|
I need to be away from my breastfed baby one day a week for a course I am taking. We have tried to get him to take my pumped milk from a bottle, sippy cup and regular cup. He is interested in these things until he realizes there is milk coming from them. Then, he cries and pushes it away. We've been trying to teach him since he was about 4 months old. He is 6 months old now and still won't take it. Has anyone had any success in teaching their breastfed babies to take breastmilk from a bottle, cup or sippy cup? |
|
Some suggestions from The National Childbirth Trust Book of Breastfeeding:
Clearly some of these are incompatible with each other. But you could try each one and see if any work for you. |
|
I believe that there is a part of psychology here. When our first baby was 3 months old, my wife tried to give him a bottle. This didn't work. She tried two or three more times during the following week, without success. Then, we tried another way: she left the house during one hour and I tried to give him a bottle. He drank all the milk! |
|
We could never get our daughter to drink the breast milk from a bottle or from the cup...she just would not take it for my husband or parents. We tried for several months, but just would not take any interest in it. But, now she is almost a year old. She will drink water and juice from the sippy cup. I am hoping she will drink cow's milk from her cup after she turns one. |
|
I took a page from the resident who circumcized my son. She dipped his pacifier in sugar water then gave it him before she did the job (as well as giving him an anesthetic). So when I switched him to bottles, I dipped a dry nipple in a little bowl of sugar and shook most of it off. But just enough stayed attach to interest him in eating from the bottle. After a week or two he was eating regularly from the bottle with little or no fuss. |
|
These are some things that helped us. As ejane stated my daughter would only take her milk warm for the longest time. Also, at first she would not take the bottle from me. Have your husband or someone else try to feed him while you are in another room and see if that makes a difference. |
|
I think that is going to be a tough transition because your baby is probably so used to being breastfed. My thought is that your baby will eventually become hungry enough to take the bottle although this might include some crying for awhile. Just wait it out and eventually he will take the bottle. Also it helps when someone other than the mother feeds him the bottle. He knows his Mama and knows your smell, so try having someone like your husband feed him with a bottle. Good luck! |
