How to Wean Your Baby from Breast to Bottle.

My son refused to take a bottle, so I transitioned him using a sippy cup. I got some of the ones with two handles. It was great. We never used a bottle, so no weaning from the bottle. I also found some small cups that weren't sippy cups that I had him practice drinking water. He learned how to drink out of a straw when he was about a year old. He is almost three now and he is a very tidy drinker and almost never spills.

To start out, you should leave the house (seriously!), and have your husband or another caregiver your daughter recognizes give her a bottle of pumped breastmilk. It's even better if your daugther can watch you leave: make a big deal of saying goodbye, giving her a hug, and let her see you get in the car and drive away. If she's hungry, she'll understand that you're not an option, so she'll need to take the bottle (although my daugther first tried to latch on to my husband's nipple! It was quite a surprise for both of them!). Gradually, you can then get her used to formula (instead of breastmilk) in a bottle from another person, and finally, once she's used to it, she'll take one from you. I still breastfeed my 10-mo-old once a day, but otherwise she gets formula from a bottle. When she's hungry and with me, she'll still lunge for my breast first, but if I then give her a bottle, she'll take it.

Good luck! Weaning is tough both logistically and emotionally on you and your daughter, but you need to do what's best for both of you!

Call your baby's dr. and talk to the nurse - I think they say to start out by replacing the least interested feeding and replace it with a bottle. I think it took me a few weeks to get my son to take a bottle - Eventually she'll take the bottle, and if she's hungry she's going to eat. You might want to pump milk to put in a bottle for her at first - then add in the formula gradually. If you put a few drops of breastmilk on her lips, she'll recognize the taste and be more likely to take the bottle. Good luck!

At 4 mo my son REFUSED to take the sippy cup, so I started him on bottles (he was breastfed to 12 mo). I tried EVERY bottle I could find. I found 2 that he loved. The Gerber Breastflow is made most like a real nipple, but I have to take the blue insert out of the nipple. My son, now 18 mo, still prefers that bottle over anything. Another good one was by Avent, I believe. I don't remember what it's called, but the end of the nipple has TONS of holes instead of the one. Good luck!!. It was a long process.
btw- I found both at Babies R Us. He latched on almost immediately to both and I didn't have to have hubby feed him or let him cry or anything. Once we found the right one, it was a pretty easy transition.

I am afraid this will not be helpful but it may not be possible. Is this little girl a strong willed child? My daughter was so strong willed I finally gave up. Even my peditrician said to just feed her until she weans. For her it was the nipples on the bottle, they weren't Moma. I read Dr. Dobson's "A Strong Willed Child" and decided that it wasn't worth it.

patience please! you have to let her cry, some babies do not accept change easily, and it only leads to a tired and frustated mommy that cannot make rational decisions for her well-being and sanity. just keep trying different bottles, maby pumping breast milk and mixing 1/2 with formula to get her used to change. the avent nipples and bottles worked best with my children as they most mimick the nipple shape and feel.

I breast fed my daughter for 8 months and had to switch to formula. I tried different nipples. She finally latched on to one particular brand. (almost 4 years ago so not sure of brand) Just keep trying different things.
Hope this helped.

A friend of mine had this problem and there is a special breast shaped bottle you might do a search for I am not sure what it is called but it worked miracles for her and her baby.

Avent makes a sippy cup top that goes in their bottles. It is the only thing my children would take other than the breast until they were able to drink from a plain glass.

Hi T.!

I too am a SAHM. I have a 2 year old boy and a 5 month old baby girl. I have just figured her out as far as a bottle goes. I wanted her to take a bottle just in case something happened to me or just so I could have some Mommy time. Every Mommy needs it. So anyways, I tried every bottle and every nipple and finally figured out it was the speed at which the milk came out of the nipple. You may try different bottles and different nipples (slow/fast, regular/orthodontic), but you may also try to put breastmilk in the bottle first, since that is what the baby is used to.

My baby girl is 5 months old now and likes to look around more. I think that helps and the fact that the milk was not coming out fast enough for her was her biggest problem. Now she takes one like she had always been taking one.

Hope this helps!

My nephew was breast fed, but when his mom had to pump and store it, he would NOT take it from the bottle! He started drinking from cups when he was about 4 months old. (she is a school teacher, and had to go back to school at the end of the summer after he was born in early May.)

He's 5 now, about to turn 6, and built like a linebacker!!

Best of Luck, and congratulations!