Advice please on BF baby

[beevo12]

I want to try and transition my 100% BF baby to formula and she's not having it. She's never had a bottle, she's good with the sippy, but only water. How do I get her to take formula for a meal? I'm going to college and the fall semester starts in August and she needs to take something else. I'm done with breastfeeding. I'll be sad a little, but I'm dooone. Anyone else have problems with the transition and how did you transition your 100% BF baby who doesn't want to take any other liquids. She doesn't even like baby food either.

[mmm0708]

Will she take expressed milk from a bottle/cup? Can you pump?

[RobynScott]

And if you can pump, maybe start by giving her 3/4 BM 1/4 formula, and gradually work her up to more formula? She'll be a year in August anyway, right (end of July) so seems like a good time to transition her to a cup / sippy cup instead of bottle.

Good luck!

[jennylou]

If you don't go until August, why transition her to formula now? She'll be a year next month, I'd just stick with the BFing for another month and start the weaning process.

[ginadc]

Yeah, I haven't weaned a BFed baby yet (DD was adopted, so we didn't nurse), but I was thinking Jenny's solution makes the most sense. She'd be old enough to wean to "regular" milk at a year (in about a month) anyway, right? Why bother with formula?

[vjel]

I would just keep trying to give her formula in a sippy every day and see if she takes to it. At least she can drink from a sippy so that's one battle down. I tried to do the same w/ my ds when I thought my supply was dipping. It didn't really work out but I was not as worried since he was eating table food as well (and kept BFing). Maybe your dd just doesn't like purees. Have you tried just table foods?

I agree, if you can tough it out til her 1st b-day you could just transition straight to milk. This is what I ended up doing and the transition to whole milk was way easier than I expected! I'm finishing up the weaning process this week and that has been going smoothly as well. We'll see how ds does though when I wean him off his last (before bedtime) nursing session.

Anyway, just keep trying and try to be patient. She'll get it eventually!

[BethIrish]

Also, talk to your doc - we started transitioning DS to whole milk at 11 months - that looks like it would be next month for you?

[beevo12]

And if you can pump, maybe start by giving her 3/4 BM 1/4 formula, and gradually work her up to more formula? She'll be a year in August anyway, right (end of July) so seems like a good time to transition her to a cup / sippy cup instead of bottle.

Good luck!

Well, she's never had a bottle because she would never take it. And seems like I don't get that much from pumping. I'll try and pump tonight to see what I get. The last time I pumped and gave it to her in a sippy she was MAD and wouldn't drink it.

Jennylou I guess I figured it would take quite a bit of time to do it, so I thought I would start now, but maybe not?

BethIrish Actually our ped said to start introducing it at 11 months also so I'll definetly do that. Maybe I should try a little whole milk and a little pumped together? I'm thinking it's not the milk, but how she's getting the milk. I'm just afraid she won't stop nursing ever. LOL.

vjel Yup, she'll eat SOME table foods. I've given her spaghetti the last 3 days since she seems to love it, she will not eat anything off a spoon it seems. She hates fruit AND veggies. Breakfast is really difficult right now.

[jennylou]

Well, I think that right now (since it sounds like your DC has a bday at the end of July?) I'd keep the same BFing routine. As you near July, hopefully, your DD is eating more table foods. Most friends who weaned around a year started about a month prior. Maybe start feeding solids before offering the breast, etc.

[PinkMartini]

I wasn't BFing but weaned my son from formula to whole milk at 11.5 months. It was about a week long transition and pretty easy compared to what I had imagined would happen :)

Good luck!

[beevo12]

I wasn't BFing but weaned my son from formula to whole milk at 11.5 months. It was about a week long transition and pretty easy compared to what I had imagined would happen :)

Good luck!


I did the same with my son, but this is completely different as she won't take her meals through anything but my breast. I was hoping she'd drink something to make her full so I could take out certain sessions of the day, KWIM? I think that maybe she likes the "sucking" It would be nice if she took a paci also because that would help. grrr.

[mmm0708]

Have you tried real foods (not baby foods)? My daughter also wouldn't eat baby food. She would eat anything that I put in front of her however, if she could pick it up between her fingers.

[vjel]

can she self feed at all? maybe just cut up some table food into small pieces, put it in front of her and let her have at it. She may or may not eat it but at least let her play with it a little and see if some of it ends up in her mouth.

I started giving my ds whole milk a week before his 1st b-day. I did half water/half milk for a couple days so maybe try that too?

[BethIrish]

I would definitely try mixing whole milk and some pumped BM together. She might like it a bit more - that is how we started whole milk with DS.

Believe me, I understand about the boob-a-holic...DS is almost 19 months and he's still going strong on nursing. I'm done, but he's not and it's not a battle I want to fight right now (we also have sleep issues, so I'm taking the "pick your battles" approach.)

[beevo12]

I would definitely try mixing whole milk and some pumped BM together. She might like it a bit more - that is how we started whole milk with DS.

Believe me, I understand about the boob-a-holic...DS is almost 19 months and he's still going strong on nursing. I'm done, but he's not and it's not a battle I want to fight right now (we also have sleep issues, so I'm taking the "pick your battles" approach.)

You are scaring me. ;)


Ya, like I said, she eats spaghetti! Not the baby food spaghetti, but finger foods, but it's very hard to find something she likes. She liked toast for 2 days and then was done with it, I think I've tried every finger food or anything I can cut up and gave it to her. I'll try half b/m and half milk tomorrow, and then half water/half milk if that doesn't work. I've already tried whole milk and she didn't have any reactions so I'm sure it's ok for her to try it right? I only have less than a month to go to introduce it at 11 months anyways

[jennylou]

If she likes spaghetti, try throwing some very mushy veggies in with it. If that doesn't work, try pureeing them and adding it to the sauce, just so that she's getting her veggies. :)

[beevo12]

If she likes spaghetti, try throwing some very mushy veggies in with it. If that doesn't work, try pureeing them and adding it to the sauce, just so that she's getting her veggies. :)

oooh good idea. Maybe I could cover EVERYTHING in spaghetti sauce she'd eat it. Or maybe I could just let her eat off the floor since she seems to stick everything on the floor in her mouth. hehe.:p:D

[mmm0708]

Check out the book Deceptively Delicious. Lots of great recipes that hides veggies into regular foods. (LOL)

Sorry... I imagine this is stressful for you. I hope you find a solution. I would keep offering her solid foods, with milk in a cup, and see how it goes. Good luck.

[boilermaker]

I don't have much to add except some reassurance. My DD was very slow to take to food. She didn't start eating purees consistantly until around 10m. Didn't do much with table food until 12m (still did purees at that point too). Now at almost 15m, she is 100%table food and sippy cup, though I do still nurse when i am home with her by choice. She takes regular milk at daycare and at home as well.

And yes, I have put spagetti sauce on a ton of things. I figure it is her version on ketchup.

[Pine Tree]

Instead of a sippy what about using a spoon? My DD will only take a sip from a sippy at meal time, but she'll drink a few ounces from one of those asian soup spoons - the kind that is sort of flat on the bottom. Those soup spoons are dirt cheap.

I'll second the suggestion for just grinding up table food. DD hates the baby food except for fruit, but will devour our dinner if it's whizzed up - chili, lasagna, curry chicken, beans and rice, chicken soup, eggplant and pasta sauce etc... She definitely has her picky moments, but she's much more likely to eat something if we like it too.

[jenjen0713]

I weaned DS #1 to formula when he was around 11 months old. He absolutely refused the sippy cup the first day and hardly drank anything. I kept the sippy around all the time and offered it ever 30 minutes or so. Day 2 was a little better and he drank a little. Day 3 and 4 got better and by Day 5 he had accepted that he was only getting the sippy and if he was thirsty this was his only option. During those first few days, I did make sure he was eating liquidy type foods like applesauce, etc. to get some type of liquid in him to prevent dehydration.

[bunnybeth]

Have you tried a straw cup at all? Sometimes BF babies prefer those to sippies because they still get to suck. :p DS did better with those at first, though we kept offering him a sippy (at daycare) and he eventually got a hang of them both.