one feed a day and it took a week to wean. Start with morning (I pumped originally with that one so the bottle was only new, not the flavor of milk too).
M.

You can always just use a sippy cup instead of a bottle. Do you thinks he would do that? My 5 month old wouldn't have anything to do with a bottle and I couldn't leave him either. But he will take a sippy cup with breastmilk. Hopefully that will help. Good luck!!

I completely agree with most on this one skip the bottles!!! try the sippy. Bottle weening can be veryyyyyyyyyyy difficult!!! especially at your daughters age. I saw several suggestions on the Nuby cup, those are awesome, and Avent has a nice one as well. I wish you the best of luck!!!

If she's hungry enough she'll take a bottle. And she's at an age where she can have a sippy cup and eat solid foods --- and have whole milk. She is not going to starve herself. You need to be tough. You wean by stopping offering the breast. How many times a day do you nurse? Take one feeding away every 3-5 days. Work your way down to one time a day. Then you decide when to be totally done. Have your helpful & loving fiance do the feedings with the bottle/sippy cup. Your baby is smart enough to know she can get the breast from you and she can persuade you to get what she wants. She also knows she can't get the breast from your fiance. Remember, you're the mom and you are in charge --- not the baby. Also there are bottles and sippy cups that are similar to the breast --- Avent and Nuby.

I agree with A.-Mom P. There is no reason that you need to wean (unless of course you want to). I would definitely try a a sippy cup. There are so many out there that I am sure you will find one that your LO will take. Then you can have some freedom but your LO will still get the benefits of breastmilk.

Instead of weaning her to a bottle, I would definately try sippy cups. There are a ton of different kinds. But find one that you like, It may take trying a couple different kinds, but try them with juice. Your little one will like to be like the grownups and have a real cup. It worked for us.

GOod LUCK!

My daughter has taught her 10 month old how to drink from a straw--she did the same thing with her twins when they were about that age and they never did transition from the breast to the bottle--when they were weaned, they drank from a cup. Going from the breast to the bottle to a cup is like having to wean them twice.
You might give it a try!

Hi A.,
Neither of my boys would take a bottle either and were both breastfed until one year. We introduced sippy cups and straw cups for transitioning to whole milk and that worked very well for both of my boys. It was frustrating being tied to a clock, but once they were weaned it was a blessing that they just did the cups because we never had to deal with bottles. So maybe that will work for your daughter. Good luck!
~Cindi

Hey A.,
As children, we never had bottles either, we went straight from breast to "big girl" cups right around the age of 1. Try letting your daughter go with you to find a new sippy cup, I know she is young but it could help her gain a sense of ownership. Not every child has to have a bottle, good on you for breast feeding this long!
Good luck,

Tippy cups and straws... or open cups at the table when you are eating- If she has never used a bottle then why train her to use a bottle then have to train her to use a tippy cup.... There are some great tippy cups out there that she will eventually latch to. I know it might be difficult, but it may be worth it.

I usually would say why take a bottle away at age one (that's what the doctors say) but in this case it might be easier on you for transitioning because you wouldn't have to do it various times. I am totally for letting baby's stay babys but you might just have an easier time with a sippy cup, offer he some juice in it or something she really likes other then breast milk. Then make the transition once she takes the juice good.

This happened with my 2nd baby. I was so eager to stop Brest feeding him when he turned 1 that I just stopped giving him the Brest and just gave him a sippy cup and regular food. I didn’t think that he would take to that well, but he took to not Brest feeding better than I thought. Is she using a sippy cup? With all 3 of my children I started them on a sippy cup at 7 months so that when I stopped breast feeding they would already be use to a cup. Try slowly stop giving her the breast at feeding time, and just give her the sippy cup and food. my doctor told me “Children will not let themselves starve. If she is hungry she will eat.” When you do this she might cry, but don’t give in and give her the Brest. I know that it is hard to see your baby cry, but she will learn that it is the cup or nothing. Let me know how it goes. Good luck.

Hi A.,

I think my perspective is a little different from many of these posters. I have two daughters. My second is 12-1/2 months and still nursing. My first nursed until she was 21 months. I weaned her because I was pregnant and nursing became very uncomfortable (ie, excruciating!) Nonetheless, I was sad when we weaned even though we were both obviously ready. Many people have said that your toddler is "just" looking for comfort rather than nursing for food. I'm not sure how comfort can ever be defined as a "just." It is a huge component to breastfeeding, and it is vital to toddlers - at least as important as nutrients! So, all that to say... are you ready to wean NOW and looking for ideas, or are you just wondering if you are ever going to be able to get her to wean? You may find that if you can get a break and get out of the house for longer periods of time, you will be perfectly willing to consider nursing for longer. Sometimes that "gotta do it" feeling makes us want to quite cold turkey just because we feel trapped!

Like everyone else, if you are just looking to get some time away, I would go straight to a cup. We actually started my youngest on a cup with a straw. It was a lot easier for her to get the hang of, because she did not have to tip it up and balance with her head thrown back to get her drink. If you start with a straw, choose a cup with a narrow straw rather than a fat one. It is easier to get proper suction on a smaller straw. Nuby makes some nice ones, including insulated ones. Put whatever you want in it, breastmilk or water. If you feed juice, make sure you limit how much juice you offer and water it down by half. Juice has a lot of sugar and can really upset baby's stomach. You could start your daughter on whole milk now, but we have chosen to hold off for a while. There are a lot of milk allergies out there, and the sooner you introduce a food, the more likely it is for baby to develop an allergy. If your daugter is breastfeeding well, she doesn't need anything from milk that she isn't getting from you. You can also make sure to offer her foods that are rich in calcium and nutrients rather than milk. Also, processed milk products like yogurt and cheese have a lot of nutrition, but are less likely to provoke an allergic reaction.

If you are just wondering if you are ever going to get her to wean, then never fear. It will happen! If you let it happen naturally, maybe with just a little encouragement from you when you are ready, it doesn't have to be a traumatic experience. There is a lot of evidence to support how beneficial breastmilk is in baby's second year. Breastmilk concentrates down in the second year, because toddlers typically eat less at a feeding. It still provides calories, vitamins and minerals, and of course, an amazing array of immune benefits. My first was sick only 5 times the almost 2 years she nursed, and then sick 6 times the winter that we weaned! I loved knowing that it didn't matter how picky she was with her food, because breastmilk was filling in any nutritional gaps. There is a wonderful book called "How Weaning Happens." I think it is published by La Leche League. If you are in the Ft Collins area, it is in the LLL group library and you can check it out for free. The beginning has a couple chapters about why you would want to nurse a toddler. Then it goes on to offer excellent advice for weaning slowly.

If you are looking to wean now, cold turkey is not necessarily the best method for you or your daughter. To gradually wean, start by picking her least favorite nursing time. For us, it was the midmorning feed. When my daughter asked to nurse, I offered her a drink and some food instead. We redirected her to some fun toys, or read books together. I stayed out of her "nursing areas" like the rocking chair. I also wore shirts that were harder to get into, especially very high neck shirts. My girls always wanted to nurse when they see cleavage! Cut out no more than one feeding every week or so to prevent engorgement. If you do get engorged, pump or express only enough milk to relieve the pain. As you probably know, the more milk you express, the more your body makes. You can also use chilled cabbage leaves in your bra to relieve engorgement. Once you are done cutting out a feeding, pick the next least favorite feeding and cut that one out. Our hardest cut was the right before bedtime, and that was the last to go. When I was ready for that, Daddy took over the bedtime routine, finishing by reading a story and rocking her. We weaned very easily. She only asked a few times to nurse after we were done, and only got really upset and cried about it once.

Best of luck,
S.

My daughter did the same thing...she never did take a bottle, so I weaned her straight to a cup. It was an adjustment, but by then she was eating solids really well so we both survived.

Good luck! My daughter is 3 now and completely independent so it does get better!

At 11 months old, your daughter shouldn't even be on a bottle, you should be starting her on a sippy cup. You'll just have to start slowly weaning her off of the breast and keep trying the cup, eventually she'll give in.

Have you tried using a cup to feed your little one? Often toddlers will go from the breast to cup. Start by giving her a taste of what you are drinking from your glass and go from there. I hope this suggestion helps.

sippy cup. they sell soft and hard mouth pieces

Have you thought of trying a sippy cup? If she can hold the handles, she should be good to go. Don't put the stopper in at first and start with water. I liked the Gerber the best as it has a rubber type tip for the two handles and then a regular one for the no handles. And the interchange (I had a 1 and 2 year old at the same time so i liked that. We didn't really use bottles here either...just not much need. She will be trying cow milk soon anyway.

My now 11 year old was the same way. I was able to leave her when she started eating solid foods. I finally weaned her off the breast at 17 months old only because she got the stomach flu for 5 days and coulnd't keep anything down. She had no interest in the breast for those 5 days. As soon as she felt better she tried to latch on again, but I held my ground and didn't let her. She cried for a short amount of time, but was fine that same day. I loved breastfeeding, but it was tough not being able to leave her. She is now a well adjusted, very confident 11 year old. We have a very close relationship, but she is not clingy. I have no advice for you, just words of understanding.

I am a stay at home breastfeeding mom as well. I have had to leave my son with others for a few things that I have done. I recently read about the Breastflow bottles. I tried them and they worked great. They are more like the breast than any other bottle I've seen. For me it helps so that he doesn't start getting the wrong latch, but for you they might help wean. Good Luck!

Have you tried letting her drink from a regular cup while you are holding it? Are you the one trying to give her the bottle? I would try leaving her with someone else, and not be around and have them keep trying to give her the bottle. She will get hunry enough that she will take it. But as long as you are there, she knows that she wants to get it from you and will hold out until you give in.

She is old enough to have a sippy cup and whole milk. She shouldn't be relying on your milk as her only sustenance. How does she do with solid food? She should be able to eat some table food now, so if you need to be away longer than 4 hours, she can have some cheerios or apple sauce or even toast or mashed potatoes. So try the sippy cup, or even a regular cup if she won't take the sippy, and up the solid food.

I know exactly how frustrating that is. I've nursed all of our three kids. The weaning is difficult. What worked for me was to not 'wean' them. If they know they'll get breast fed eventually then they won't take the bottle. I think it confuses them to have bottle and breast. It is going to be a hard few days. I just had to keep giving them the bottle. Maybe try putting in a water/juice mixture for something sweet to get her to take that. Switching to bottle after nursing is hard. I just want to encourage you with that so that when it is difficult you don't feel alone. (if she doesn't drink for a while then you may have to nurse. Use your best judgement.)

My daughter was exactly the same way. At 11 months, my pediatrician told me it was okay to start giving her milk. I skipped the bottles altogether and went straight to the sippy cup. She did not take to it at all & it took her a while to figure it out, but once she did she was fine. I just cut out one feeding & gave her the sippy of milk instead. After my body adjusted, I cut out another feeding (about one a week). By the time my daughter was 1 year old, she was completely weaned and drinking milk out of a sippy without a problem. If your daughter doesn't take to the sippy right away, don't worry - she will catch on. She may get a bit thirsty, but that will motivate her to learn a new skill. Hang in there & good luck!

I have a suggenstion. Instead of offering a bottle, try offering a sippy cup with a drink in it and she how she responds to that.

C. Taylor

Hi A.,
Why do you want her to have a bottle?
The American Pediatric Assoc. suggests all bottles be taken away, expect in special situations by 12 months. Go straight to a sippy cup! My daughter nursed for 2 years and never had a bottle. She went right to a straw.
Every four hours is a lot for a 12 month old to be nursing so I might talk with your pediatrician. It sounds more like a separation issue than a bottle issue.
When children over 12 months have a bottle, they usually end up with other things besides milk in it, which is bad for their teeth and ears.
Good luck, sweetie!
S., R.N.

I weaned my oldest right to a tippy cup with juice and milk. Is she on solid foods? IF she is she should be able to go without nursing for longer periods of time. You gradually cut out one feeding at a time and only nurse after she has had a full meal or at nap and bedtime. Make bed time the last one you cut out. It should help.

Nursing babies tend to be dependent on mom because that was their main food source. It also helps to change your time that you nursed into a reading quiet time with your daughter so she is still getting the attention and cuddling. That way she still has the security of being together.

Good Luck
C. B

My son also was not at all interested in a bottle. So we went straight to a cup, and it worked. He would take breast milk only from me, but he drank water and cow's milk from a cup (started with a sippy, then went to a regular cup). At 11 months, your daughter probably doesn't need breast milk every four hours, as long as she eats other food at this point. Sure, if you're gone longer than that, she'll try to crawl up your shirt when you walk through the door, but that probably has more to do with you being absent than with her being hungry. Unless breastmilk is still her only food source, wanting to nurse every four hours is probably more about mommy snuggles than it is about hunger. When we started to cut down on the frequency of nursing, we added in extra snuggle time, with both me and Daddy. Sometimes, it was better with Daddy, because snuggling with me reminded my little ones of nursing, which started them wanting to.

Hi
Congratulations! No need for a bottle at this age, just go to a cup. She should be eating enough food at this age to go that long without nursing or a bottle. Send her mashed foods and soft finger foods and a tippy cup and she is good to go, and you will never have to fight the bottle battle!
R. Orth
Gooding

Wow! This was exactly me a few weeks ago. My daughter wouldn't take anything...not a sippy or bottle or milk or formula, or even water in anything buy a "big" cup. I too was worried about weaning when she took it into her own hands and just quit. I was shocked. She literally nursed great one day and then refused the next. I took her to the doctor to make sure there was no physical reason she quit (ear infections, sore throat, teeth, etc). She was fine and the doctore suggested I chose one bottle or one sippy and stick with it. The doc said that her body's need for fluid and nutrients would win out and eventually she would take SOMETHING! Well, it took three miserable (hello miserable because I was worried about her getting enough to drink and HELLO she quite cold turkey, can you say OUCH!) I know it can be frustrating but as you cut out feedings one at a time, your baby's body will demand something to replace it. Good luck!

My suggestion is to try a sippy cup. My little one (who was bottle fed) l gave up bottles by age one in favor of a sippy cup. You'll probably have to hold it for her for a while, but it might work.

I would agree with most of the other responses- skip the bottle and go straight to the sippy cup! My son is almost 13 months old and at his 1 year appt the dr said no more bottles so now he just uses his sippy cup.

I had the same problem with my daughter (she is the third child). I wanted to wean her so the night before her first birthday, my mom took her overnight. The next day she was drinking from a bottle and a sippy cup. A few times she wanted to nurse, but they passed quickly. I think since I wasn't there that night she decided she was hungry and the bottle wasn't that bad.

have you tried to give her a binki? if not i would try to do that. get her off the breast then start the bottle then take the binki so she don't get to attached.

A.,
at 11 mos old don't even bother with a bottle. you'll just have to wean her off that in a few months anyway. go directly to the sippy cup. she may like it better since it's not something trying to mimic the breast, but something totally new. you may try giving her something besides milk in it every once in a while like water or watered down juice. good luck!

Does she take a binky? My baby takes the NUK binky and also the NUK bottle. I just had to try a bunch of different nipples. I've also heard to skip the bottle and go for a sippy cup. You could try the Gerber Nuby because it has a soft spout instead of most sippy cups that have the hard plastic kind.

At her age just skip the bottle and go right to the sippy cup during the day. She may want the bottle at bedtime later on.

I had the problem with my son! I would just give a sippy cup and stopped nursing during the day at 11 months. It was hard at first because he wasnt getting a lot of liquids because he didnt want the sippy cup but after 3 days of not nursing during the day it was better. then a month later i stopped the morning and night it was hard on both of us he was a little sad for about 2 weeks mostly at night. But the plus side is now you dont have to wean her from a bottle too! :) Good Luck!

I wouldn't even try a bottle since in about 3-4 months, she should be off of a bottle anyways. Just put her on a soft sippy cup. Gerber and Avent make great ones to start on. Just keep introducing her to it daily, try giving it to her at mealtime with water only in it. Just be consistant and she will eventually give into it. It took my son about two weeks until he would drink from it, most of the time he would throw it on the floor in anger because he didn't want it.

A.,
Both of my children were the same way they were nursing babies and wanted it no other way. I cant remember clearly (wish that didn't happen you think these things will always be remembered clearly its sad when they fade). I believe they both just naturally started nursing less and eating more and there was some struggle when I weaned them, but it passed. (mine were both around a year as well) As far as not being able to leave the baby my daughter was the same way, so the nurse had us put breast milk in a small cup like a shot glass and hold it up to her bottom lip and even the youngest baby will usually instinctively lap it like a cat! However your baby is getting older so maybe just try sippy cups? Anyway don't know if any of that helped ... ;0)
S.

I am still nursing my 16 month old because we had the same problem. She will take a sippy cup, but only if it is filled with water. Hence the reason I am still nursing in the morning and night. People told me to keep a sippy cup out of breastmilk or whatever and give it to her repeatedly throughout the day (refilling it with fresh milk of course) That didn't work for us, but maybe it will for you.

You don't want her to have a bottle after a year mark anyway, go straight to strawed or sippy cups. My kids LOVED the strawed cups and they are better for their teeth. She will drink from a sippy or strawed cup if she is motivated enough. You will have to wean her slowly but she should be eating solids right now too so that should hold her for a few hours so you can get out away by yourself. If you need more then four hours, I first would cut down two feedings a day, don't nurse her to sleep so she learns to fall asleep on her own. Try the strawed cups or sippys, she is too old to start bottles now and you may have more luck.

If you are feeding her solids...don't start the bottle. At 11 months she can handle the sippy cup. Give her watered down juice, or mild once you start her on that. Hype it up as the big girl's cup and she is a big girl. They eat that up! Good for you to b-feed her this long. I never did.

Will she drink from a sippie cup? If so, I'd just switcher her now to that and skip the bottles. My son turns 1 on Sunday, I don't breastfeed but I switched him from bottles to a sippie cup three weeks ago and he's done great. It's been a non-issue. I love it, it's so much easier. If you're not comfortable putting your daughter on milk yet, you could still have her drink formula or breastmilk out of the cup.

At 11 months she is old enough to take a sippy cup. A cup is easier to take than a bottle because there isn't a need to make your mouth get used to a different nipple. You just need to start giving her liquids in a sippy cup at meals and other times so she gets used to it, and then when others are with her she will be used to taking a cup. Soon enough she will drink anything out of a cup. Best of luck.

First of all, GOOD FOR YOU!!! I also breastfed for an entire year and I loved it. My little guy would NEVER take a bottle. At 4 months old, we left him with his grandma, so that we could go out on a date. I asked her how he was, she said "Good, but he would NOT take a bottle". I asked her "What did you do"??? She said she gave him a sippy cup. I had the Nuby sippy cups with handles. I think that the bottle was too slow for my son and he wanted something that came out a little faster. Also, you could try to put a little breastmilk on the end of the sippy cup to get the sucking going. Frankly, I am glad he never took a bottle! That would just be one more thing to wean him from!! I hope this helps! Good luck to you and your angel!

You have to wean why? World Health Organization says at least the first two years. I naturally weaned my three year old using the don't ask don't refuse method and he weaned just fine when he was ready. He never took a bottle either, but took a sippy cup just fine. And you need to leavr for more than 4 hours why? Just thought I'd throw in a different perspective.

Honestly, there is absolutely nothing your daughter needs in a bottle. My son, like your daughter, was exclusively breast fed and we went straight to drinking out of a cup. Not even a sippy cup, but a real live cup. He never learned how to drink from a bottle and he took to the cup very naturally.

It has been proven over and over again that bottles (and pacifiers) cause soft palate and ultimately, teeth problems. Hello braces.

I'd bag the bottle, stick with the breast and go with a cup. Much more natural approach.

Good luck!

M.

I have had three girls one nursed for 9 mo. one for 3 and the other for 15 mo. both 1st and 2nd went on a bottle but the 3rd went straight to a cup. I would recommend going to a cup unless you want the child to be on a bottle for a long time. my oldest went to a bottle after 9mo. and didn't get off of it until after she was 3yrs old. So I say skip the bottle and go to the cup. besides the doctors say after a year she can be on whole milk and there are some great sippies cups out there. good luck.

My exclusively breastfed DD wouldn't take a bottle at 4 months on, so I can feel your pain. Are you going back to work or is there a reason to leave her often for more than 4 hours? At 11 months, there is no reason to use a bottle - have you tried breastmilk from a sippy cup?

There is only a month or so to go before she can start soy or whole milk, and if you need to, you can wean during the day. Just have some special times in the morning and at bedtime for nursing. If you do wean, I recommend dropping one feeding at a time over a few months. I would also make sure she is attached to a "lovey" so she has something other than your breast to comfort her. Call your local La Leche League for help. They have meetings with specific topics, one of which is weaning.

I nursed my little one until she was 22 months, and weaned because I was pregnant. I miss nursing her sometimes - if she is not feeling well or is overtired, so don't wean before you are emotionally ready!

My 7-mo-old daughter wouldn't take a bottle, and I had to go cross-country to a baby shower. So I left on a Friday, and she didn't take the bottle until Sunday afternoon. My poor husband got to deal with that! Thereafter, we had no problem.

if you are the one giving her the bottle that might be one problem. i have a few sugestions
1: leave the room when someone else trys to feed her
2: try fast flow nips
3: try transitioning to a sippy cup with or with out the stoppers
good luck

If she's eating solid food and drinking from a "sippy cup," you don't need to get her to take a bottle. She can eat, she can drink, and then she can nurse when you are able to nurse her. I would suggest a gradual lengthening between breast feedings and giving her juice and/or food between them to get her into a new schedule, but as long as she's getting enough nutritionally, there's no need for her to go to a bottle. It's much better for her teeth to not use a bottle anyway, so I suggest skipping the whole frustrating situation.

If you're leaving her with someone for more than 4 hours, your milk supply is going to decrease, so you might want to pump, but if she won't drink it, you can donate it to women who can't breastfeed but want their children to have breastmilk instead of formula (call a local midwife for more information on this...)

With my first daughter at 11 months she decided she was done nursing, cold turkey. Lucky for me we had taught her to use a sippy cup. By a year old there is no medical reason your child needs a bottle. All three of my children have been weaned strait from the breast to the cup with no bottles the clean and deal with.
Good luck
J.