Bottle Feeding - Westchester, IL

I had the same problem with my now 7 month old son. This is what worked for when he was 5 months and i had to go back to work. I decided to ditch the bottle all together, why try to improve on the best (breast)? We tried all sorts of sippy cups. He likes the Avent sippy cup the best. That seems to be the easiest sippy cup out of all of them. Beware or the born free, they are hard to sip from and just frustrated my son to no end.

What worked the best for us ultimately was a straw. He now drinks whatever from a straw. What we have is the foogo stainless steel thermos with the straw top. He likes it and I feel like it was an easier transition for him. It did take two or three times for him to get the hang of it, but he prefers it now. We usea combination of Avent and the foogo. FYI-the foogo sippy cup is way too heavy.

You can also start on the basics of the cup too. I would'nt even worry about the bottle, I think it's a bad habit anyway.

good luck.

My son also went directly from breast to sippy cup and would never take a bottle except later for juice. There was just no fooling him into anything else. And yes, it was a bit trying....

C.,

I would recommend trying a REAL cup -- your son is the perfect age. The Doidy cup is a good one (available on Amazon) -- it has handles and is angled so your baby can see what's inside. What to Expect the First Year has helpful tips on introducing the cup.

Best,
R.

This exact thing happened to my sis-in-law. Her son took a bottle for a few months and then started refusing around 5-6 months. After trying just about every bottle/nipple combination out there, she opted to introduce the sippy cup. It took a little practice, but soon enough he got the hang of it and she could leave the house again! I believe she used the Born Free sippy cup. Good luck!
T.

My son never really took a bottle either, but did figure out the sippy around 7 or 8 months. So if he'll drink from the sippy, that's absolutely fine. Skip the bottle; it took my daughter forever to get off it! I nursed my son until he was 13 months, but if I was away from him for a while he'd take pumped breastmilk from a sippy, or of course you could do formula in the sippy as well. Good luck!

Hi C., my son did the same thing. Keep trying every couple of days. I use the playtex nurser. Seems to work well.

My son also treated a bottle like it was poison after around 4 months. Although I didn't spend that much time away from him to have this issue, I do know a couple of people who's babies would refuse a bottle ALL DAY until mom came home, then nurse and nurse and nurse. If the sippy cup doesn't work, I would recommend having whomever is watching him give him cereal or baby food. That way he still gets to eat and doesn't have to have a bottle forced on him.

I think it's GREAT that he's taking a sippy cup! What's the problem? Sippy cups usually come after bottles in the progression and it looks like your child prodigy skipped a step! Why make him take a bottle when eh's already graduated to sippy cup? congrats!

Hi C.,
I feel your pain! My youngest two refused to take a bottle. I bought a sippy cup and they did better with that. It will take more persistence since your son is only 5 months, but he'll drink when he wants to. You'll probably want to nurse him before you leave and as soon as you get back, so unless you're gone for a long time, he'll be ok with sips from a cup.

I agree with others, 6 months is a great age to start introducing the sippy cup, so don't fret over the bottle.
Avent makes a wonderful series of trainer tips for their sippy cups. and they are easy to find at any baby store including toys'r'us or target.
Congrats on your smart little boy.
ABOUT ME: mom of 3 amazing kids ages 8, 6 and 3 who all loved their Avent cups.

my son went through a similar stage. he would just chew on the nipple and it would take forever for him to finish a bottle. did you try different nipple sizes? we found he liked the level 2 nipple because the milk came out faster. we used the born free bottles and sippy cups and have been really happy with them.

My 7 month old is the same way! He took a bottle until 5 months old. He would absolutely refuse it! He doesn't really like sippy cups either. I haven't tried the nubby sippy cup though. Someone told me it would work. I have found that feeding him with a cup works well (I use either a little medicine cup or a bottle lid). He will drink his milk or water from a cup or a straw (I put the straw in the cup and suction the top with my finger, then put the bottom of the straw in his mouth and remove my finger from the top). He drinks every time I offer the cup or straw. Good luck!

Hi C.,
Your child has good taste. My son never took a bottle and I bought 4 different kinds. So, after a month, I caved and kicked him to the sippy cup. The Gerber soft lip cup with 2 handles was great for Devin and you don't have to purchase 2 or 3 in a pack if he dislikes the cup. Devin got the hang of this sippy in a month. That said, I gave him stuff other than breast milk so I would be comfortable. He saw big sister drinking from a sippy at that point and got the peer pressure hint that worked.
If he is 6 months, can you give him cereal or something else once he nurses to stretch out times between feedings? Doctor approved and all that.

Long winded way of saying good luck,
L. L.

He loves nursing...you're doing a great job! Keep taking him with you.

Happy Parenting!

I feel your pain..my first never even took to a bottle..my fault for not inroducing it early on and keep with it...I tired every bottle, even the boob one, every sippy cup...it was a long year.

My next 2 got bottles regularly so they never lost interest.

I would keep pluggin away daily with it and eventually he will take it again...have your hubby give him one at night every day.

Some babys are just fussier than others when it comes to bottles vs breast. You may have to stop nursing all together so her doesn't have a choice anymore. Since you're a SAHM you should be able to nurse a little longer than moms that have to go back to work, no? If you switch to a bottle, stay firm with that. He'll drink when he's hungry enough. I'de say to hold off on the sippy cup until he can hold it himself without throwing it all over the house (or when he's old enough to not take a bottle to bed).

Same thing with my son. He did this around 4 months. So at 4 1/2 months old he was nursing 3 times a day but had a sippy cup all other times. No one believed me so I have the pictures to prove it. Good luck

I wouldn't worry about it terrible too terribly much. He won't starve if you're just out for a few hours on occasion. Plus, at siz mos, have you introduced solids? I understand that the bulk of his calories and nutrients will still come from breastmilk. My dd wouldn't take a bottle the first week or so when I returned to work when she was 6 mos old. If she continued to refuse, I knew I would just have to deal with reverse cycling, where she would nurse all night instead of drinking from her bottle all day. She did finally come around (after switching from Dr. Brown to Avent bottles), though. You may just have to deal with extended nursing sessions when you return.

I had the same problem with my daughter. I nursed until 8 months because of it! (She's now 9 & 1/2 months.) I looked for a lot of info on the topic and what had worked for me (and this will sound cruel) is to only offer the bottle at the designated feeding (try middle of the day first). He will either take it or not and then he will have to wait until next time. I tried everything from just formula, 3 oz breast milk and 1 oz formula, 2 oz of each, but none of it seemed to matter. She eventually realized that this is all she was going to get so she better drink up! Now my problem is is that she will only drink when I feed her, so make sure you can switch off with his other care takers so you don't have the same problem! Good luck!