# How to wean when baby won't take a bottle or sippy cup



## Owachi (Jan 15, 2007)

I would like my twins weaned at 1 yr....the dr says they need to eat more food and would start sleeping better if they weren't nursing anymore.....plus I think it's time. But my dd won't take a sippy cup or bottle (she never has) and my ds who will take a bottle won't have anything to do with whole milk. If I add one drop to 6 oz of breastmilk, he won't take it....he has always been picky with tastes...I have given them sippy cups every day for two months and they still won't take it, I've tried every type.....any suggestions?


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## mkmama (Jul 9, 2006)

I think you'll have to wait until they are ready and excited to try new things. We are about 1 year as well, and I am just going to keep on nursing DS until he wants to take some other container.

On a happy note, as he wouldn't take any Expressed BM from any container, i had success of 3 ounces with the NUK soft nipple tonight, and that is a huge acheivement. first time he's taken milk other than the breast. Wahoo! So you could try that?

Just wait until your twins are ready. I came to the realization that:
1. i refuse to fight
2. he will never depend on me again like this, its such a short time of his life, and I am happy i can nurse him.
3. if he is happy to nurse, why take that away from him? They can still eat plenty and nurse too.

HTH!


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## mamak05 (Mar 20, 2006)

Congrats on nursing twins to this point!

If you are ready to end the nursing relationship that is one thing, but it doesn't garuntee that your babes will be sleeping better - it just means they might not be nursing back to sleep at night when they do wake up!

My DD, 18 months, is a night waker when the temp isn't right, when her teeth are bothering her, when she hears a strange noise, when she's learning something new during the day, so basically every night!

Check out the www.kellymom.com site - maybe there will be some great tips or info there for you.

Any chance they could be allergic to dairy? Lots of times kids instinctively refuse.

Have you considered formula instead of whole milk? Although no where near as good as BM (in my opinion







) it would be more suited for your developing children. Maybe that would help with the taste? You could also make your own - I've never tried it though. http://www.westonaprice.org/children/recipes.html

Will they drink anything from a cup? Have you tried a regular child size glass/cup (not sippy)?


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## afishwithabike (Jun 8, 2005)

Is there something health wise that is making you want to wean early?
Weaning isn't necessary and ANY Dr will tell you that line of bull because they aren't supportive of breastfeeding past a year. I say if they don't take anything else just breastfeed.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Your dr. is uneducated on breastfeeding. Humans need to nurse for a minimum of two years.

Hang in there!

-Angela


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## happyus3 (Aug 20, 2006)

I agree with "if baby won't take anything else, just breastfeed",

but if for whatever reason that isn't possible, I'll let you know, I weaned my son at 10 months (my first, and I was being pressured to stop nursing, he bit me and I weaned, very regretably) he didn't take a bottle at all,ever, but the next day, he was so hungry that he accepted the bottle and was on it from then on. I really wish I would have had somebody to say to ignore all of the comments, but I had never known anyone who breastfed, and I was young. I am happy to report that my next nursed until 26 months and my current breastfeeder is still going strong at 19 months. Good luck with your decision, it's a tough one.

Also, it didn't help him to sleep any better, and his eating didn't improve - infact, I had to start purchasing formula (both formula and then Pediasure) because the doctor was conserned that he was not getting enough nurtients! And I also had to begin making bottles in the middle of the night, something I never had to do nursing.


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## krisw (Jun 8, 2006)

Your doctor is wrong. Breastmilk is a more complete source of nutrition and calories than any "real food". There is no medical reason to stop nursing just because a baby turns 1. Solids will not help babies sleep better. Instead of dropping nursing, I would drop the doctor, and let the babies take it at their own pace.


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## anyuka (Aug 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krisw* 
Your doctor is wrong. Breastmilk is a more complete source of nutrition and calories than any "real food". There is no medical reason to stop nursing just because a baby turns 1. Solids will not help babies sleep better. Instead of dropping nursing, I would drop the doctor, and let the babies take it at their own pace.









:

&








to nursing twins for a year!! Wow....keep up the great work!


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## ndunn (Mar 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *krisw* 
Your doctor is wrong. Breastmilk is a more complete source of nutrition and calories than any "real food". There is no medical reason to stop nursing just because a baby turns 1. Solids will not help babies sleep better. Instead of dropping nursing, I would drop the doctor, and let the babies take it at their own pace.

Yes, your babies aren't ready to wean yet. Nursing is the best thing you could be doing for them - keep it up!


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## Owachi (Jan 15, 2007)

Thanks. I am ready to wean because I can't leave my twins for more than 3 hrs or they will be hungry, because I want to eat Mexican food, and would like dh to be able to feed them, but then I'm not ready because nursing them is the only way to comfort them when they are teething and in pain. There is also pressure from family and friends, some say to go cold turkey then they will have to take something....but I said not my twins, they are very stubborn. I knew it would take a while to wean my dd. But I can't wean one earlier than the other because my ds would see me feeding his sis and he would be sad. My goal is to aim for 16 months now. I want freedom but I also like being able to make them feel better when nobody else can. They are the sweetest little kids, even when they don't sleep.


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## mama2mygirl (Dec 14, 2005)

Congrats on nursing for a year! If YOU really want to wean, I'd contact LLL. They have good, slow weaning advice.
I think your doctor is wrong. The WHO recommends at least two years. But if you are ready to stop, there is a gentle way to wean.


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## mama_b (Dec 14, 2004)

Just curious as to why you can't eat mexican food. Does it bother the babies?


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Why can't you eat mexican food?

Really, it's clear from what you describe that they still *need* to nurse.

Hang in there awhile longer!

-Angela


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## Daisie125 (Oct 26, 2005)

Yeah, not understanding the mexican food thing. I eat it all the time.

You need a new doc, for sure.


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Owachi* 
Thanks. I am ready to wean because I can't leave my twins for more than 3 hrs or they will be hungry, because I want to eat Mexican food, and would like dh to be able to feed them, but then I'm not ready because nursing them is the only way to comfort them when they are teething and in pain. There is also pressure from family and friends, some say to go cold turkey then they will have to take something....but I said not my twins, they are very stubborn. I knew it would take a while to wean my dd. But I can't wean one earlier than the other because my ds would see me feeding his sis and he would be sad. My goal is to aim for 16 months now. I want freedom but I also like being able to make them feel better when nobody else can. They are the sweetest little kids, even when they don't sleep.

You can leave the twins for more than 3 hours without completely weaning them. For that, you need to introduce new foods/drinks into their diets, not take away breastmilk. There's no reason they can't eat something else while you're gone for the day (or evening) and then resume nursing when you return home.

Why on earth can't you eat Mexican food while nursing? Some newborns are sensitive to spicy foods in mama's diet, but certainly not all- and very few toddlers have a problem with it.

Breastfeeding doesn't have to be "all or nothing." You can cut back on the number of feedings per day without completely weaning. You can get more freedom without completely weaning. It's perfectly appropriate to set limits on a nursing toddler, whether you're looking to wean soon or not.


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## intorainbowz (Aug 16, 2006)

As for the Mexican food... what do you think nursing mamma's in Mexico eat?

Unless you have a known allergy, eat what you want. I do. So far the only thing that has bugged DD is when I ate a TON of curry.

I think the PP have said some great things.


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

I agree with the others, it's just too soon to wean them.


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## Momtwice (Nov 21, 2001)

I'm sorry you are being pressured by others. It's not easy to draw a line and tell other people to back off, is it. There are pages of threads here on the subject of dealing with relatives who are critical of parenting decisions!

I disagree with both of these claims that your doctor made about weaning. Below are links with references that explain why.

As for sleep, only about half of children at one year sleep through the night (see the second link.)

Quote:

the dr says

1.they need to eat more food and

2.would start sleeping better if they weren't nursing anymore.....

1. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextende...html#nutrition

2. http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sl...epstudies.html


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## BlueBella (Oct 14, 2006)

I agree with the pps - unless _you_ strongly wish to stop nursing, there is no reason to wean completely. You could offer other foods if you want to leave them with your dh or someone else for a while. Also, you could offer formula, (or possibly goats milk?) if they don't like cow's milk. I would think that weaning cold turkey would be unpleasant for both you and the twins. (You would be very uncomfortable and risk a breast infection.) And as far as the spicy foods go, have your twins had a bad reaction? Most babies don't care, so if you haven't tried you might want to experiment. I think that finding alternatives that allow you to nurse only as much as you want (even if it's only once or twice a day) would give you much more freedom in the long run. Good luck!


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## daniedb (Aug 8, 2004)

It's certainly okay to put some limits on BFing now that they're a year! If you would like to start being gone longer than 3 hours at a time, I can totally understand and respect that. Beginning at 12 months, following Henry's lead, we started to fall into a routine of nursing about 2x per day, sometime more if he were cranky or teething, etc., we would nurse when he woke up and then at bedtime.

It sounds like you would like to continue to breastfeed them but that you're feeling stretched thin, and I think that it's a great idea to cut back on their nursing times but still set aside some special nursing times with them to keep up the relationship so that you don't regret weaning when you're ambivalent about it.

Congratulations on nursing twins so long, I really admire that!


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