How can I get my 9 month old daughter to start drinking formula?

Question

My 9 1/2 month old daughter has only been breastfed from the time she was born. My husband and I just found out that we are pregnant again. My doctor said that I must stop breastfeeding her asap because it can make me go into labor. We have been trying to get her to drink formula and she will not drink it what so ever. We tried putting it in a sippy cup instead of a bottle and even tried mixing it with juice. If anyone has any suggestions I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

I would try mixing the two together. half and half and so on And yes doing it CAN MAKE YOU GO INTO LABOR. When you breast feed it causes contractions. Just like they did when you breast feed after the 1st child.
How often does she take a bottle and how often does she actually "breast feed"? This may have something to do with it. If she is used to actually breast feeding then that may be the problem. I would suggest a bottle with a bigger nipple that is shaped more like a breast.
But if this doesnt work just give her the formula. When she is hungry she will eat.

Answer 2

I assume that by 9 months you have started her on solid foods and are starting to introduce finger foods. I also assume that you have started her on a sippy cup with water or juice in it. You do not need to switch her to formula. I know doctors today say at least a whole year but you probably only had formula for 5or 6 months in the bad old days babies were switched much earlier than today and we all survived. So put her on a sippy cup and give her whole milk ( she still needs the fats for good growth) make sure she gets a variety of fruits and vegetables for her meals. Talk to your pediatrician about vitamins. Be sure to tell the pediatrician about the problem feeding her formula. Another problem breast fed babies have is with the rubber nipples they just don't feel right to the baby so it might be best just to go only with the cup. Good luck and remember this will seem funny when she is sixteen.

Answer 3

I didn't know that breastfeeding could make you go into labor?

Anyway, aren't there different types of formulas? Maybe she just doesn't like the taste of that one. Or, have you been putting breast milk in a bottle cause if not maybe it's not the formula, maybe it's the bottle. Breastfeeding is so much more than just feeding, it's bonding so make sure you are holding her close when your feeding her whatever it is. Also can you mix breastmilk and formula at first to get her use to the different flavor and maybe you can have her around other babies that drink from a bottle so she will mimic them.

Answer 4

How rough for you... Try using the concentrate or the ready-to-use, and add a teensy bit of sugar to it--NOT A TON, like 1/4 tsp or so. This will help it to be sweeter, like breastmilk. Juice will make it coagulate and get really nasty. You could also try blending in a bit of step 1 baby bananas, strawberries, etc.-- again, not a lot, just a little spoonful or so. Turn it into a really thin baby smoothie, and she'll love it!!!

Answer 5

Do you have any frozen breastmilk? If so, mix the two and slowly switch over to formula only. You are asking her to switch over from candy to brocolli. Formula is not the best tasting compared to the sweeter breastmilk. At one year old she will switch over to dairy milk anyway. If she's hungry she'll take the formula, trust me. My son took the formula since my wife only expressed for two months after the wells went dry due to her having to return to work. He had no choice but to take the formula when he got hungry and the good stuff ran out.

Answer 6

Problem is, she has tastebuds at this time and formula does not taste good. Have you tried it? If she continues to reject formula, then you'll have to put her on regular milk and use vitamins.
I know several people who have put their kids on whole milk. At 9 months, she should already have started eating baby foods and other things besides breastmilk.
My daughter liked the taste of Nestle Good Start Supreme. Try that one. We also used concentrate. Powder formulas have a chalky taste.

Answer 7

If you have any frozen breastmilk.......use that........with like an ounce of formula.......put it in a bottle and slowly gradually increase the formula over the next few weeks or month.....

and don't give her the milk at her scheduled feeding times.....
let her starve a little and she will drink it......and have your hubby do it not you cuz she knows you and can smell you......and knows you have the boobs!!

Also if she takes the bottle that's great.

If she doesn't (like my daughter.......) you might try the drinking box by Rubbermaid....
http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml;jsessionid=WCS3KAQGP3EGQCQHUB2CHPQKA4QGIJCK?prodId=HPProd100042

Answer 8

Did you have some problems with preterm labor in the past?

Honestly, unless there is a specific thing about your prenatal history that you didn't include in your post, your doctor is FULL OF IT. For most healthy mothers, continuing to nurse through pregnancy is PERFECTLY SAFE. There is no reason for you to wean your child just because you are pregnant. If I were you, I'd find a new doctor.

Here is an article on the safety of breastfeeding during pregnancy:
http://nursingtwo.kellymom.com/articles/bfpregnancy_safety.html

Another article on safety:
http://nursingtwo.kellymom.com/faq/01safety.html

Yes, nursing during pregnancy CAN sometimes cause contractions. Those contractions are very similar to the ones that having sex can cause. Has your caregiver put you on pelvic rest and told you not to have sex? If not, there is no reason why you should wean.

You have to understand how marvelous your body is and how your uterus works. Early in pregnancy, there is actually LESS oxytocin released by your body in response to nipple stimulation. AND during the first 38 weeks of pregnacy, your uterus is highly unlikely to respond to oxytocin. The uterus must prepare before labor comes, which includes the forming of "oxytocin receptor sites" which are the cells that detect the presence of oxytocin and cause a contraction. Until around 38 weeks there aren't very many of these sites present in the uterus. They increase gradually in the last couple of weeks of pregnancy and then increase 300-fold after labor has begun!

ALSO, the AAFP actually says, "Breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is currently not the cultural norm and requires ongoing support and encouragement. Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman's personal decision. If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help to provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child."
See their position paper:
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/b/breastfeedingpositionpaper.html

Here is something about miscarriage:
http://nursingtwo.kellymom.com/excerpts/02miscarriage.html
Lesley Regan, PhD, MD, heads the Miscarriage Clinic at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. She says, "Once a pregnancy is clinically detectable, breastfeeding should pose no added risk of pregnancy loss. There isn’t any data suggesting a link between breastfeeding and miscarriage, and I see no plausible reason for there to be a link."

More links:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBpregnancy.html

So, if you've read all of this you'll see that your doctor may very well simply not have much experience with women who make the choice to nurse through pregnancy. There aren't a lot of women who do it, and doctors who aren't experienced with this choice often balk at the idea. Look around. Talk to other doctors or midwives and find one who IS supportive of this choice. As long as your pregnancy is low risk, there is NO REASON why you should be forced to wean.

I nursed my first through my pregnancy with my second. I tandem nursed the two of them for 16 months. I nursed my second through my pregnancy with my third. She weaned late in my pregnancy. I had no complications from nursing through pregnancy. It made the transisition to "big sibling" easier for my older children.

Check out Hilary Flower's book, "Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy & Beyond" and call your local La Leche League Leader for one on one support.
http://www.lalecheleague.org

Answer 9

I think its pretty unlikely you'll go into labour in the first trimester. I'd get a second opinion on that.

In 3 months, she could switch directly to milk.

Whenever you switch, do it gradually - mix breastmilk (expressed) with whatever you're moving to, initially use mainly breastmilk, then switch it over over a week or so.

Answer 10

I would seek a second opinion. Many mothers have successfully continued to nurse while pregnant. As well as nurse both a new born and a toddler.
Don't give up just yet :)