13M EBF won’t take bottle or cup

[Anonymous]

Help! Anyone have a super stubborn EBF baby that wouldn’t take a bottle or cup (sippy, straw, open)? I am totally over nursing as his only source of hydration and would like to cut down to just morning and bedtime but he refuses to learn how to use a cup (for water or milk) and hasn’t taken a bottle since 7M. He eats solids fine- not the biggest eater, definitely would choose to nurse if we let him, but he eats. Any tips to get him to accept water or milk from a cup or bottle (though at 13M bottle seems regressive anyway)?

[Anonymous]

You put warm breastmilk in it? That’s where I would start if you haven’t yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You put warm breastmilk in it? That’s where I would start if you haven’t yet.

Yes though admittedly not in a while because he was refusing it anyway and it felt like such a waste of labor to pump on top of EBF when he wasn’t taking a bottle or cup.

[Anonymous]

Just constantly put the cup near them without asking them to drink it. Forcing it makes them resist.

[Anonymous]

I got my cup/water resistant kids (not so firmly as your though so take this with a grain of salt!) to drink by giving them unspillable cups of water available to them all day rather than just at meals. At first they wouldn’t drink — just a fun toy to carry around that made a sloshy sound and dripped if you shook it hard enough — but eventually they both figured out drinking from a cup and learned to tolerate water and later cow’s milk (that took longer and I used different cups for milk at meals so as not to regress on the water intake).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just constantly put the cup near them without asking them to drink it. Forcing it makes them resist.

We’ve done the no pressure cup at meals and available all day for months and months. He just throws it on the ground like a toy. No interest except to chew on our and big brothers water bottles but not drink. I know, rationally, it’ll click eventually but I’m just so tired of nursing.

[Anonymous]

Lord. This was me 13 years ago. I ended up, sick of being ruled by a tiny tyrant and with my husband's support, weaning over three days. It worked perfectly and he transitioned to bottles really well. I know moms are super polarized by this topic, but I can happily report he is now a happy, super healthy, smart, well adjusted teen

[Anonymous]

You’ve tried different cups? I know some more particular kids who only liked a single kind each - one preferred munchkins, one preferred open cups only (messy!), and one preferred the cheap “take and toss” sippy cups that you can get from CVS (I think)

[Anonymous]

What about a small amount of watered down juice? Then keep watering it down more until it’s just water.

[Anonymous]

did you try the honey bead straw cup?

[Anonymous]

Ugh. My kid was like this. Even as a teen hates drinking water.

No advice but good luck!

[Anonymous]

Will he eat things with a lot of liquid in them? Applesauce? Yogurt? Fresh fruit? Popsicles? Jello made with fruit juice?

If so, I'd probably think about cutting back on nursing, and including enough of those foods that he doesn't get dehydrated, to see if thirst motivates him. Maybe also try the honey bear to see if you can help him figure out the mechanics of a straw.

[Anonymous]

Mine took until 16 months. I was so stressed and feeling like I was doing something wrong because so many people gave me “easy” advice that wasn’t easy for us at all. We even did feeding therapy which, save your money, they just need time (which my pediatrician had told me). My second child learned in an hour, so it wasn’t me after all. Just depends on the kid, like everything. Keep offering it, it may take months but they’ll get there.

[Anonymous]

OP reporting back in case it’s helpful for anyone else. What worked was cutting to just 2 nursing sessions (morning and bedtime) and continuing to offer a zillion types of cup with no pressure. For about a week he ate a ton of fruit to hydrate and still refused cups, holding out for nursing sessions. But then he gave in and started drinking water and cow’s milk from sippy cups throughout the day. So relieved!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Help! Anyone have a super stubborn EBF baby that wouldn’t take a bottle or cup (sippy, straw, open)? I am totally over nursing as his only source of hydration and would like to cut down to just morning and bedtime but he refuses to learn how to use a cup (for water or milk) and hasn’t taken a bottle since 7M. He eats solids fine- not the biggest eater, definitely would choose to nurse if we let him, but he eats. Any tips to get him to accept water or milk from a cup or bottle (though at 13M bottle seems regressive anyway)?

have you tried open cup with spoon to spoon feed him water? you can also add more water to the food he's eating. if he tolerates the spoon, i see that as your opening.