Need Advice: Weaning BF with a baby who refuses bottles

DD is 10 months and I want to start weaning her day nursing sessions - I'll keep BFing morning and night but need to return to work in a few weeks and have no choice but to wean. Right now she BFs 4 times a day, less than 10 minutes per session. I am looking to wean off of the two mid-day sessions.

How do I begin? Right now the sippy is hit or miss - she'll drink water sometimes, othertimes she'll spit it out or dribble it. She will not take a bottle, has refused it since 4 months and I"m not going to even try with that again.

Any advice from BTDTs?

Thank you

Re: Need Advice: Weaning BF with a baby who refuses bottles

sorry i can't offer advice but only because my 4mo is still refusing the bottle as well and i've tried everything so i'm interested to see what advice is given to you!

best of luck! fingers crossed for you!

Re: Need Advice: Weaning BF with a baby who refuses bottles

Thank you!

Anyone care to help - PLEASE! :)

Re: Need Advice: Weaning BF with a baby who refuses bottles

honestly I would try the bottle again, and/or start giving her pumped milk in a sippy.

I think it would be too much of a "shock" to give her formula in the sippy, even if you eventually go that route.

I would do milk in the sippy.

then milk mixed with formula and gradually transition to milk/formula if that is what you want to do.

good luck!!!

Re: Need Advice: Weaning BF with a baby who refuses bottles

I was in the same exact situation with DD. I started to wean her for her midday feeding at 11 months because I was returning to work at 1 yr. she refused the bottle at 4 months too...

ped gave me the ok to start giving her milk in the sippy for mid-day feedings. she would do the same thing... dribble drink just a few sips. she did this for a few weeks but the ped assured me that she won't dehydrate - if she wants to drink she will. He said to keep offering it and always have it available.

it took a few weeks but soon DD started drinking a little more at a time. she liked the playtex sippy cup with the handles best to start. once she was really drinking one cup I went to two, then three, then four. I dropped the night session last and for a baby who was so attached to me she was less and less interested in Bfing.

I had her totally weaned by 13.5 months. she loooooves milk now. in fact it is all that she will drink. I laugh because I stressed that she would never drink more than a few sips and now she drinks 3-4 8ounce sippy cups of milk a day.

the best advice I got from my ped was not to stress out about it. she will drink if she needs to. He even gave me a big syringe that daycare could fill will milk if they felt that she really needed fluids... it never got to that though.

best of luck!

Re: Need Advice: Weaning BF with a baby who refuses bottles

Re: Need Advice: Weaning BF with a baby who refuses bottles

no problem. In the moment it seemed like such a battle and I was so stressed about it, but looking back.. she's fine and it wasn't really that bad.