Caroline asked 4 years ago
Breast feeding. 7 month old won’t take bottle. Worried about how will manage when baby goes to nursery in August! I have tried tippy cups and various bottles. He will take water from a sports bottle but not milk….any suggestions? He is eating some solids quite well but still relying on my breast milk.
Riverside Cares Staff answered 4 years ago
Jill: It can be a challenge swopping to a bottle from breastfeeding. Have you tried getting someone else to give the bottle or cup? It’s usually much more difficult to get a baby to take a bottle from a breastfeeding mum as the breast is right there and the baby would prefer this familiar option. The good thing is you have a couple of months and in baby terms, this is quite a long time. Over the next few months, your baby will be moving on to more solid foods and the milk feeds will be less. Solids plus milk from a cup should be enough during the day. Especially if you are planning on continuing breastfeeding first thing in the morning and last thing at night. This would mean your baby will be getting extra milk at home. If you are planning to stop breastfeeding then you will need to give your baby milk until your baby is over one-year-old. This can be given via a cup if your baby really does not like a bottle. It may be worth trying a cup without a lid, advice from the NHS suggests using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve, this will help your baby learn to sip and is better for your baby’s teeth.
Do hope this helps!
Riverside Cares can be contacted at info@riversidecares.co.uk.
Jill Wheatcroft is available for one-to-one consultations (for now via Zoom/phone)
Join our mailing list to hear about other free pop up and by zoom events, sessions, paediatric first aid courses, know how sessions https://www.riversidetrainingcompany.co.uk/product-category/parenting-centre/(such as learning how to spot Sepsis in Children / at home first aid / Common Core Skills via Zoom