Weaning and Bottle Feeding Suggestions

Have you thought of weaning to a sippy cup? He's old enough to go straight to it, and why have to go through a second weaning (from the bottle) if you don't have to?

If you are weaning from BF actually you will want the slowest flow nipple possible to begin with cause if they are used the the flow from a breast, it is much slower than from a bottle.

M.:

congratulations on breastfeeding for 10 months.

at this point you can go to a cup and not bother with bottles at all. if using bottle i would continue to stay with a slow flow.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions
www.breastfeedingandparentingsolutions.com

I suggest any soft spouted sippy cup. Mine seemed to transition better with those.

At 10 months I skipped bottles and went right to cup! Workled great for me

Just a note...

If you do use a bottle instead of sippy cups, I recommend "Born Free" or "Doctor Brown" bottles. The Avent bottles have that BPA plastic that you've been hearing about. If you already have the Avent bottles, Babies R Us will refund you full purchase price with store credit. Use stage one or two nipples for slower flow. You're less likely to get bit then!

I like the suggestion of sippy cups, though. I'm almost done weaning my little guy (8mos old tomorrow!), and I kind of wish he would take sippy cups! ;-)

I will say, I've had a lot of mixed feelings about weaning him. I nursed my daughter a little more than a year, and I thought I'd do the same with him. Unfortunately, my allergies are a lot worse this year, and I need to take Zyrtec, which is a nursing no-no. There are other factors, as well. Anyway, you may feel weird about it. That is okay. Trust your feelings and in your decision.

Good luck! :-)

you may just want to skip the bottle altogether that way you don't have to go through the hassle of eliminating the bottle. you can go right to a sippy cup - very similar sucking motions as the bottle but is more age appropriate, a straw cup ( which is a bit more of a mature sucking pattern) and an open cup. you may want the sippy cup or straw cup for independent drinking and when you are out and about.
hope that helps. I haven't weaned my daughter yet but there is some good advice in the book "breastfeeding made simple" they also have a website of the same name www.breastfeedingmadesimple.com my other mom friends just gradually dropped feedings until they were at one and then dropped that one as well.
F.

If you're looking for a bottle, the Adiri nurser has worked really well for my little one, who didn't want to take the bottle at all. I have the slowest flow 0-3, as she's used to breastfeeding. They're also BPA free. Best bottle I've ever used! I also pumped breast milk and mixed it 1/2 and 1/2 with the formula to get her to take it and ease the transition. Good luck!

the Avent have BPA in them as they are made of polycarbonate and Health Canada has banned them. so i would throw those ones out. Born Free and a few others are BPA free - either made of glass or polypropylene or polyamide. I would buy a few varieties of nipples. Also you could also try a sippy cup at his age. The born free sippy cup has great flow and is very like a nipple.

Hi M........

Why not try to wean to a sippy cup at this point? 10 months is old enough to do that. We have always been done with bottles by 12 months anyways so you're so close - why start one more thing & then have to wean again? If you've never used bottles - you might find it's just as hard to get your child to take a bottle as it would be for them to take a sippy cup. There are several styles of sippy cups out there to try too (soft tips, etc...). Just a thought. Good Luck!

Many Dr.s suggest no bottles after 12 months so you could totally skip that stage. He's very close to sippy cup age why not wait a couple of months when he can switch to whole milk, and try that instead of bottles?

For weaning, it's best to do a slow transition, taking away one feeding per day every three or four days until you're totally done. It's easier on your body, too.

I agree that you should skip a bottle all-together & go straight to a sippy cup. You'll need to be weaning off a bottle around 12 months anyway, so it's not worth starting. There are many different types of sippy cups, so just keep trying if your son doesn't like one at first. There are even some little bottles with straws, and believe it or not, he may even find those easier, since he doesn't have to tip the container up into the air to get the liquid while he's so little and learning.

Good luck!

I would go straight to a sippy cup. Babies older than a year are supposed to be weaned both from bottles and pacifiers. I started my son on a sippy cup at 9 months. It took a little while for him to get the hang of it because I was exclusively nursing, but now he does great. I tried several brands, and the only ones that work were the Nuby cups. They are very soft on top and are most similar to breast and bottles. Good luck!