I've been breastfeeding my 7 month old daughter since day one. I may give her one bottle of breastmilk and one bottle of juice everyday. But these past two weeks she has been pushing the bottle away. What's going on? I also wanted to try formula because Im returning to work. How should I make this transition?
Thank you for the advice! I will try the sippy cup and eliminate the juice. I started giving her juice about a month ago because I knew the summer was approaching and sometimes milk spoils on their stomachs, especially when they must go out in the heat.
C.<
I had the same problem many years ago. My mom recommended Carnation milk, Karo syrup and water as a formula which she said is much closer in taste and consistency to breast milk than today's formulas. It worked like a charm; then I called my pediatrician who told me the exact amounts of each to mix. Hope this helps.
Why not just move to a sippy cup and see if she won't take it from that?
My youngest never would take a bottle. I used a medicine cup and then a sippy cup.
Have you been giving her the bottle? My lactation consultant said that sometimes the baby won't take a bottle from a nursing mother and you need to have someone else introduce it.
M.
Just in response to the previous post...
According to my children's pediatrician, no Karo syrup in a baby's first year of life! Taken from the Mayo Clinic website:
"In the past, concern has been raised about whether corn syrup is a source of bacterial spores that produce Clostridium botulinum bacteria. These bacteria are typically harmless to older children and adults. But when ingested by an infant, these bacteria make a toxin that can cause infant botulism."
She may be teething. Maybe try cold teethers first and make sure she's hungry before giving her the bottle. Good luck.
Try a sippy cup. All of my kids went to a sippy cup at about that age.
My 7.5 month old did that a couple weeks ago. It was right around the time he started getting his first 2 teeth. Is your daughter teething? After a week or so, my husband was able to feed him a bottle again. (I personally haven't tried giving a bottle since.)
My 20 month old started drinking out of a straw sippy cup w/either breast milk, formula, or water when she was 7 months. I wouldn't force her w/the bottle. Just go straight to the sippy cup
first stop giving her juice at all, this is just a terrible thing to give and totally a waste of calories and not needed. Please stop. Also it makes teh association with the bottle something sweet and you don't want that.
Second, just keep up offering the bottle. I have found in my daycare kids that around the 7th month almost all of them go through a phase of refusing the bottle for a few days. This seems to be tied to new teeth or a new skill emerging.
I'm glad you have decided to stop giving her juice (unless you have a juicer & make fresh squeezed juice, store bought juice is just filled with sugar). For the summer give her water instead. Good luck with the sippy cups. They worked for my kids; mine would never take a bottle either. My kids also loved drinking from straws.
she really doesnt need to be drinking juice at all, but sticking to the question why dont you just give her a sippy cup or a regular cup?
To transition to formula, it is easiest if you gradually mix formula in with breast milk. so start 100% breast milk, then 75% breastmilk/25% formula..... I wouldn't give her any juice. She only needs milk (breast or formula) for the first year. Even after that, there is very little nutrition in juice and so most docs advise against giving your child any. After age one, they can move to whole milk and some water. Then at age two they can move to reduced fat and again water rather than juice. It is better to give a child fruits which are more nutritious than juice. Good luck on the transition.
Hmm. Try a sippy cup or a cup with a straw instead of a bottle.
In terms of formula, ouch you're already trying to introduce one new thing, a bottle... I wouldnt try 2 new things. If I were you I'd just pump. My 7m old just started solids and between the cherios, carrot mush, and rice cereal, I only need to pump one or 2 bottles a day. It isn't bad.
Good luck!
