Breast to Bottle???

[Carlz]

Hi all,
I am breastfeeding and I have been trying to wean my DD (8mths) onto formula since 5 months, I have tried, S26, Karicare & the nestle one (have forgotton the name?) but she won't drink them, no matter how much i have persisited, i think she just doesn't like the taste?
She will drink water and also juice from a bottle or beaker, she is on solids 3 meals a day and only really feeding off me about 3 or four times a day!
I am over breastfeeding and want to stop, what can i do? does she still need breastmilk or formula??? or will she be fine with water, juice and maybe cows milk????
i am confused :confused:
Please help !!!

[jaimie]

i had same problem with my girl. Im sure u have tried all cups and teats so all i can offer is let her go without formula for a couple of days and then try again. Because i think they tend to get crankier the more you try to give them the bottle. i also put hte bottle on the floor with her and she would sometimes pick it up and have a suck on it. Thats all i can really offer. Jazz eventually took to karicare but i took a good week. She had no choice as my milk was drying up. So maybe you have to stop giving her the option of boob. Hope some of that helps!!

[jaimie]

i also offer 60mls of cows milk with each meal just so i know she is getting something.

[Refresh]

Hi

Yes, they definately need breast milk or formula until 12 months (or preferably longer.) If your bubba wont take formula then you are much better off (for her sake) to keep breastfeeding until at least 12 months.

Cows milk and juice doesnt have enough for them under 12 months of age.:)

[jkate]

I had a similar problem with Aden, we finally worked out after pulling our hair out :banghead:, that we had toheat the milk up a tad more then usual. After awhile he got over it, and would drink it any temp! Maybe give that a ry and see how you go. :hugs: to you, I remember how frustrating it is. Keep us posted

[Refresh]

Here's some info for you:)

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/milk-supplements.html (MILK)

[alicesmum]

i also had days when i felt really 'over' breastfeeding, like I wanted my body back :) though i also really enjoyed those morning and night feeds.

but i kept reminding myself that in the big scheme of things it isn't for that long at all and that all the research says they continue to get the benefits for at least 12 months. My DD self-weaned at 12 months anyway, as by that time she decided a bottle meant she had more control. In the end, I was quite sad when she stopped :(

good luck with whatever you do!!!! :fingerscrossed:

[Refresh]

Yep, I agree Rachel:) It really is a short time in the grand scheme of things.

My 22 month old has just weaned (I think my milk must have changed becasue I am pregnant...) I am mostly glad but I still feel a little sad about it:( It was a nice relationship, although very intense at times! At 20 months he was still feeding 10 times a day!!

[reAllytee]

If you can keep at it then great but if you still decide its time to wean then just keep trying what you can whether its new teats or even bottles or maybe bubs will happily take a straw cup as a lot of bf mums talk about bubs taking to this easier.
I wish you all the best with whichever route you take & dont worry things will get easier :hugs:

[Jem]

With ds1 i weaned him off the breast at around 11 months... put him straight onto cows milk.. did take some getting used to.. and he did test me, but i had a "No boob, only bottle" rule.
As for ds2 who is 10 months in a few days.. im slowly starting to wean him off the breast now.. introducing him to cows milk next week :D

[Carlz]

Thank you all for your advice :yelclap:
I will give it all a go and let you know how it goes.:hugs:
If all fails i will continue to breastfeed, as i said she is only feeding off me 3 or 4 times a day, and i do enjoy those times bonding with my little munchkin :kiss:

So what age can she have cows milk? Can she have it before 12 mths?
And What brand of formulas have you all found best?

[jkate]

Hi Carlz

It was always strongly recommened to me to not to give cows milk before the 12 months and only if they were good at eating (which he is :smiliedance: ) and as soon as Aden was 12 months, I took him off formula and the bottle and he had cows milk out of sipper cups.

I used S26 formula with Aden, and at the moment I am currently thinking of weaning Travis onto the bottle - I brought a tin of S26 Gold today. Its a choice I havent made lightly and still havent complety decided to stop breastfeeding, it is hard choice but at least I have tried to breastfeed, and as some one said both bub and mum need to be happy. If you need someone to talk to who is going through it as well, pm or contact me via Messanger.

[Carlz]

Thanx Karen :hugs:
It is a hard decision to make, i wanted to breast feed as long as possible to give my baby the benefits only Mothers milk can give her, but i'm finding it annoying as she isn't feeding off me that often now and, when she does it isn't for very long. I will keep persisting with the formula. i'm hoping my enormous breasts :eek: will go back to their origional size once i stop. :p

[jkate]

i'm hoping my enormous breasts will go back to their origional size once i stop.

Mine shrank after I stop breastfeeding Aden :( , I am hoping thet dont this time, otherwise there wont be much left :eek:


I will keep persisting with the formula

Keep us posted on how you go

[jarrahsmumma]

I would avoid Cows milk for a while at least til 12 months. Cows milk is not designed for human babies, just cow babies. There are a lot of protien that babies guts cannot break down and therefore get tummy upsets and the runs. mmmm lovely.

if you can stick with the BF, it will help with her immunity and overall health

[vespertine]

I second everything nel said! :thumbsup:

[Tam-I-Am]

Hi Carlz,

I have a fantastic book which I keep recommending to everyone called BabyLove by Robin Barker - she's got a bit to say about the whole cow's milk issue -
it basically comes down to that manufacturers of infant formula have heaps to gain from making us think that babies under the age of 24 months shouldn't have anything but breastmilk or formula. In fact, while cow's milk doesn't have everything a baby needs before the age of 12 months, and should be given either breast of formula milk, it isn't dangerous to them - babies can be given whole milk, as a small part of their diet in a cup or on cereal after the age of 6 months.

I was interested to note the reasons you wanted to wean your bubba - don't know if this will have any impact or not, but by the age of 7 months, a baby can drain a breast so they are satisfied in under 5 minutes - breastfeeding is like any other bodily function, and the more your body practices it the better (ie faster) it gets at it. Also, as babies get older, their stomaches get bigger and they need food less often than they did when they were really little. Therefore, sometime between the ages of 6 and 9 months, most babies do go down to three breastfeeds a day, and this reduces further as they get older. So if your reasons are that your bubba is feeding only 3 times a day for really short periods of time, this may be completely normal, and it may be that she is still getting what she needs from her feeds from you.

Claire is now 9 months old and is down to 2-3 breastfeeds a day, which last for a grand total of 7-10 minutes each - but she is still getting a huge proportion of her nutrient intake from the breast milk.

As I said, I don't know if this will impact your decision, but I just thought you might like to know.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!:)

[Carlz]

Thanx to you all your for your support and advice! :hugs:
Just to let you all know, after trying with the formulas again i'm still BF'ing , still only about 3 times a day!
Ashlee is 9 months old now, so i'm thinking i'll stick it out till 12 months (i've come this far!!!)
I think i'll try the cows milk at 12 months, what milk do i use? full cream, low fat, skim??? and do i serve it warm? do i dilute it?

[Tam-I-Am]

You need to give her whole cows milk when you do - until age 2 at least - babies need the extra fat because they are growing so quickly and burn energy really quickly. As for warm or cold - that's up to your bubba, and what she prefers! And no, you don't need to dilute it.

Good luck, and congratulations on your decision to continue breastfeeding.

[Carlz]

Thanks Tami :hugs:

Ash has jost got her two botom front teeth so hopefully i'll still have nipples by 12 months:eek:

[A&Omummy]

Hi everyone!

Just started my 15 week old bub on a bottle of formula this arvo. She started drinking it fine but only had 40mls and didn't wont anymore. DH feed her it. Then when she refesed anymore I tried did what she does when B/F when she don't wont anymore. It was like she had had enough and was quite happy wasn't like she didn't like it. She couldn't possibley be only having this about from me, other wise she wouldn't be putting on the weight. I am feeding her every 2 1/2 hrs and am replacing the 5:00 feed with bottle. I usually feed her again at 6:30 ish as a top up because she wont stay awake till 7:30 for a feed. What was other peoples experiences with weaning?

Diana

[Tam-I-Am]

Hey carlz,

Yeah, DD had two bottom teeth too - there was a thread on this recently -

http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=18477

and a couple of good links regarding biting:

http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/biting.html

http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/bite.html

Hope this helps! Keep up the excellent work!:hugs:

[Sherrie]

I would avoid soy formula, heres a couple of reasons why:

http://www.racp.edu.au/hpu/paed/soy/index.htm

http://www.mercola.com/2006/mar/30/finally_infant_soy_formula_under_investigation.htm

Plenty more where they came from too :)