Nursing/bottle Transition

I had exactly the same with my 5 month old... I was working on this hours a day, with avent, gerber, soothie (because he takes this pacifier), NUK, Avent tempo,ventaire etc etc....Nothing worked and he could go easily without milk for 10 hours during the day. He just would not take it.My best guess was because he couldn't menage to create a vacuum around the nipples. I got a tip from a friend to order Sassy MAM Ultivent bottles (just google) online and guess what.... To make it succesful, I pumped every feeding and gave him this bottle, every feeding instead of the breast (Yes you have to invest some time in it, but it will pay off). After he was taking it more easy (about 2 days) I began giving him the breast once in a while again. Eventually I will go to one bottle a day. He happily takes the bottle right now. With complaining the first couple of minutes of course (mam is best :)), but after that he finishes them at once :) Really great bottle, he doesn't even have to burp after drinking... Let me know if it works for you... Also did you try to have your hubby give it to him?
When he start crying and moving, always keep the nipple in his mouth, unless he is choking himself. Start with the first one first feeding in the morning when he's still little sleepy and HUNGRY. I ordered them from baby-hugs.com. This bottle got great reviews and I read somewhere 95% of babies will take it.

Hello! Bless your heart! I know what you are going through. My daughter was 13 months before she would take anything other than the breast. It wasn't SO bad for me though because I was at home with her so I just kept nursing until finally she took the bottle. When I DID finally get her to take the bottle - I held her just the same way as when I nursed, just using the bottle instead. You'll just have to keep trying, basically. When you go to work will he be at daycare? Could you work something out with your employer to leave to go feed him? For example - feed him before work, then every 3-4 hours. Still send the bottles/sippy cups with him though and ask his caretaker to keep trying. He will take it eventually.

I gave my son apple juice diluted with water in a sippy cup to tempt him to try the cup. Since the juice is sweet, he was willing to work at it until he figured it out. Once he learned how to use the sippy cup, he was fine drinking his milk from it. I know a lot of doctors frown on giving babies too much juice, but I figured that a little bit wouldn't hurt while he was learning.

M.,

I breast fed all of my kiddos. The one that didn't want to stop was my daughter. I breast fed her for 15 months. I could not get her to take anything but me. I tried all the different bottles and all the different techniques, handing her to daddy to feed, letting my mom try, warming the bottle, adding cereal to it....I thought I was going to lose my mind...lol What finally worked for me was a bottle that literally looks like a breast and is made of silicone. I put warm breast milk in it and held her like I was breast feeding her and she took it the first try. After we got used to that, we started with a regular bottle with a little watered down apple juice and that didn't work...so my mom suggested we try a small bit of chocolate syrup in her milk and that was a hit! lol She's just like me...a chocoholic! lol That's not something I would reccommend, though...lol Here is the link to the breastbottle: http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/adi/adi42443.html
I know they are a little expensive, but if it works, it's worth every penny! Hang in there!!

J. M

I breastfed my child for 14 months. He would never take a bottle and when it became time to wean (around 12 months) I gave him a sippy cup BUT took out the valve in it that makes them have to suck. Then the liquid came out more easily and he wasn't confused about sucking when it wasn't the nipple.

Also - try to transition to the sippy cup and not the bottle or else you will have the same problem transitioning again in a few months. It is great once they turn 1 that they only drink from a sippy cup and we were successful once we fully quit breastfeeding because he was used to the cup.

Good luck. Let me know if you have questions!
J.

I understand your pain!! I had trouble weaning my son. Don't give up and he won't starve. That is what he's used to and he dosen't want to change. Pump and mix formula in with it 1 oz at a time. That's what I did.

Hope it helps. God Bless.

Chris H.

I know what you are going through. I have 5 children and I breastfed all of them for 1 yr. My 2nd child refused to breastfeed at one point and had never taken a bottle or a cup and I felt sure she would starve to death!

After trying EVERYTHING.. the BEST suggestion came from my mother. I dropped her off with my Mom and left a bottle of milk and went shopping for an entire day! Believe it or not.. when I picked her up that evening.. she was taking a bottle with pleasure! It's like my Mother and Doctor told me.. no child has ever starved him/herself to death!

Good luck and congrats on breastfeeding so long! With my two little ones, I had to pump for the full year because I went back to work when they were 9 weeks old. It's tough but I know I did what was best for them.

W.