Feeding FAQ: 6-9 months – Breast Feeding

I am having real problems getting my 8.5mth old son to drink formula from a cup

My son sleeps and eats very well, following Gina’s routines to the letter.
He has recently started refusing his 2.30pm bottle, (which is the only bottle he has) this feed I dropped two weeks ago.
He has a breastfeed in the morning and then again at night. It’s the morning breastfeed I want to drop but he will not take formula from a cup.
My son drinks juice and water from a cup and has done for the last 4mths.
I have tried lots of different cups but always met with the same response, YUK!
I wondered if it is the formula he is rejecting so I have tried different brands, Cow and Gate organic and SMA which all been rejected, so I am back to breastfeeding, to my boobie boys delight!
We want to start trying for contented baby number three, and I need to stop breast feeding first.

At present my son takes 30mins on the breast at 7.30am, eats three good meals a day and has light snacks in the day. He takes a further 30mins at 6.30pm.

He naps at 9.30-10am and 12.45-2.30pm.

Your little boy will probably take some time to fully accept the change from receiving milk from the breast to having it offered to him in a cup. It is probably not so much the taste of formula which is causing him to refuse it, but having milk given to him in something other than a bottle or breast. He associates drinking milk with being cosy and cuddled up beside you. As he is drinking other fluids from a cup and has had formula from a bottle, his protest is more about the loss of cosiness than anything else.

As he has already been having formula in a bottle it could be question of finding a beaker which is a transition from a teat or nipple. There are several of these cups on the market. You may have already tried this but the trick is to keep persevering. Or you can do the complete opposite and offer him milk in an open cup, putting a small amount at the bottom and getting him to sip at it. This can often work although you do need to be close at hand to prevent spills.

Changing your routine in the morning will help him forget about having a breast feed first thing. You might need to get up and come downstairs earlier or use some other distraction techniques to take his mind off the missing feed. Begin to offer milk alongside his breakfast, not before. This may mean you have to start breakfast earlier as he will be hungry. Try to remain matter of fact about placing a beaker on his tray. Don’t draw his attention to it but offer him the cup or beaker every now and then as he eats his food. If he refuses it, just put it down, but don’t let your concern show. If you persistently carry on with this, using the formula he is used to having with his porridge and other foods, he should eventually begin to drink from a cup or beaker.

You can make sure your son has plenty of milk substitutes in his diet: yoghurt and cheese being good ones. He still needs a minimum of 18ozs in the day so, allowing for your breast feed at night to be around 8ozs, you can begin to find other ways to increase his intake until he is willing to drink from a beaker. 1oz cheese or 125gr yoghurt can be substituted for 7oz milk so it is quite easy to make up his balance whilst he gets used to this change in his life.