So Many Teeth!

I GREATLY disagree with the "Cut her off" comments. Breastfeeding is so much more than nutrition. It is a bond and a deep connection. If you just take that away before she is ready, it will hurt.. emotionally! I couldn't do that to my son. I think you need to meet with a LC. I am having the same issues with my son (8.5 months). He is biting some and gumming me and it kills! I am getting ready to call a lactation consultant for help.

V.,

My son would take forever to take a sippie cup. They are ready when there ready. Have you tried any of the bottles that are the closest to breast feeding? They have bottles out there like that. I have a friend who has a 2 year old and he still nursing. I would maybe just try that.

Jennnifer

I agree that cutting her off could be tramatic for both of you and breastfeeding is recommended till at least a year for the most benefits. i.e. lower chance of cancer and better immune system. You could try teaching her how to use a straw. It worked better than sippy cups and bottles for mine. All 5 of them. I would place my finger over one end of the straw when it was in breastmilk or watered down juice and then while holding my finger there put the other end in my babies mouth and once they could taste the liquid they would usually suck it out, if they didn't I would release a little bit of the liquid in their mouths so they could taste it and then they would suck out the rest. I would do this for a couple of times then would leave the straw in the liquid and put the straw in their mouth and then they would begin to suck it up through the straw. It takes some patience but they all liked it, other than that they would just drink from a regular cup with me holding the cup, it is messier but breastfed babies aren't always thrilled with the invasive feeling of sippy cups or bottles they are used to taking the breast in on their own and controling the flow. I also wonder if she is playing on your breast though because her teeth shouldn' t be rubbing on your breast I nursed all of mine till 2.5 yrs except this last one who is only 8 mo. but will still nurse for a lot longer.

My son is 5 mos now, and when he was 1-2 mos he would take a bottle because I would go to class for 2-3 hours at a time. After that semester was over he was a full time breast baby. Well, when the new semester started he refused to have anything to do with a bottle. I talked to my mother and she said that my son might be getting mad because maybe he saw the bottle as a breast replacement and he wasn't fooled. My mother suggested to try to get him to take a sippie cup. He was just a little over 4 mos then. After a few days of my determination and his very surprised/confused looks he got the hang of it. He still preferrs breast when he wants to go to sleep, but when he is in his high chair eating cereal he wants his cup.

ok.... get a breast pump and pump some of the breast milk out and store it. Only add it to her cereal. other than that cut her off of breast feeding. She will be fussy for a long while but will eventually get used to it. Also make sure that since she has teeth you give her a teething ring to chew on, that will help her to get used to something other than a breast. Let her suck on a pacifier and get used to that if necessary, that will help her to transition to her cups and things of sort better.

I would make sure you're using the nipples designed to mimic breatfeeding. if that doesn't work after a few tries, I would have someone else try to bottle-feed. Most babies won't bottle-feed from their mother since they can smell the breastmilk. It may take a few tries, but eventually it should work.

If nothing works, my mom always swore that that you can put a little maple syrup (not honey!) on the nipple and that'll work. I never had to try it, but if you're desperate....

My daughter followed the same path yours is on. I began trying sippy cups as early as six months because she absoluetly refused the bottle. It took about a month, but by seven months old, she would take a sippy cup when I would feed her baby food. I would breastfeed during the other feedings. I actually found that the Nuby cups were the only cups she that were successful (for us). By nine months, she was using the sippy cup like a pro, and I began the weaning process. I hope this helps. Good luck.

I wouldn't even try a bottle at this point.. you'll just have to wean her off of it in a couple months. Just give her a sippy cup. I'm not sure what else to say... we always gave our kids sippy cups of water around 5 months with meals when they started eating oatmeal and they never had any problems accepting it. You might want to try using it first thing in the morning when they are hungriest.

I'm really curious to know how the teeth are rubbing. I breastfed my kids for well over 1.5 years each and never had any issues with their teeth. Due to the position of the tongue, the teeth do not have any contact with your breast if they are actively latched on (which is why it's impossible for a baby to nurse and bite at the same time). You might want to try pulling her off as soon as she stops actively nursing and not let her just 'mouth' your nipple. You can also contact a local lactation consultant (if near Carmel, try Expressions in the Clarian North hospital - they have LCs there), a local LLL group or your hospital's breastfeeding support group.

you no if theres a secret to the transition i would surely like to no it! my son is 9 years old now, but its still confusing to me, i tried everything, asked everyone, being my 2nd baby i knew what i wanted! i was only going tonurse 6 weeks, hand him his bottle,, and go back to wor! lol
long story short he drank from a sippy by 6-7 mo and i breastfed for 9 months! (i no i'm not much help)..sorry,
but i can sure relate to a stubborn lil one!!
p.s. i was fortunate that he slept thru the nights from day 1, so i really didnt have to go thru the painfull nights except the usual first few days or so.. i do hope you find a solution soon! take care,

I had the same problem with my youngest. I finally had to go cold turkey at 10 months. It's hard to do it that way, but I really think it is your best bet. You may notice that your child is not eating right at first, but she'll catch on. If she is hungry, she will eat. Good Luck!

This may be kind of harsh, but I had a child that was to stubborn to transition so I just gave her cups and cut her off cold turkey. She had a choice, eat what she's given or go hungry. After a small hunger strike of about 4 feedings straight, she gave in and took the cup because she was hungry and just didn't care where it came from anymore. Try the nubby at wal-mart.