9 Month Old Won't Take Liquids from Any Source but the Breast

I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear, but we spent about 100 bucks on rejected sippy cups before finding something our ds would take. Once we found what he liked, he was sold. It was interesting, too, what he liked. He wouldn't take the tall skinny Nuby cups, but he would take the short fat ones with the handles. Same nipple. There were several things we found like that. His favorites were the short Nubys and the Avent trainer cups. We still use the later when we need a sippy. GL! As far as a bottle, he never took it.

My daughter would not drink from anything but me until she turned one. We tried at 12 months and after only 24 hours of a drinking strike, she was hospitalized for dehydration, so I decided to ust be patient and let her guide it....I started cutting out feedings one at a time and that seemed to help. We have gone 48 hours without nursing so I am hoping we are on our way. I am barely weaning her right now and she is 16.5 months, some kids just aren't ready.... But it will happen, just be patient. Even still she will only drink water!!! But as long as she eats yogurt and cheese she will get enough calcium.

Try apple juice in the sippy cup. That might help.
C. B

This the same story as my 10 month old daughter - wants to breastfeed, hasn't taken a bottle since 2 months, and I want her off me by a year! She is getting better with the sippy cup but I think the key is that she actually has to be hungry/thirsty enough. My daughter would always play around and she could definitely get formula from the sippy cup but would let it all dribble out. Then on one of my low milk supply days we tried it and she drank a few ounces because she actually was thirsty. Also we will drink from adult sippy cups (water bottles) and she thinks she is a big girl and wants to get a hold of her own.
Good luck!

My son didn't get the point of a sippy cup unless there was something yummy in it. He would put his mouth on it, but nothing happened, so what was the point? He needed juice for constipation from 2 months old, so I finally put his watered-down juice in there, dipped the tip in straight juice, and stuck it in his mouth. His sucking instincts took over as he tried to get the sweet into his mouth, and from then on he started figuring it out. But now at four years old, he still rarely drinks water at all. I've started diluting his juice 1/3 juice to 2/3 water so he won't get all those calories. You get used to the dilution--I decided to cut my calories that way, too and now full-strength juice tastes like juice concentrate!
I know what you mean about wanting a little more freedom. I felt like a beverage dispenser. Unfortunately, my son just decided he was grown up (that's just part of his personality) and ditched me at 11 months. He refused anything but his sippy cup. It was a little bit sad. I wanted to nurse longer. So don't try to rush it. You never get this time back!

I had this with my daughter-- just keep trying and then one day she will go for it. Because it is something new it is foreign to her and it will just take her awhile to get use to it. You could also put breast milk in the bottle or cup and maybe she would go for it ... once she gets use to it you could start introducing other things to drink.

Now that I think about it - just skip the whole bottle thing if you can cause then you won't have the issue of having to take that away.

Have a great day,
C.
www.AHomeCareer.com

Hi S.,
I have been there!!! Don't worry about the 1 year mark. 3 months is a huge amount of time in the development of a baby. Just keep giving her the cup. Eventually she will get it. My oldest would never drink from the cups that she had to suck on. I found some with a lid that she could just tilt back and drink like a regular cup. Those worked well but they do spill so be aware of that. Also, she learned to drink from a straw at about 11 months and that worked well too. She never took a bottle or any kind of formula and she was just fine.
Good luck to you.
B.