Feeding 4 month old from a cup

HI there

I have been trying desperately to feed my 4 month old baby girl from a cup. She just refuses the bottle or the cup and I am not too sure if its too soon for her to start the cup and if she will take it more easily later on. I have to resume work by oct and my plunket nurse suggested to start the bottle or the cup now as some babies she says gets too used to breat milk and take time to get off it.

I need some advice from you mothers out there whether I should wait for a while or just introduce solids and then start. I have tried the avent sipper cups for 3 months old as well as the mag mag and both wont work with her. SHe drinks a bit but surely not how much she is supposed to. I need help so someone pls advice. Mum in distress!!

Hi,
No I dont think she will be getting what she needs from a cup. My 7 month old son will take a cup but I wouldn't want to rely on it.

I had to put my now 10year old on a bottle when she was 6 months old and it was very distressing. She would not take it from me. I had to get a friend and my husband to feed her for a couple of weeks. When this was not possible plunket recommended I wear one of my husbands jerseys (to disguise my smell) and also to hold her differently to when I breastfed her eg. her sitting up back to my stomach, so she wouldn't associate it with being breastfed.

If you are happy to breastfeed and your daughter likes it I would continue until maybe August. I think that should be plenty of time to get her on the bottle. Who knows by then she might be able to get enough from a cup. My second daughter went from breast to cup at 10 months. Hope some of this helps. Good luck!

October seems such a long way off to be worrying about it now. maybe in a couple of months try her again as she may take it again. My son won't take a sipper cup with his meals at the moment but I'm pretty sure its because he can't suck out of it as its quite hard. If you think they really don't have to suck that hard being a breastfed baby, unlike the bottle where they have to work a little harder.
Maybe just try boiled water in the bottle, I used Avent bottles as I read that the teats are similar in shape to that of the nipple (not sure if its true). I started with cooled boiled water but he wasn't really interested but I kept giving him little squirts from the bottle just by pushing on the teat, and eventually he took to it. Every now and then I just give him a bottle so he won't forget what to do.
Hope this helps.
Kristy

hey thanks for the replies I too was thinking of giving it up now and starting once she is on solids maybe when she is 6 months old. Hope she takes it then if not the last resort will be the bottle. Anyway once again thanks!!

Hi Ginger,
When you do decide to try her on a cup again, or if you want to try her on it now with maybe just water, I recommend the heinze baby basics cup. There is one for babies from 4 months of age. I started my son on this cup with water in it at 4 1/2 months of age, and at 9 months he was drinking his milk out of the bigger one (which holds 280mls). He is now 11 months old and fully weaned onto diluted cows milk and drinks out of the cup fine. He has never had a bottle in his life, and I am thankful that I didn't have to wean him from breast to bottle, then from bottle to cup! I was one of the luckier ones. I hope this can help you, as I and a few of my friends highly recommend the Hienze baby basic range.
Tracey

Hi Traceyl

Thanks for the tips actually just started her on solids and she is taking it well but she seems to be staying up alot @ nights. She sleeps very early and wakes up very often @ nights either for feed or wants to play. Its putting a real strain on me and honestly not sure what to do. I am so hoping its just a passing phase. Pls advice if you have any suggestions
Thanks

Of course babies get used to breast milk, it's their natural diet and so it should be too. Maybe you could try expressing your own milk, then you can get the baby used to the cup or bottle without her having to get used to a different taste. Breast milk is best for her, and expressing is so much easier now with the equipment, and you can hire it from the Breastfeeding Association too, so you don't need to buy any equipment yourself.