My baby boy turned 6 months last week and is breastfed and eats very well from a spoon about 4 time a day (fruits and veggies) but he absolutly will not take a bottle from me especially if its formula...how am I supposed to wean him if he wont let a bottle near him?
Ok so what do I do in the night time? he still wakes up 2-3 a night and wants to be fed. horrible me I gave him a bad habit and he sleeps with me and my husband for at least half the night every night.. I know he doesnt need to be fed in the night but he flips out
Is there a reason you are trying to wean him so early?? Sippy cups are better then bottles at any rate. Weaning from bottles is a pain in the rear anyhow!! I can say that my second son weaned himself at 10 months and I gave him pumped breast milk in a sippy cup from then until a year when we tried milk on him.
D. P.
Do you need to wean him, or are you just thinking ahead? The AMA and World Health Organization recommend that you not wean a baby until they're at least a year old- and suggest you breastfeed until they're 5.
Yes thats quite old, but at six months your baby needs to get MOST of his nutrition from your breastmilk.
Formula is harder on a babies system. I'm not knocking formula fed babies out there, it just is.
Keep breastfeeding momma, it will pass quickly and you'll gain nothing but amazing bonding and a healthy baby from it.
:)
Tons of people wean without their child taking a bottle. You should just nurse on demand and eventually, he'll nurse less and less and be old enough to take a cup. Now, if you're talking about weaning NOW at 6 months, I wouldn't know what to tell you. It's unnecessary to do so. Just keep nursing and if you are wanting to wean, offer a sippy cup or have someone else offer the bottle. But again, lots of people wean straight to a cup when their child is ready.
EDITING TO ADD FOR YOUR OTHER REQUEST:
He is still too young to be night weaned. He does need to eat at night. Six months is too young to stop that. Co sleeping is not a bad habit. It can be the best way to get sleep for a mom who is still nursing. You can lay down and nurse and sleep, too. If you are concerned about sleep, read The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. You'll learn what a good length of time is for sleep for his age, as well as ways to gently encourage more.
I am wondering why you are thinking about weaning so early. Babies need breast milk or formula until they are a year old (at least). You are already nursing, and it is free and the healthiest choice, so why quit so soon? You are already over the nursing hump- it is all easy from here.
Are you wanting to wean because of a job or to take a night off? For just a few hours save his solid food time until you are gone and leave the sitter with a bottle and a spoon, just in case.
To answer your original question- weaning. To do it as painless as possible, for both of you, you have to get him used to the bottle first- if you can pump breastmilk into it that would help with the transition, but if you can't (I never was able to pump) that is ok too. Find someone else to give him the bottle the first few times without you around. You will have to leave for a few hours, or else he is just going to cry until you give in and nurse him. Get him to drink one bottle (or at least out of the bottle) everyday for a several days and then offer it to him yourself. This might be a slow process, but your breastmilk doesn't dry up overnight anyways, so while you are weaning him you will be cutting down on your production also- less pain for both of you.
Good luck. And please know- there is nothing wrong with nursing past 6 months if you and your son are happy.
EDIT TO ADD OTHER QUESTION:
He does need to be fed at night time. Breast milk digests easily and quickly and so their hunger comes back frequently.
You are not alone- a lot of moms who breastfeed struggle with the same questions you are asking- "am I nursing too long?" "should they be sleeping more" and "should I have let him sleep with me." Let me tell you from experience that it ALL works out. Both of my sons co-slept, both of them kept me up at night, both made me wonder if I was doing the right thing. But in the end I know that I did the absolute best for them, and now- years later (4 and 8) they are happy, healthy, sleeping in their own beds (which the transition to was SO easy- we just skipped the crib entirely and when they were old enough to safely sleep in a big boy bed by themselves they were excited) and the struggles of early babyhood are a distant memory. You will eventually get sleep- there is no need to rush anything now.
Don't let anyone ever tell you that breastfeeding or cosleeping create a "bad habit." Both are healthy, both give your child security and emotional bonds. So snuggle that baby, nurse that baby, love him and relax. It is all good.
Why wean him? Eventually ALL babies (yes, ALL) will wean themselves.
It is brief, beautiful phase of mothering and breastfeeding is so MUCH more than simple nutrition!!
I would ditch the idea of a time frame for nursing. Simply cuddle him, love him and breastfeed him on demand. And someday he will wean himself from you, when he is ready and confident - but that is the key. Self weaning allows the child to let you know when they are ready.
Great job!
:)
I was a very mean mother! When I stopped nursing, I gave Lauren a bottle and no other options. On her first birthday I took the bottle away and gave her a sippy cup. Don't worry about his fussing because he wants to breatfeed. Who would blame him? But now is the time to teach him who's in charge! When he's hungry, he'll eat. Oh, yes, Lauren never had a "binky" either!!
Is there a reason you want to wean him? Breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for him at this time. Solid foods are just a supplement until he is at least a year old. As far as his not wanting formula...there is a huge difference in the flavor. Breastmilk is very sweet. Formula is not. Also, I know many breastfed babies who refuse a bottle of anything. Have you tried giving him breastmilk or water in a sippie cup? Sometimes it is easier for a baby to learn how to drink from a sippie cup if you remove the no-spill valve until he figures out how to suck from it. Remember that all babies do wean. Unless there is a reason or a time frame you have set, he will wean when he is ready. It is a very natural, smooth process. You have already started the weaning process by feeding your son from a spoon. As he grows and matures he will need to nurse less and less and one day he will just stop all together.
I have heard that if you are able to have someone else feed him for awhile it works a bit better for you and baby. Your son is so used to you nursing him, that anything different is scary for him. You could also try 1/2 breastmilk, and 1/2 formula in the bottle to get him somewhat used to the taste. Another thought is instead of holding him close like you normally would while giving him a bottle, try sitting on the floor with your son in a boppy. That way it's a little different for him, and he can't smell the milk on you. Good luck!
My daughter never would take a bottle either. I had to switch her to a free flowing cup when I weaned her. We took out the no-spill mechanism to make it free flowing. We mixed a little formula with cereal in it. Maybe have your husband or someone else introduce it to him the first few times. It does take a while for them to get the hang of it, but it does work and they adjust just fine.
Same experience for me...as my son ate more solids I introduced other liquids (juice and water) from a sippy cup when he wasn't in need of the breast milk. Eventually, when I introduced milk into his diet he just drank that from a cup. I probably nursed him 3-4 times per day from 6-11 months then cut down to morning and night the last month prior to weaning him. Hope this helps.
