Help - 1 yr old won't take bottle or sippy!

[Vegan Princess]

Please offer me some advice! My DD will be 1 next week. I have low supply and have always supplemented. I used a combo of bottles and lactaid until a couple months ago when DD started refusing bottles. So I started using the lactaid at every feed. She would still take the occasional bottle up until about 3-4 weeks ago...now she won't have anything to do with them. She doesn't really drink from a sippy. She knows how but usually pushes it away. She can drink from a cup and swallows some and dribbles a lot...but again she mostly pushes it away. When she does drink it is only a couple sips. She just wants the boob. All. The. Time!

I would really like to be able to go out and have some time to myself. DH woke me up last weekend on my day to sleep in so DD could nurse. I don't feel like this should be happening at 1 yr old. I never imagined I'd have this problem. DD used to take a bottle 6x/day! I would love to maybe cut down my nursing a bit (right now it is very very frequent, she is signing for it alllll the time)...but I don't know how this will be possible if she won't drink from a sippy or cup anything more than a sip here or there? I'd also like to try to get pregnant again in 3-4 months but don't feel like I should until DD isn't as dependant on nursing. Please help! Thanks in advance.

Cindy

[MonkeysRUs]

You could try a straw cup. Many breastfed babies prefer a straw to a sippy cup. As for the increased nursing, I know it's hard, but try to be patient. Is your little one learning anything new at the moment like starting to walk? Increased nursing usually coincides with periods of growth or development of new skills.

[Vegan Princess]

She's cruising right now so she is gearing up to walk but probably has another few weeks until she does. Someone else mentioned to me that it might be her way of learning to be independant but still being connected to momma. I found that reassuring...in that the frequency might decrease at some point. Plus it's a nice thought! :-)

I had a straw sippy that she didn't care much for. I bought a different brand one today that is easier...you just suck. The last one you had to bite and suck. She found it novel when I first gave it to her but now she is pushing it away too. I'm going to keep trying. Ugh!

Cindy

[EmilyG]

I'm sure it's just a phase, I'd give her a couple weeks of being right there whenever she needs you and wants to nurse, so she can be reassured that you'll be there for her. I bet once she's confident she doesn't have to worry about where food and mommy are when she's off playing, she'll let up on her frequency!