HELP!! My Son Won't Drink from Anything but the Breast

My 11 month old would not take from a sippy or bottle for the longest time. I too started him with a regular cup and though much of the water dripped on his shirt rather than got in his mouth, this seemed to get him interested in a sippy cup after a week or so.
Other posters suggested that he won't starve himself when you are gone, I don't mean to make your decision harder but I have a friend who went by that philosophy and her daughter ended up being miserable and crying for the better part of an entire weekend.
Could you try something like frozen ice cubes, popsicles, or watermelon to get him extra hydration if he doesn't take water from a cup. I know sugary options are not ideal but it is just a thought. Good luck.

I might get a lot of negative feedback for this suggestion, but have you tried juice in the sippy? For my daughter we bought the Gerber sippys with the soft spout and a valve. I removed the valve and put a tiny bit of juice in the cup and then filled the rest with water. Once she figured out there was something tasty in the cup, she was all for it! It took her awhile to realize that she needed to suck and not chew, but she got it eventually. Now that she knows what she's suppose to do, we put the valve back in. My oldest would never drink out of any sippy that had a soft spout. She would just chew on it. She did much better with the Playtex cups. It's all a process of trial and error. I know it's frustrating though. I'm sure you've tried, but offer it to him at different times during the day. If you're offering it at mealtime and it's not working, try offering it in the middle of the afternoon. Or vice versa. He doesn't need water or anything to stay hydrated, he'll be fine with just breastmilk. Good luck! I know how frustrating it can be!

Babies don't do things on our schedule :-) My daughter never did drink froom sippy cups, you have to suck really hard on most of them to get anything out. At 14 months, she learned to drink from a regular glass, and hardly ever spilled.

Your son will change a lot from 8.5 months to 13 months, so I wouldn't stress out yet about what might be happening at 13 months.

I'll tell you what worked for us, but you may not choose to go this route.

I had to go back to work, and my son was not taking the bottle. So one morning, before I went back to work, I nursed my son, got ready, and left for the day. My husband had several full bottles in the refrigerator, and he was in charge of our son. I was not to come back until the child was sleeping and down for the night.

I had a great day, although a worried about my husband and son. I went to a movie, spent time with friends, spent quality time with my pump, checked out a few restaurants I'd been wanting to try, read, and went shopping. My husband, on the other hand, had a really rough day. Our son cried a lot. He really wanted mommy. But with me out of the house, he did not have a choice between breast or bottle. He only had a choice between eating and not eating.

It was a long day for my husband, but by the end of it, my son was actively seeking out the bottle. He was really happy to have the breast again, but he no longer treated the bottle as if it was poison.

FYI... we used Soothie bottles, and that really helped. We had tried a few other kinds, but the Soothies were the ones that seemed to work the best for us. They may also be called "First Years". Check the nipple flow, too, to make sure he is getting enough with each suck.

Also, when my son drank from the bottle, we would not heat up the breastmilk. He seemed to like that better. He would just get angry when there was warm breastmilk coming from something other than the breast.

Well, for one, there is no reason you need to wean him simply because you'll be away for a few days. I'm sure he would have no problem picking up where he left off when you return. You may need to pump while you are gone for your comfort but it sounds like you are already familiar with the pump so that shouldn't be a problem.

To the hydration fear as long as he is nursing and taking in breastmilk from you regularly he will stay plenty hydrated. He doesn't "need" water or anything else as long as he's nursing.

Can you have some one else offer him the sippy/bottle/straw cup? If you are not there and he doesn't have any access to the breast he will probably be more likely to take the cup if he is hungry/thirsty. The same goes for when you leave for the wedding. He will not starve himself and will eventually take what ever is offered to him by his care giver.

My daughter was like that. She never drank from a bottle, she went from BF to drinking from a cup. Have you tried giving your son sips from a regular cup or regular straw? I agree with Sue W. those "sippy cups" are hard to drink from and she's right about the fact that your son will change a lot in a few months. Oh and he might drink without any problem from your mom. He knows where you keep the boobies so you trying to give him anything else might not go over so well. Maybe leave the room and let hubbie try giving him a cup of milk when he's hungry. It is a good idea to make sure he tolerates it well before you go away to the wedding.

It seems like he'd drink before he'd go thristy or hungry...