Need Suggestions on How to Get BF 9 Month Old to Take Formula

Hi S. -
My pediatrician suggested gradual taste introduction of formula, and it worked like a charm. For the first few days, I made a bottle of 2/3 breastmilk and 1/3 formula (which my daughter sucked down without question). Then I gradually increased the amount of formula until I was not supplementing at all with breast milk. Since your daughter doesn't take bottles, you can just mix the formula in the sippy cup first and then add pumped breast milk. Of course, you will need a pump to be able to try this. Manual pumps are pretty inexpensive if you don't already have one.

The other option is to continue nursing her until a year and then move to regular or soy milk (if her allergies will permit it). My daughter took regular milk fine as long as I warmed it first.

Well, hope this helped...
A.

S.,
My son wanted nothing to do w/ bottle or formula by 11 months. He was eating tons of food tho. We just went to milk at that point. I would double check w/ your Pedi about what they recommend as far as doing that IF she weans herself- and what type of milk she wants her try- Rice Milk maybe????

D.

Introducing formula at this stage WILL be your first step towards weaning. If I were you, I'd continue nursing and if and only when your dd does start weaning, then worry about introducing formula. It's highly doubtful that she will wean herself this early. Weaning before a year is very rare. I'd suggest contactin a reputable lactation consultant or someone from La Leche League. They could help you too. Pediatritions are often not the best experts on breast feeding in general (they recieve little to no training in this area beleive it or not). Just my experience here....

Hi S.,
Our son had the exact same intolerances/allergies as you discribed. We tried Nutramigen which he refused, but he did take Alimentum by Similac. It's expensive so get ready ($23.99 at target). But we had no choice. I did BF for a solid year as much as I could so that we didn't have to buy as much formula. By the way, after he turned 1 y/o and I stopped nursing, of course he couldn't do whole cow's milk, so we now have him on goats milk. We use Meyenberg brand from Whole Foods and Kroger ( I had to request Kroger start carrying it). So that's just some extra info for later.

Good luck, I know it can be trying, but our son is doing fine, right on schedule developmentally. :-)

Hey there,

Nutramigen contains soy oil anyway, so if your daughter has an allergy to soy, then she may not tolerate it even if she gets used to the taste. Also, it contains casein which is a protein found in dairy, so keep that in mind. Remember though, all formula tastes nasty to an adult. An infant's taste buds are completely different. Many babies are on Nutramigen and do fine with it.

What type of "dairy" allergy does your daughter have? Is she lactose intolerant or is she allergic to the whey or casein? This is very important in order to suggest an alternate formula. I'm a dietitian at Children's Medical Center, so maybe I can help. If she can take your breastmilk up until the one year mark then maybe you can switch over to a lactose free whole milk if her issue is just lactose. Keep her on breastmilk as long as possible, though! It is so much more superior than ANY formula on the market. :D

A.