Hi all Mom's:
I neeed some advice regarding how to get my 11 month old daughter to take a bottle of formula. Thus far, she has been exclusively breastfed and having jar foods since about 6 months. I am in the process of weaning her and breastfeed her only twice a day(most days). She also eats breakfast, lunch , dinner and a couple snacks throughout the day. Our pediatrician wants her to take 3 bottles daily due to some anemia and she needs to gain a little more weight. She actually drank about 2 and 1/2 ounces the other night but only AFTER I breastfed her. She really just likes to play with the nipple and chew on it(she only has one tooth so far). Any advice as to how to get her to take a bottle? I am thinking that I will have to wean her completely in order for her to take a bottle.
Thank you for your help:)
Hey everyone,
Thank you so very much for all your wonderful advice and suggestions. I am now giving my daughter small amounts(about 4 ounces) of formula in a sippy cup, which she was already using and likes, and things are going great!! I am still breastfeeding twice a day as well for the nuturing, comforting aspect(I know that my milk supply has decreased)and will do so until her first birthday. I decided to skip the bottle altogether as I agreed with you who said that it would just be problem to wean her off of it anyway. I am so glad to have this forum for problems and help with baby stuff:)
Thanks again!
Try a sippy cup! She is old enough to take a sippy cup and there are many out there with rubber spouts. When I stopped breastfeeding at 18 months my daughter stilled likes the sucking and gave her a bottle.HUGE MISTAKE!!!! She is now 2 years 5 months old and the fight is on. If you can skip the bottle do that!!! A.
First of all, congratualations on being able to successfully breastfeed your baby. You have done the best for both of you. I would either get another peds opinion, or ignore what he is telling you. There is no reason that you have to teach your baby to bottle feed at almost 1 year old. A few thoughts- There are many other ways to get iron than formula/milk. Look at baby foods/cereal labels. They are all iron fortified. A supplement is possible if she is really anemic. Second, she is old enough to switch to a cup for drinking. If you haven't started this yet, there are many types that make it easy and spillproof. Don't start with bottles now. You will start a habit that is hard to break. It sounds like your daughter is a good eater, and will gradually start weaning herself. Don't rush it, you will regret it. Sounds like your ped is used to bottle feeding babies and may not have the experience with breastfeeders to counsel you correctly. They don't learn about it in med school. Look up la leche they are wonderful and have knowledge & experience. Good luck.
L.
I agree with the other ladies who have responded, and would question how much you need to get her onto a bottle. She is old enough to use a sippy cup. Also, you don't say whether you want to stop breastfeeding or need to, or whether this is just because of what your doctor has said. If you want to carry on, you should do so. There are plenty of other ways to get iron into your baby.
However, if you would like to stop then you know you have already done the best you can for her by breastfeeding for as long as you have done.
Also if the main reason for stopping is to get her to gain weight, bottle feeding may make no difference at all. My daughter was always small, and I thought stopping nursing and putting her onto a bottle would increase her weight but it did not at all. She stayed on her percentile curve (tiny but growing!) and is still small at nealy 4 years old but entirely normal developmentally - some kids are just little and that is normal. Stuffing them full of formula is not necessarily what they need! My little girl tended to vomit if she had too much formula in a way she had not done while breastfeeding.
I'd suggest a cup or sippy cup. Why set yourself up to wean her again later? She may have better luck with the cup. Something else I did was mix soy milk with formula early on. I think she liked how sweet it was compared to formula alone and she got the extra calories.
If she and you are both happy nursing once or twice a day, don't stop! You don't have to wean her completely to get her to take formula. You may just need a different bottle (or sippy cup), and you may need to let someone else give it to her. Consider trying the Breastflow bottles, or just go straight to sippy cups! She's old enough, and may really like the handles. The Born Free sippy cups with soft spouts are great for first time sippers. :) Also, try to let dad or grandma give it to her sometimes. She may just be thinking about nursing, when she's with you.
BTW, chewing on the nipple (of a bottle) is just fine! She'll figure it out eventually, and it probably feels good on those gums. I'm betting more teeth are on the way....
skip the bottle and give her a straw sippy cup. you'll have to break her o the bottle next month anyway. gl
If I were in this situation, this is what I would do.
I would NOT give formula, as per my peds advice, but instead find other ways to increase my babe's iron by using high iron foods. Then I would increase the healthy fats in thiers and my diet. Things like nuts (as long as there are no allergies or sensitivities), avacado, eggs, olive oil etc... Then I would consult the World Health Organizations breastfeeding growth charts which are vastly different from the ones peds use, which are for formula fed babies. Because chances are, my ped is THINKING my baby is underweight (compared to formula fed) but when in fact my baby may be thriving and healthy when comparing the proper charts. Thats where I would start before resorting to formula. Here is the WHO bf charts if you're interested.
http://www.who.int/childgrowth/standards/cht_wfa_girls_p_...
And since its in metric, here are conversion charts.
http://www.metricamerica.com/convert%20pounds%20to%20kilo...
Good luck!
Just a suggestion...maybe you should skip the bottle in general and put the formula in a sippy cup?? then you never have to get her on a bottle or take it away. Just a thought! I would say just breastfeed her another mth till she's one. Then you don't have to do formula and can go straight to cow's milk.
I would not bother with the bottle. Just go right to a sippy cup. Start out giving her a few ounces of water in the sippy cup with meals. My son, who is breastfed too, took really well to the Nuby and Munchkin brands with the soft clear silicone spout.
