10 month old and pg and she wont take bottle or cup.

[Kelizondo]

I recently just posted on my obgyn telling me to stop nursing while pregnant. I have decided to continue nursing but wean her slowly off within the next two - three months. However, my baby girl refuses to drink from a bottle or sippy cup. i need advice on how to get her to. She is my first so i do not have any experience with this. She SOMETIMES drinks an ounce or two from a bottle of diluted juice, but that is maybe every other day. HELP

[Llyra]

That's a tough one. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much you can do except keep trying, if you really feel it's time to wean. My DS was like that-- he refused liquids from any source other than me, until around 16 months old. He would take tiny sips of water from an open cup, but not much. If he had to get his milk that way, there's no way he would have gotten enough to grow and thrive optimally.

You might try having somebody besides you offer the bottle. Sometimes they'll take it better if they think you're not available, so try leaving the house entirely for an hour or two, and then let whoever's caring for baby offer the bottle. You might also try different styles of nipple, or different styles of cup. For us, what finally did it was that he got old enough to take notice of what his twin was doing, and started imitating her-- and she took the bottle or cup readily.

Some babies will prefer if you hold them in a nursing position, while they drink from cup or bottle. Others need a totally different position-- like lying propped on a pillow facing you, so you can make eye contact.

Good luck! It can be tough to overcome that resistance.

[Lucy Alden]

BTDT.  My DS was 6 months old when I got pregnant with DS2.  My milk dried up when he was 10 months.  He would not take a bottle.  His percentile dropped from 50th to 10th in a matter of 2 months.  He was eating a ton of solids with lots of butter, oil and cream mixed in to up the calories.  I think the hardest part for him was that he could not figure out how to latch onto the bottle.  He would chew on the nipple and get a few teaspoons of goats milk (that's what our naturopath recommended) but that's it.  After about 2 months he finally figured out how to latch.  I almost cried I was so relieved.  Here's my recommendation, try several bottles to find the one that works for your LO.  Breastfed babies seem to do best with ones that have a wide base on the bottom part of the bottle.  Try different positions including letting her hold it on her own.  Have your DH or a friend try to bottle feed her (often mommy=nursing not bottle).  Offer her a bottle regularly even if she doesn't seem to want it of know how to use it.  She will figure it out eventually.  Even though my DS used a bottle for milk he nursed through my entire pregnancy for comfort and closeness.  You should have seen his face when my milk finally came in after DS2!  Good luck mama.  Just keep trying, she will eventually figure it out.

As a side note, once my son figured out how to use the bottle his percentile jumped back up to the 50th.  He also nursed until just after his 3rd birthday.

[annettemarie]

I'm going to move this to Life with a Babe since it's more about getting her to use the cup or bottle. Good luck!

[Knitting Mama]

You probably talk about this in your other thread that you mentioned, but what is the reason why your OB says you need to wean? I know a lot of moms who go through pregnancy and keep nursing the whole time, and tandem nurse once the newb is out.

[Kelizondo]

Ladies, thanks for your advice. I also, forgot to mention she co-sleeps with my husband and I and is a night nurser. This last week has been tough she is nursing 4-6 times a night. I am not getting the sleep i need. I just hope and pray something gives here.

Kim and baby Allyson

[Kelizondo]

Hi, it was my first prenatal visit and she just said all of the nutrients need to go to the new baby and if I continue nursing the nutrients will not go where they need to. I am a first time mom and I was so confused to hear this I called my bf who was a breastfed for 6 years and she informed me about this website. I am grateful for her since I had never visited mothering.com. My next visit to the ob is in one month, and I know my baby will not be weaned seeing she won't even drink from a bottle or cup. She did drink from a bottle for about 4 months and recently she has switched backed to nursing only. I will then have to have a talk with my ob and let her know that for now I will continue to nurse. If she does not agree with me I will look for another ob....  

[Knitting Mama]

I honestly don't think that is true, or at least it's not true for everyone, since I know so many people who have continued to nurse all through their subsequent pregnancies. Now, some women can't-- their supplies dry up, or it becomes excruciatingly painful-- but if you can, I say stick with it. That's just my opinion though!

[Carita]

wow...  idk if you have special circumstances that put you at risk for weaning, but if you don't, you shouldn't have to wean.  i listened to my  body and had to cut back on the length of nursing sessions, but nursed 8-10x/day when i got pregnant and didn't fully wean til 8 months (and by then DS was 2.5).

if you do need to wean for history of miscarraige or ptl, i might try a straw cup?

[Pepper44]

You can continue nursing through your pregnancy.  Scary how doctors can be so misinformed! 

I nursed my daughter during pregnancy, and she is still nursing along with my 8 month old baby.  When my milk dried up she still wanted to nurse some, it was important to her.  Nursing them together now is so sweet, they hold hands and my older daughter says it's her favorite time of day when they nurse together before bed.

The book Adventures in Tandem Nursing has so much great info, you should get a copy!  It answered every single one of my questions about nursing during pregnancy.  It also was very reassuring, especially when it talked about feelings you have towards older siblings once your new baby comes.  Love this book so much.

http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Tandem-Nursing-Breastfeeding-Pregnancy/dp/0912500972

[elisheva]

Just adding my experience - I've nursed through 2+ pregnancies (am well into my 3rd!). Each time my milk dried up around 13 weeks but my nurslings don't care - they still want the comfort and each one has nursed all the way to the renewal of the milk after the babe was born. If you're intent on following your OB's advice, it might be worth it to ask her where she got her info. AFAIK, OBs have very little training in breastfeeding. Try www.kellymom.com also for more info.

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by elisheva 

Just adding my experience - I've nursed through 2+ pregnancies (am well into my 3rd!). Each time my milk dried up around 13 weeks but my nurslings don't care - they still want the comfort and each one has nursed all the way to the renewal of the milk after the babe was born. If you're intent on following your OB's advice, it might be worth it to ask her where she got her info. AFAIK, OBs have very little training in breastfeeding. Try www.kellymom.com also for more info.

To add to this, if your milk dries up but your baby wants to keep nursing anyway, you can try using an SNS. That is what I use-- I have a low supply and my girl gets donated milk in the SNS. You run the small tube alongside your nipple so that when she latches on, she gets both your nipple and the tube. That way your baby could still nurse and actually get milk.

[LiLStar]

Originally Posted by Kelizondo 

Ladies, thanks for your advice. I also, forgot to mention she co-sleeps with my husband and I and is a night nurser. This last week has been tough she is nursing 4-6 times a night. I am not getting the sleep i need. I just hope and pray something gives here.

Kim and baby Allyson

I nightweaned in pregnancy for this reason! It was really rough at night, since..lets just say needing to pee a couple times a night is always my first symptom. So, she'd wake to nurse and *would not let go* and I was just like, uuugghhh I need to go SO BAD! So I'd finally get her to sleep, get up, pee, then she'd wake again when I got back into bed, then nurse for a little more, and by the time she's done I'm so awake I can't fall back asleep easier.. and before I even manage to fall back asleep.. she's up AGAIN! Repeat that process at least twice and that was a typical night :/ We put a mattress on the floor, dh was in charge of night time comforting, and after 3 rough nights, she accepted that the all you can drink milk bar.. has established some business hours. 

[mckittre]

Like others have said - nursing while pregnant is entirely up to you - your unborn baby will be fine either way.  My son nursed through pregnancy, though it was somewhat uncomfortable in the middle when the milk dried up and colostrum hadn't come in yet.  If he had been relying on that for significant nutrition at that point, he would have needed supplementing.  So continuing to work to get her to take a bottle or cup is probably a good idea, whatever you decide.  And I just delivered a nearly 10lb baby, who apparently suffered not at all in the nutrition department from her older brother's nursing.

[Zangua]

You don't need to wean her entirely, especially at night. just make sure YOU are eating really well and drinking a lot of fluids.

Also, my 9 month old wouldn't take a bottle or sippy cup either (and I am a midwife and have to be away for long stretches sometimes, so it was a real problem). We tried about every bottle/cup on the market until we found one she would take: Think Baby sippy cup. It's a sippy cup with a soft nipple, like a bottle. For some reason, she will take this.

http://www.amazon.com/Thinkbaby-Spill-Sippy-Orange-Natural/dp/B003LPUPVU

Your baby may not take this one, but there will be SOMETHING she will take if you keep on trying.

[Adaline'sMama]

I agree with all the PP about not needing to wean.  I just wanted to chime in and add that my 9.5 mo doesnt take a cup or a bottle. My DH is home pretty much all the time now that its too cold for him to work, and he has been watching her more often. She is drinking water from an open cup. We dont use formula, but sometimes he will give her a little rice milk (its what I drink, so its in the fridge) or keifer with water and mashed fruit (we call them "baby smoothies") if he feels like she might be needing a little more. We are starting to have a little luck with the sippy, but you have to coat the outside of the part she drinks out of with the stuff inside to get her to drink from it. Unless she is really  hungry, she gets bored pretty quickly. Hopefully you wont have to give up nursing! Congrats on your pregnancy!