9 Month Old Won't Take a Bottle and Hasn't Learned the Sippy Cup Yet

I would try less milk in the sippy cup instead of wasting or juice, water, or formula. I would not bother with a bottle. It is recommended that a baby be off a bottle at a year any way. Breast milk can be refrigerated or frozen. Keep trying her on the cup eventually she will get it. Give it to her at every meal and try it for snack. Good luck

I would not try to force the bottle if she has not mastered it by 9 months as many children are weaned from the bottle by a year anyway. You state "I really don't want to waste 5 ounces if she doesn't drink it. Is it normal to put breastmilk in a sippy?" Why not? If you are expressing milk anyway why should a cup be any different then using a bottle? If the open cup works, put the breastmilk in there at mealtime and let her drink from the open cup with your help. Try water in sippys...take the sippy part out but the cover on and try that til she gets the hang of it. You also state, "I know that it will time-out quickly and will need to be pitched in a matter of several minutes. Do I keep trying the sippy and once she has that start weaning her from breastfeeding?" Breastmilk has a better out of the refrigerator and in "shelf life" then formula or milk and some people believe and (I did with both my girls and most of my daycare moms have agreed) that you can reoffer breastmilk within 2 hours of the first tasting. This website is helpful. http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,484b.... Personally, I would just keep trying different types of cups maybe before her meal and as she gets a little more solids, she will start getting more nutrition from her solids and will require less from her milk anyway thus, requiring less. By a year my girls were only nursing for 10 minutes before naptime and bedtime. And started drinking whole milk with their meals. Be patient. She will figure it out. L. C.

J., my daughter was just the same - little stinker. Never took a bottle. She also didn't really dig sippy cups, but she was absolutely facinated with straws, so we initially started on the sippy cup with a straw. Give it a try, nothing to lose, right? :-)

J.,

I wouldn't bother with the bottle anymore. In 3 months, your doctor is going to ask you have the baby off the bottle completely for oral health reasons, so why bother?

Keep trying with the sippy. Give it to her in her high chair / booster seat to practice with or in the car. Just for practice. My fourth baby was the slowest to get the sippy cup. It took her over a month to figure out the soft kind, another month to get the hard kind and she still doesn't do well with the hard kind that has the anti-leak valve. We are starting to teach her to drink from a regular cup now at 15 months. I weaned all of mine around their first birthday.

It is fine to put breastmilk in the cup if you want to. I did that with my first two but didn't bother with my second two.

Good luck,
S.

This is so frustrating! I agree with the others and would keep trying the sippy cups. I would suggest trying it in different locations and positions. For my daughter the first place I got her to take the cup was in her car seat. I also had some luck with her high chair reclined. She absolutely would not take it if she was laying in your arms. She would however take it if she was sitting in your lap facing away from you. We also tried all the cups and the one that finally worked for us was the Nuby brand with the soft spout...but I don't think there is anything special there it was just the one she liked. My daughter was 8 months when she took it after 2 months of struggling to get her to drink from a bottle/cup...spoon...whatever! All the sudden one day it wasn't a problem. She never did take a bottle. I bet your daughter will figure it out one day soon. Good luck, I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I remember this as one of the most frustrating experiences for me. Oh...I would not expect her to hold it on her own yet. My daughter actually began doing it herself very quickly but my son wouldn't hold his own cup until he was one (but would definitely drink it if given to him). I have found that it varies widely from one kid to another when they are interested in holding it.

I would forget the bottle by this point and focus on bfeeding, the sippy cup, and solid foods, and she will be fine. Yes, you can put bmilk in a sippy cup. lots of people do. Just don't use more than an ounce at a time, so it doesn't end up getting thrown out. If she will take formula, you could put that in a cup instead, so you don't waste the bmilk. Make sure it is warm, either the bmilk or formula, she will take it better. Try giving her a cup with out the no-drip spout in it. That way it will pour into her mouth much more easily and she will "get it" sooner. Just make sure she is in a high chair or you are holding her, so she doesn't choke. She may even do best with you holding her and helping her that way. Eventually she will get it, then I would put the no-drip spout back in until she is old enough to drink with out the sippy top. Good luck. Congrats on bfeeding her still. :)
S.

First and foremost, breastmilk is good at room temp for 4 hours! Don't think you have to waste it because you don't!!! You can also re-refrigerate it if it's only been out for an hour or so (never re-freeze it though!) I put my breastmilk in a sippy cup because my daughter preferred the sippy over the bottle and would not take formula, only breastmilk. I'd give up on the bottle and just try the sippy cup. Just put an ounce or two in the sippy cup at a time if you are worried about her not drinking it.

As the mother of 3, ages 8,5, and 3, I say don't stress. If you don't plan on weening for 3 mths, enjoy those 3 moths without any added pressure on either of you. It's amazing how quickly that time passes and how quickly our little ones develope in that short time. If you're available to breastfeed now, then breastfeed now. Worry about weening when it's actual time for it. I've learned over the years that waiting until my kids are ready (and they usually give signs), saves everyone a lot of headaches. The process, whatever it is, goes much more smoothly. In 3 mths your little one will most likely be ready for the next step. It may be a straw or sippy or sports bottle, you'll see. Enjoy your last few moths of nursing, you'll never get it back. Good luck!

Both of my kids went from breast to sippy. We started around 9 months introducing the sippy at the recommendation of the pediatrician. I never put breast milk into the sippy...for that the kids had to come to me! Watered down juice, water, and then eventually milk went into the sippy. I think the cool part for my kids was that bf'ing at first was all about getting food and love. Then, gradually, it became just how to get love from mama. The food part all came from the table...or sippy in this case. Neither kid was proficient on sippy for awhile, but they both caught on quickly.

Good luck!

Put your milk in a sippy, why not. My doctor recommended that to us as well. Although my son did well with a bottle. If she is refusing a bottle I would stick with a cup and keep trying. It did take time for my son to get used to the cup as well. Almost as if he thought it was a toy at first. I started doing 1-2 oz in a cup first and then I did not feel like I worked so hard to waste it. I exclusively bf the entire year and pumped for my son for daycare hours. I would also caution you on giving juice, hopefully you checked with your doctor. I say this because my 16 month old is having some problems and 2 different doctors(specialists) he has seen say that juice has no nutritional value and tons of sugar. It would be better for them to eat fruit. You decide.

Keep trying the cup, give up on the bottle. Hang in there, they all drink out of a cup at some point. GOod Luck

I haven't done this with my own, but with my daycare kids I have had a couple that have had this issue. I woud just skip the bottle, she gets her sucking and cuddle time with you. We always use the tupperware sippy cups that are the kind that will drip. I don't think all kids know what to do with a sippy cause it is not a breast or nipple they are used to sucking...

Like already said, you can do the b'm but I understand not wanting to waste it. try things different temps to see what she like and then just keep it up! It may just take her awhile, but she will eventually get it. She's still a bit young so she has some time still!

Good Luck!

I suggest give up on bottle completely. Try breastmilk in a cup (sippy or open) but don't put 5 oz in it. Start with one ounce. You said you tried all kind of sippy's but were you able to find one that isn't spill/leak proof. Free flowing ones tend to work better. Keep working with open cup but try have her drink slowly. Keep breastfeeding as long as you and your baby want. Even if she is taking a cup, there is no greater gift than the closeness of nursing. Even with gradual weaning, you should be able to wean within a months time.

Our son also refused any bottle (or nuk.) We just kept giving him a sippy cup of water throughout the day and he did learn that quickly enough (with the following stipulation.) Have you tried a sippy cup without the stopper? Because that's how we taught our son to drink out of them. When they first start they don't realize that they need to suck. (Plus, have you ever tried it yourself??? They don't come out that easily.) So take the piece out from inside until she gets the hang of it. A little more messy but the kids pick it up so much better then.

Also, our son lived off breastmilk and nothing else for the first 9 or 10 months of his life. God made breastmilk perfect. You don't need to supplement if you don't want to.

I tried giving our son breastmilk from a cup and he preferred the breast!!! I would unthaw the milk in the fridge and then just take it out and give him a sip or two and then put it right back in the fridge. That way I wouldn't have to throw it away right away. (Although I would only serve it for 1 day and then toss.......) I know many people who served their stored breastmilk in a sippy for months after weaning (about 1 year old) just so they didn't waste the milk.

As for weaning before becomming pregnant. Toddlers continue to decline in the number of nursings as they get older and start eating more table food. Don't feel too pressured to HAVE to wean around 1. If it's too much to handle, just slowly cut out the feedings one by one and your daughter should adjust easily. But I wouldn't consider weaning until she is accustomed to a cup better.....

Congrats on having your baby girl!!!