Is Weaning This Hard for Everyone?

I started out with bottles of pure breastmilk and then slowly added small amounts of formula over time so he go used to the taste little by little, it seemed to work well with mine.

Is it the bottle or the formula that he hates?

Given your post, I'll assume that he takes a bottle of breastmilk just fine and it's not the bottle, but if you haven't tried breastmilk in a bottle, then please repost your question and make that clear.

Have you played around with the temperature of the formula? I breastfed, but due to work schedules, occasionally had to give a bottle of formula. One of mine would not take a bottle of formula if it was the slightest bit too cool or too warm. It had to be basically exactly body temperature, and then he would take it. So, if you haven't tried different temperatures, that's one place to start.

I had a friend who went through this. She couldn't leave her baby with anyone for an extended period of time. She found it so hard. When I visited her, I showed her that she wasn't heating the bottle enough and I gave the baby the bottle. Knowing that she wasn't going to be breastfed by me helped - and when she was hungry enough, she took the bottle of formula.

I would try different brands of bottle nipples (we liked NUK i think they were called, and they were similar to their soothers but every baby is different), but definitely experiment with different warmths. That was the determining factor with my babies. I never made it hot (have to test) but it was warmer than some people suggested.

I also had to change the way I held the baby - sometimes formula in a bottle comes out faster than breastfeeding and can put them off.

I also did the part formula/part breastmilk with my first (didn't bother with the rest - they just took formula).

If you have someone who can give the baby the bottle to start (if that's part of the problem) enlist a friend if necessary - but really, just keep trying. You may have to switch up formulas. We used different ones for our babies - they would prefer one over the other.

Good luck :) keep us posted if you find something helps - it will help other moms too

Have you given him bottles of breastmilk? If you haven't, then the issue may be that he's being given a bottle and not the breast. If you haven't, try pumping milk and having someone else give him a bottle. Or, try a sippy cup instead of a bottle.

If he will drink expressed milk, they start by adding just a little bit of formula to the breastmilk. Maybe 4 oz of breast milk and 1 oz of formula (or even 4 oz of breastmilk and 1/2 oz of formula). Do that for a couple of days and then slightly increase the amount of formula.

It really might help if someone else gives it to him. If all your son has had is your breast, this could be a really difficult change for him. Keep working at it, because you will get there.

in 3 months you can serve him cows milk assuming he can have dairy. when my babies were 9 months i would feed them table foods chopped up, snacks liike crackers and baby foods in a jar. they loved the variety, their milk desires dwindles, they were having a nurse after meals, and before sleeps. and when they were 12 months they were down to nursing just before sleeps. which i used a pacifier to wean from that. my kids never really used bottles. so when needed i served water or pumped milk in a sippy cup.

Yes, it's really hard and you have to out stubborn your child. It's also really hard later when you are trying to get them to stop taking a bottle. And again with the pacifier if your child uses one. Both my kids did not want to give it up these things. It took months each time. I'd have to lie there and rub their backs while they had tantrums/cried for an hour or till they where exhausted. It took about 3 months for each of these steps for each kid. I have really stubborn kids. I had friends who said it took them 3 days. I don't really know how they did it bc they did the same thing I did. I think their child just gave up sooner and accepted the new reality. Definitely try different formulas and nipples on the bottle. Make sure it is nice and warm. You have to just not give in...that is the only trick.

Just wondering how he has been hating formula for awhile if he's been exclusively breast fed?
After I returned to work, my milk supply dried up in 2 months no matter how much I pumped or breast fed when I was home.
Our son didn't have much choice.
But he never had a problem taking a bottle and he liked formula as much as breast milk.
So feeding him formula till right around his first birthday wasn't a problem.
You can try transitioning him to formula gradually.
He has to be on a bottle for this - he'll detect the difference between breast milk and formula if he's breast feeding.
For a week add just a little formula to your breast milk till he's use to it.
After that add a little more formula for a week - till he's use to it.
Then %50/50 formula/breast milk - ect.
Until in a month to 6 weeks later he's on %100 formula.
Don't add anything else to the formula (no flavoring or anything else).