11 Month Old Won't Take a Bottle/cup from the Nanny

There is no "normal" pattern for naps for a child that is about 1 year of age. Some near-toddlers still nap for 2 hours in the morning and another 2 hours in the afternoon, while some have completely given up at least one of those naps. My youngest never did nap after 6 months of age, while my oldest was still napping in kindergarten. Best wishes.

It's fine to put him down for a nap without milk. I do not often nurse my 11 month old before putting him down. He is also transitioning to one nap a day. If he goes down around 11 am, he will sometimes sleep 2 or so hours (yay!) He used to take two naps that were an hour long each if I was lucky. There really is no "normal". Each of my five have been different. But you'll know when you've found the right sleep pattern for your little one, they just are happier and more contented. Good luck. It is definately an adventure!

well i started giving my son cows milk at 12 months so I dont think it will hurt him at all. As far as nap time is concerned I have always been a believer that my child will develop his own pattern of sleeping and I should not try to mold it to my schedule or when I thought he should nap. He has been taking morning and afternoon naps most days and they vary a little depending on when he wakes up but morning usually nomore then an hour but most likely 30 - 45 min and then the afternoon tends to be almosttill somewhere between 2 and 4pm and if we have done a lot of stimulating stuff then he crashes for 2 - 3 hours but most days it is about an hour. he then gets sleepy for bedtime between 7:30 - 9pm. the only think i have been consitent with is our little routine we have before we go to sleep....he brings me his blanket or i put it on my shoulder and he reaches up for me and sits strattling one knee and we bounce/rock and i pat his back...he goes right to sleep and then I lay him down in his crib or on the couch.

hopefully this helps

Your scenario is all too familiar. I thought I would never wean my daughter. Not that I REALLY wanted to, but I was afraid I would be one of those moms with a three-year-old still nursing. (My daughter preffered the breast over food at 10mo.) I had to take her to work with me, and have a sitter bring her to me each time she wanted to nurse. We could not get her to take a bottle until we tried the playtex natural latch nipple, slow flow, with the drop in bottle. Our pediatrician gave us permission to give our daughter whole milk at 11 1/2mo. The only way she would take it though, was with a teaspoon of Ovaltine. Her pediatrician was very pleased with the solution. She is now 14mo. and weaned, and a great eater!!! She would never take pumped breat milk. She would just look at me like..."thats not where it comes from!"

Kate
I would say it is ok to start the transition from breastmilk to whole milk now. I started adding a little whole milk in his bottles and the rest breastmilk. Slowly started adding more whole milk and less BM. Before you know it he is on all whole milk. My little guy is 16 months and only goes down for 1 nap a day and has for months. He gets up around 9:00am and takes a 2 hour nap around 1:00pm and then he his ready for bed by 8:00pm.
One nap for us works and choose your battles. Letting him give up one nap is not a battle I would choose to battle.

Good luck, Trish

Pumped breast milk in a cup or bottle is a great way to make the transition from mom to bottles or cups. You might even try mixing some formula( a little at a time) with it until it is completely formula or even milk.

A one year old and one nap a day is fine. Before that, babies really require two - but you are right on schedule. it doesn't matter if he fusses, he still will eventually go to sleep. Also, if he doesn't have a morning nap, he is more likely to have a great 3-4 hour afternoon nap.

Remember that our children learn what we teach them. You and the nanny need to teach him that it is nap time when it is.

Your instincts are right - just trust them.

God Bless,
+B+

My pediatrition said after 9 months that cow's milk would be fine in addition to breastmilk. I didn't transition my son until 1 year because I still had pumped milk in the freezer, but with my daughter I stopped pumping earlier and transitioned her at about 10 months, mixing in a little cows milk to breastmilk initially. She was only taking about 8oz when I was at work. She also sleeps less than her big brother, at less than 3 years, if she had even one nap, she had trouble sleeping at night (up until past midnight sometimes). Without a nap, she gets cranky in the evening, but sleeps just fine. My son, at 5, can still take a nap and fall asleep when put to bed at 8:30pm. I would try cutting back on the naps - you'll find out soon enough if that is a could idea or not.
About me:
Happily married high school teacher with 5yr old and 3yr old.

I had a change in my boy about this age, where he changed his sleep pattern(need). He has always been a very energetic child, and I sought advice, since he didn't sleep long naps (as it said in the books that they would).
He quit the morning nap first, and then I still had to chose if I wanted a break in the afternoon or in the evening. If he slept for a couple of hours in the pm, he would stay up past my bed-time, bouncing and all cheery.
I had to wake him up after 45 min pm nap(very emotionally difficult since he had a hard time falling asleep to begin with), in order for him to go to sleep at a decent time in the evening.

Sounds like his routine needs to change. If he is battling for 45 minutes and won't sleep let him get up and push his afternoon nap up. My son at 1year trasitioned to 1 nap and he did fine. Also if he doesn't want anything before his nap, 2days a week is not going to hurt him. I don't give my son anything before naptime or bedtime, I do have him brush his teeth. 1 month is also not a big deal to give him cow's milk. Make sure it it whole milk so he is still getting all of his fats.

We started transitioning my daughter to cow's milk at 11 1/2 months. So you could probably attempt that, although if he's not taking a cup or bottle from her, I doubt what's in it will help that situation. When we transitioned my daughter, we ditched the bottles all together to avoid that transition later.
I'm wondering if he is able to go to sleep on his own, or do you have to rock/feed him to sleep?
I actually am a nanny, as well as a mother, and really do know how different sleep schedules can vary child to child. The little girl I watch can just be put in her crib, no milk needed, and she will go to sleep on her own for 2+ hours in the morning AND in the afternoon.
My daughter on the other hand has been down to one nap for a while now, usually going down around noon or so, and sleeping for an hour and a half to two and a half hours. She still prefers to have a small cup of milk before nap.
Now would be a good time to transition to a nap and bedtime routine where he is able to fall asleep on his own, if he doesn't already.
Good luck!!!!!

He probably is ready to transition to just one nap. Put him down after lunch. the naptime battle is most likely because he doesn't need two. but you will have naptime battles in the future (3 years). Try not to battle. You can't make a kid SLEEP. Just require him to stay in bed for an hour. At this age he will most likely fall asleep by then.

My son drinks his breast milk from a cup with a straw

I had a very similar problem with my son at 10 mo, when I returned to work. He had taken a bottle on occasion with no problem, so we could have a night out or whatever. But as soon as he was in daycare for a week he flat out refused to drink my milk from the bottle. He still nursed fine though. We ended up transitioning him to a cup at that time, we found the "Take and Toss" ones with no valve to be the best, and I know some people who had luck with a straw. I also did not want to transition him to formula, so my Dr suggested mixing a small amount of yogurt (the full fat baby kind), with he liked to eat, with my milk. It changed the taste enough that he would then drink the milk. When he was a bit over a year I then weaned him and he went to cow's milk.
As for the nap, it does sound like he might be ready for one a day. It usually happens some time around 1. I would say if everything is "normal" (no illness or other changes) and he keeps it up for a week, then start trying to push him untill between 12:00 and 1:00 before putting him down.
Hope this helps. I know the milk refusal can be very stressful.