My son is 21 months old and still on breast feeding i want to start bottle feed but he refused to take bottle?

Question

My son is 21 months old and still on breast feeding i want to start bottle feed but he refused to take bottle?

Answer 1

He's almost two.  Just stop giving him the breast.  He will be unhappy about it, but he will live.  He is old enough he doesn't need to breast feed or bottle feed.  It took my son about 10 days before he got over not breast feeding.  He would spit out the bottle and look at me like he was really angry - but he survived it.  Sometimes doing what is right for them is a hard thing to do, but it is necessary.  This is just the start.

Answer 2

There is nothing wrong with continuing to breastfeed.  The World Health Organization says "The World Health Organization recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. Breastfeeding should continue for at least 2 years with weaning foods added at 6 months of age."  This is not just for 3rd world countries. Other countries do it for far longer than we do here in America.  Just because it's not as culturally accepted here doesn't mean that it's wrong.  I could go off on a tangent about it being more natural to breastfeed then have a society so enamored with glamorizing b*****s soley for s*x, but I won't.

That said, I breastfed my three children for around 2 years each.  By the time they were two, breastfeeding was down to a couple of times a week. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable doing it much longer than that (thanks, society!), but it's wrong for people to say it would be wrong to nurse a 21 month old.

If you want to discontinue for your personal reasons, not because someone told you you should, then wean to a cup.  Definitely not a bottle.  Sippy cups may be hard at first because baby may not understand how to suck from them.  You can start with putting a teaspoonful of water in a regular, small cup and help him learn that way.  I had the same thing with my kids, and used to take sippy cups with me and unscrew them so they could get a drink!  Encouraging them not to depend on a sippy cup is good too.  If you use one, make sure that it's not continually filled with juice.  Constantly having juice or formula in a sippy cup can contribute to tooth-decay.  If he has one to carry around all day, put water in it and reserve the juice for drinking in one sitting.

You can try giving him a straw in a cup, and putting your fingers an inch or so down on it, like you're scissoring it.  When he puts his mouth on it, let his lips touch your fingers.  This makes him have the sucking reflex like he was nursing.  He may be too old for this trick, but it's worth a try.  

If he still nurses several times a day, cut it down gradually.  It would be pretty traumatic to cut it off all at once, as breastfeeding is more than about just nourishment.  Make sure you still cuddle him a lot, read to him, etc.  I do NOT agree with letting his hunger (desperation) make him try to learn to drink from a cup.  You can teach him this without causing that much trauma.

Good luck, and congratulations for breastfeeding your son this long.  You've given him a gift that will last for a lifetime.

Answer 3

I hate to say it but he is really too old for a bottle....has he only been on the breast for 21 months?? Toddlers at this age usually use sippy cups.

Answer 4

i think he is a little old for a bottle! try a beaker or cup!

Answer 5

Does he ask for Bitty?

Answer 6

Wow - No bottles!

Children >15 months should not have a bottle (per my pediatrician).

Try working with him on the sippy cup. Use juice to motivate him. Juice is a sweet treat therefore rewarding him for drinking out of a sippy cup.

Here's a few things to consider:  Breast feeding is bonding time with mommy. He's not going to want to give that up.

Breast milk is sweet - much sweeter than cows milk/formula.

Why don't you sit down and hold him while he's drinking from the sippy. That way he won't miss out on bonding time.

Most of my friends like Nuby sippys with the silicone nipple. My daughter likes the Take and Toss sippys.

Answer 7

Smart kid

Dennis G

Answer 8

He's almost 2!!! My daughter was off a bottle and everything at age 1.  You just take it away.  He won't starve - I promise.  Don't give him a bottle though - he's way too old for that.  He needs a sippy cup or a cup with a straw.

Answer 9

the longer he breast feeds the healthier he will become. Also the longer you wife breast feeds the quicker she will lose the 'pregnancy pounds'

Answer 10

No need if you want to drop breastfeeding now then I wouldnt bother introducing a bottle, just give him any drinks in a sippy cup.

Well done for getting to 21 months

Answer 11

Hi, my daughter breast fed until she was 13 months old. She sort of just stopped on her own. Before she weaned I began introducing her to a sippy cup. She only ever used a bottle a couple of times when she was really small. Instead of introducing your 21 month old to a bottle, why not give him a sippy cup or a cup with a straw. My daughter loves drinking from straws. In my experience, it was easier for me to gradually wean my baby from breast feeding. Take your time. It will be easier for both of you I think

Answer 12

Just keep trying when hes hungry enough he will get the idea, try and put him in the same position he would be in if you were going to breast feed him, and genbtly wean hin away.

Answer 13

pump it in the bottle, when he get really hungry, he will have no choice but to take it, its only cruel to be kind.

Answer 14

21 months?   If you want to wean, offer a cup.  There's no sense to starting a bottle for a toddler.

Answer 15

I know I'm a guy and not female but you should definitely keep him on breast. It will be much healthier for him than bottled milk and just ignore all those people who say anything other.

Answer 16

go straight to sippy cups, he's too old for the bottle. how do you give him juice and water? he should be receiving all liquids in cups by now. You shouldn't be breastfeeding a 2yo.

Answer 17

Try a sippy cup...most doctors recommend you wean your baby from the bottle at 12 months.

Answer 18

From one bottle feeding mother, id suggest DO NOT BOTHER with bottle. If you are ready to wean him of the breast, then go strait to either a sippy cup, or a regular glass, (ovbiously you are going to have to help him with it) or a glass with a straw.

Do not get him on a bottle. It will be twice as bad getting him off the bottle. My daughter is 19 months and finally, last week , got off the bottle after 8 months of trying to get her off.

Answer 19

Try weaning him directly to a cup. Cut down on the number of times you nurse. Make a big  deal over his drinking from the cup.

Answer 20

When my son was weened from breast feeding, I only let him drink from a sippy cup. Although he would NOT take ANY kind of milk from the sippy. I gave him yogurt and cheese and ice cream to get the nutrients from there and didn't worry about it too much. It is so hard and I feel for you, I still wanted to be that life giving person for a while longer. He may continue to ask to breastfeed and when he does offer him some juice, if he's hungry offer him some of the afore mentioned items and don't give him a bottle. It's just another habit you will soon have to break. Survival instinct will make him want to have sustenance, so rely on that.

Answer 21

no way to a bottle, he is far too old for that!  It can damage their teeth, jawline, speech development from suckling a bottle etc.

It will have to be a cup I'm afraid if he won't take it you will just have to keep trying every day until he does take it.  My son wouldn't take a sippy cup at 6 months old, and we tried every day to offer him this and he only started to drink from it at 11 months old so it can take some time.  TBH I think you should have introduced this much much earlier and you wouldn't be in this situation now.  Even if you continued to Breast feed..

He will know what he wants know and changes are much harder to come by for an older child.

Yes it is good you have breast fed for so long, congrats on that.  There is no harm in offering breast milk however in a sippy cup, and I think he should have been drinking water as well by this age not just milk?

Good luck.

Answer 22

Sorry but visions of Little Britain spring to mind.

Answer 23

You want to START bottle feeding?????  You child should have been weened from the breast by 12 months and using a cup.

Answer 24

why  a bottle? why not a big boy cup?

Answer 25

i am 70 i never wanted to stop

Answer 26

at that age you need a sippy cup NOT a bottle! No wonder he won't take it that is a sign of being a baby and by this time you've been telling him he is a big boy. Pump your breast milk and offer it in a sippy. He will get the idea and BIG great marks for you by keeping him on the breast milk! It shows that you truly care about the health of your child! Keep up the fantastic parenting!