Need to stop breastfeeding, baby not having it.

[Aidycake34]

I've posted this on the weaning board also. So my little one is almost 7 months old. She was ebf until 6 months when I started weaning her. She has taken very well to food (for the most part) and now gets 3 small meals a day and has 4 breastfeeds every day. She doesn't usually feed during the night. I have tried giving her breast milk and formula in a bottle, various Cups etc but she just will just not take it, she just screams and cries and acts as though I'm giving her poison. I've tried everything including getting other people to give it to her, leaving the house etc but nothing seems to work. I would happily continue to breastfeed until she weaned herself off it but I am away for 4 nights/days at the end of August and I have to have her taking milk from another source before then. This is something that I can't get out of and I can't take her with me either. I'm just after advice really from others who have had similar issues and how they resolved it. Thanks.

[fledermaus]

If she eats quite well I would try getting milk into food. I had a different situation as my baby was 12 months, but he wouldn't drink cow's milk after I stopped breastfeeding - so I got 300ml milk in food every day (e.g. 100ml of milk on a weetabix or in porridge, pasta in a cheese sauce, custard).

I think at 7 months you would be aiming for about 500mls a day, but if it is just for 4 days I wouldn't worry too much if it's less. Obviously whoever cares for her can still offer milk to drink, but just give her lots of milky foods, plain/greek yoghurt, cheese etc.

[kazza446]

I'm making myself comfy on this post, as I'm waiting for same advice. 7mo ds ebf til 5mo. Have attempted introducing a bottle from about 4mo but he blatantly refused. After a few battles with hv, tongue tie eventually diagnosed and separated just over 10days ago. Still not taking a bottle & struggles with a cup. Have tried just about every teat on market. He has had some type of gastro bug past week so we returned to ebf. Now refusing to eat solids. I return to work beginning of Sep & I'm strarting a New job which necessitates me being away from Home for 3 days. Feel sick worrying about it. Just don't know what to do. I've tried other people giving him a bottle but the truth be known is that we hardly see anyone else. Husband works long hours and rarely see any family & friends. My new job is my dream job so really don't want to turn it down but beginning to see no other alternative.

[mygreeneyedboy]

Aidy - I came onto mumsnet tonight to write this, but if I were to write my story I would just be copying and pasting from you! Pretty much exactly the same situation. Although, luckily we have until early October for my 4 days away.

I can't seem to be reducing the feeds. Breakfast is 1/4 of a wheetabix with 30ml of milk. Lunch is about 50-70g of baby rice. Snack is a fruit compote which is wolfed down. Dinner is about 50-70g of vegetable puree.

Have you tried cold formula milk? DS won't drink warm milk from a bottle (we've tried all sorts of teets), but if it's from the fridge he'll manage about 10-20ml each sitting, which is the same amount he'll drink of water. He's great at sucking the bottle, but forgets to swallow, so it just dribbles down his mouth...

Also have the slight problem that I'm at my PIL for the next month, and MIL is always saying "hasn't he eaten enough?" when he starts to cry, when I know he should be having much more. So I imagine, when she feeds him, he isn't eating much. He can go about 6 hours max without a feed from me and is still fed to sleep.

Kazza Your baby will survive, it'll be hard for him at first, but even if you end up going cold turkey, your baby will eventually cope (awful to think I know!). You should have to give up your dream job for this!

[kazza446]

Thankyou mygreeneyedboy tonight I've tried being a bit more stricter with him and it's turned into a nightmare. 4 hours and he's still not settled. I just can't see how I can leave him with my dm for 2 nights when he won't settle a) without bm and being next to me in bed. Feel such a failure x

[mygreeneyedboy]

kazza exactly the same here! I'm hoping I'll be able to stop the breastfeeding in the day entirely by early October (i have to by late September anyway as I'm a uni student) and that might make taking a bottle at night easier. If he's hungry enough I'm hoping he'll have it. If not, he'll have to cry himself to sleep :S is it bad that I feel more confident leaving him with my mum than DP? :S

[kazza446]

Nope, same here. Ds is going to my mum's for few days
Rather than bbeing with Dh. Mum will cope with cold turkey and administer Tlc whereas dh will just get frustrated with situation. im dreading being away. I've not left him for more than 3 hours so bbeing away from home for 3 days work (my first day in New job andfirst day in work for 12 months) is so daunting.
Hope you can decipher this, sorry for typos on phone

[harverina]

Have you tried warming the milk? Dd2 was a bottle refuser - I tried every day for 7 weeks she is bf still but I had to be away from her for a couple of things and didn't want her to be hungry while I was gone.

In the end I tried her with very warm milk - actually it was a bit of an accident. We had tried her with ebm in the morning and she had refused it. I sat the bottle on the radiator and an hour later I decided to try again - the milk was very warm - warmer than I would have likes but certainly not warm enough to burn her. Anyway, she guzzled it! She seemed to love the warm teat and the warm milk. She also preferred the mam bottles with their flat teat.

[Lally112]

oh sweet jesus, I don't envy any of you this one again. I cant offer any useful advice except keep going and keep your strength up because you are going to need it.

DD1 was nearly three when she finally weaned fully because I had to tell her "mummys boobs are broken". Then I fell pregnant again the next year and she threw such a tantrum because I told her they were broken and they were hers and the new babies couldn't have them. I wish you all the luck in the world.

[AliMonkey]

Both mine started nursery 3dpw (all in a row) at age of six months when I went back to work. Both fully breast fed till then (just starting weaning) and had never accepted bottle or cup (of breast milk or water or formula or anything basically). We had tried all sorts of teats, sippy cups etc. They both had to go cold turkey until they accepted bottle. I continued breast feeding morning / evening (and at night for DS) and on my non- working days plus expressing once at work both to be able to continue offering breast milk at nursery and for my own comfort.

Both took about 2 weeks (and then only a tiny amount to start with). Made sure they had quite sloppy food to get liquid in them and did them no harm. So take all the advice and try to get there but if not done before you have to go then don't worry too much. Know it's not quite the same situation but as long as getting fluid via food they will be ok and most likely by time you are home they will have started drinking a little.