starting bottle feeding with 8 month old?

[katemum]

Hi mamas,

I NEED to get out for an evening with DH and my parents have generously (and perhaps naively!) offered to babysit 2.5 yo DD and 8 mo DS. If I could get DS to take a bottle of expressed milk, I would be much less uneasy about leaving him for more than 2 hours in the evening...

I've tried giving him a bottle myself, and so has DH (without me around), but we have not had any success, he just chews on the nipple. If anyone has any suggestions, I (and my marriage!) would be most grateful. If need be, we'll keep our trip short and go somewhere local, but it would be nice to get a bit farther away if at all possible. I have been able to leave DS with other caregivers, he's a contented little guy, but never for more than that darn 2 hour window.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Megan73]

An eight-month-old doesn't need a bottle and mine would never have taken one.
I'd just start cup learning with the cup of your choice – traditional sippy, straw cup, open cup – with a little EBM or water in a low-pressure way.

[Bookworm?]

I second the cup. An eight mo old doesn't need a bottle. Start working with a cup with some ebm or water in it. Lidded cup without the valve or open cup might work best. Can you nurse him before you go and caregiver offer solids while you are gone if he won't take a cup? Or maybe cup and solids to make sure he's full. Some babies just want mom back even if they aren't really hungry. My friends 12 mo old does this when I watch him. He's fine for about 1.5 hours, then starts getting cranky, he'll take some solids but still is not real content. He just wants his mom. He doesn't nurse that often when they are together. Good luck.

[lifeguard]

At 8 months ds could go longer without bm when I wasn't around me then when I was. In fact he's still like that!

I'd try the cup as well.