I have a 9 month old who REFUSES to take a bottle, and I'm in need of some suggestions. I have spent a small fortune--literally at least $40--on different bottles, convinced that maybe if I find the "right one" he'll take it. No luck so far. I'd love to start weaning him, but I have had no success so far. I've tried having others give him the bottle too, and that didn't work either. I'm going to be gone for three days around his first birthday, and I need him to be weaned by then. Any suggestions???? Thanks :)
UPDATE: Thank you for your suggestions thus far everyone, and I should have mentioned that I had started him on a sippy cup a couple of months ago. He will take it sometimes, but I'm mainy thinking about how to eliminate the boob for bed time and nap time. He eats lots of solids, pretty much everything we eat, but I know that he should still get some "milk" of some sort, whether it be the boob or formula. I guess I'm just hoping some of you folks out there have maybe been in similar situations and had some words of wisdom. Thanks in advance!!!
Hi, I would suggest you just go to a spill proof cup with straw... it worked great for my grandson. .. they have the one without the straw too.. good luck.. L. Medina
I wasn't sure from your posting if you ever gave a bottle to him before. If this is the first time you have offered a bottle he may never take it...If they don't "learn" how to use a bottle between 2-6 wks they offer never take one. If this is the case try sippy cups, straw cups or even just a straw in a normal cup with someone holding it. For some reason my daughter liked a straw before she would try a sippy.
skip the bottle and go straight to a cup!
Hi,
My son also refused to take a bottle, but at about 10 months he would take it with watered down apple juice. I would breast feed only for naps and at night to go to sleep. He weaned him self. He slowly started taking cows milk from a bottle and then at 1 year & 1 month he refused the breast and wanted only the bottle with milk. anyway don't worry, I bet your son will do the same, try watered down apple juice in the bottle then slowly introduce milk in a bottle. The taste difference is what I think got my son to stop. good luck!
Have you tried a straw cup? My 11 month old used the sippy cup (not very well) a few months back. I finally introduced a straw cup a month or two ago and he loves it! Initially, most of the liquid came out, and sometimes he forgets to take a break from it and coughs on some water, but he is well on his way. He would never take a bottle either. We tried every type of bottle and nipple there is. It didn't matter whether there was breast milk or formula in it or if I was home or not--he just thought it was something to chew on. :) My older kids (now 6 and 4.5) had no problems with breastfeeding and taking supplemental feedings with bottles. Good luck!
I agree with everyone about skipping the bottle and going straight to the cup. You don't say what else he is eating at this point, or how often you are nursing, but three months is plenty of time to get him fully weaned. Between 9 and 12 months is when babies start eating more and more solids and get less and less of their calories/nutrition from nursing, so your trip is perfect timing! :o)
My son weaned straight to a cup at 9 mos when I went back
to work. Try it!
Try him on a cup or glass. He's old enough to begin getting the idea of drinking that way, and may respond to that better.
I had our grandson drinking from a regular glass by age one, by starting to offer it at seven months. I don't like sippy cups for anything other than water, and only use the type that has the little straw coming out of it. For any other liquids, I prefer to teach the child to drink from a regular glass or cup while sitting at a table. We've become so accustomed to the sippys that we don't realize how capable our kids are of learning to use regular cups.
And... I agree with the person who said when you are away, he'll learn and will wean.
E.,
Forget the bottle-- your baby is 9mos, he can learn how to use a sippy cup.Usually by 1 year, they stop bottles and go to sippy cups. Go straight to sippy cup and you will be saving yourself the trouble of weaning off of the bottle to begin with~ Have someone else give him the sippy cup to start and give him all of his liquids in it- water, formula, juice. Platex has really good sippy cups that don't leak and are very durable. Good luck!
Molly
A trip away is exactly how he'll ween. No pumps to prime, he'll drink from a bottle.
My daughter preferred to drink form a straw from a cup, like Mommy. You might give that a try now.
Stephanie
try a sippy there's one at target that is very basic and only costs $1. My daughter started showing interest in cups around that age so we tried one of these cheap sippys (I think it's a Munchkin brand but I'm not sure). Any way she loved it and we've never gone back to bottles.
E.,
Our second child was finicky about that also. She did fine if she was held in the same position as I held her, and the bottle was tucked underneath the arm. It was held between the ribs and arm, so it was like she was still nursing. She still preferred me when I was available though. We used the drop in bottles and the breast milk.
W. M.
