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weaning a baby who refuses the bottle or the sippy cup.


My ten month old baby absolutely refuses the bottle or the sippy cup, even with my breast milk pumped. She does take water from a sippy cup, but not milk. I would like to wean her in two months, when she turns one. On rare occasions, she has taken one or two ounces of formula. She refuses the bottle or the sippy cup from every body. She would even go hungry for hours and still refuses the bottle. Any suggestions?

Posted: 08/21/2007 by Nickicanada

Mom Answers

You might want to try useing a cup with a straw. My son will drink from a straw but not a bottle. My older son at nine months just quit nursing one day, he wanted none of it. He had never taken a bottle so I got very nervous that he would get dehydrated. It took about a day and a half before he started to take formula out of a sippy cup. He did fine after that and at one year I switched him to whole milk. I know how hard it is my seven month old won't take a bottle either, and I feel straped to him. I can only get out of the house with out him for a few hours at a time. Its hard but you learn to manage.
posted 12/30/2007 by a BabyCenter Member
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I'm going through the same thing with my 11 3/4 month old. She was drinking about 8-9 oz of breast milk a day, plus some water - also eating solid foods. Two weeks ago she started rejecting the bottle completely. Won't drink ANYTHING. I think it's teeth and also might be because we spent so much time together over the Christmas/New Year holiday. The result is that she wants to nurse all night. I figure I'll give her another week or two to see if it is the teething. Then, I'll have to stop feeding her at night to see if I can get her to drink during the day. That's the only plan I can come up with. Timing is bad because I want to start weaning too... Glad to hear I'm not the only one worried about their kid not drinking enough. The silver lining is that she has plenty of wet diapers and has not been constipated so she's getting enough liquid from somewhere.
posted 01/14/2008 by Debbie_C_Hayes
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I am also relieved to find more of you out there. Though, I don't think we have an answer yet? My son is 11.5 months, and has never taken to the bottle. (6 diferent kinds, 4 different people, everything!) He eats tons of solids, but he will only drink a few sips from a sippy cup or a real cup. I am desperate! I only breast feed him before naps and bed now, but he still wakes up 2x a night to eat. And here's the worst part. I actually don't mind breast feeding him this little (except I'm worried about him not getting enough since his pee diapers are fewer and fewer) but his top teeth are coming in and it is TERRIBLY painful now for me to feed him. It's not biting- it's a constant scraping as he eats. I am raw. So I need to stop- but I am afraid he won't get enough fluids- and none of us will ever sleep. Plus, I have a 3 year old to take care of- so lack of sleep is a real issue. I don't know if anyone has a solution, but I am all ears! I'm desperate to wean him and get enough milk!- K
posted 10/18/2008 by a BabyCenter Member
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I just went through this, so I want to let anyone who is struggling right now to know that the baby will eventually give in and take the cup. My twins are 14months old. My goal was to nurse them a full took one month for one of the girls to take the took two months for the other. I gradually decreased feedings until we were down to one a day....then I went away for the weekend and left them with grandma. By the following week they were both drinking from the cup and never looked back! Don't give up hope! Oh...and we tried several was the colorful one that worked a playtex
posted 10/04/2009 by lenasabien
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I wish I knew the answer to this. I'm going through the same thing with my one year old and it's a struggle to get her to drink an ounce or two of juice/water a day. I took out the non spill parts of the sippy cups to make it so more juice spills into her mouth and pierced holes in other disposable cup lids. That helps some, but now, she always takes one sip and pulls her head away to avoid getting overflow. But the regular sippy cups she refuses completely. My only hope is that her poersonality is one where she resists everything (crawling, rolling) until all of a sudden one day she'll just do it like a pro. I hope that will happen with the sippy. She also likes real cups sometimes.
posted 09/02/2007 by estheremma
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My 7 month old is also on strike! He refuses to take a bottle. I've tried everything, every nipple, every bottle, everyone I know has offered him a bottle. I had to quit my job! I am hoping that with time and patience he will adapt to a sippy cup. I am about nursed out!
posted 01/06/2008 by a BabyCenter Member
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My 9 month old breastfed baby also refuses bottles and sippies during the day at day care. To help with the dehydration and hard poops, I give her Popsicles - which she loves and holds on her own. I like the slow melt mini pops from the grocery store or sometimes make my own with juice. She also likes ice chips. Hope this helps.
posted 06/05/2010 by JSHM
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Oh thank heavens I am not the only parent going through this. I totally feel your stress because my nine month old is doing this right now!
posted 09/02/2007 by BabyRobb
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I am having the same issue with my almost 10.5 month old. He will only take a few sips of water from a sippy & I want to wean him soon. My Dr. told me that I could probably start giving him whole milk when he's 11 months old if he won't take formula. She also told me he may boycott any liquid for a couple of days once I stop breastfeeding but will eventually take it. Has anyone else found this to be true?
posted 04/12/2009 by tararmac
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I have been going through this with my 10 month old daughter for three months. She has never been interested in taking a bottle, and I have tried all of them on the market. My paediatrician indicated that as long as she is drinking 16oz of breast milk or formula that is suffucient with the intake of solid food as well. He also recommended that after nursing, a baby should not be given a bottle, but rather weaned to a sippy cup. He said that this is a better way to transition to self feeding. I have found that the Playtex sippy cups, with the double handle work the best. I too have all the other cups on the market. Weaning is by far one of the most difficult things that I have encounterd so far. I have a 3.5 year old son, who was the complete opposite of my daughter. I hope that this helps.
posted 07/28/2009 by a BabyCenter Member
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