If your baby is good at taking a bottle of pumped breastmilk already then you are leaps and bounds ahead of where I was when I stopped breastfeeding #1 & #3. They were 12 mos old and never had learned to suck-for-comfort from anything but a breast (refused bottles and pacis). Nonetheless, I switched both to bottles of formula pretty much cold turkey. People around me had advised to switch them to a sippy cup because they were older, but I have no regrets and felt that they needed the relaxed sucking. They could drink out of sippies, I just wanted that quiet time.
So, I transitioned over the course of a few weeks by offering the bottle of formula when I would have normally have breastfed. They refused the bottle or would drink maybe an ounce, then they'd breastfeed...lots of thrown out formula.
For #1 it just clicked around the two week mark--he relaxed and drank a whole bottle as if it were breastfeeding. I refused to lift my shirt after that--I hope that doesn't sound mean but I was five months pregnant with #2, weighed 120 at 5'5" AND I really didn't want to nurse two at a time even though I had heard it was a wonderful experience for some women.
For #3, I had tried introducing the bottle more and more because I was sick--to no avail. Then I had to take bad antibiotics and have a barium CT scan. That was the coldest turkey. Poor kid was not happy for a couple days but got over it and learned to cuddle with me and the bottle instead of the breast.
I know you are allowed to switch to cow's milk at 12 mos but I gave my kids formula until about 15 months (not #2 cause she breastfed longer). I would rather my kid have formula, which is close to breastmilk, for longer. It is easier on most childrens' digestive systems. The pediatricians do not want to replace too many solid-food calories with formula so I wouldn't give the >1 crowd gobs of it.
Oh, and by kid #3, I used Gerber glass bottles. I wish I had done it for all of them. They are inexpensive and free of all that scary stuff that is in plastic. You can microwave them without worrying about chemicals leeching out of the plastic and they clean soooooooo nicely.
BTW, all said and done, the kids gave up their bottles fine at around three. Their teeth are great--they did not sleep with bottles. They could drink out of cups, straws...etc. by one.
I would use the best organic brand of formula I could find. If formula is your kid's main source of food, go for the best. It is better to spend on the stuff that counts than have regrets. I gave my kids many plastic toys and secretly thought the wooden crowd was snobby, but my daughter's favorite toy castle--which she and her little friends sucked on the parts of--was part of that Chinese lead-paint-recall scandal. She's a smart cookie, but boy do I wish I had spent more and got her the nice wood castle.
I digress
Best wishes with the transition. Be firm and patient, and give your guy lots of hugs. I really think that for some children you can eliminate one feeding at a time, but for other children the consistency of "cold turkey" is actually easier.
___________
Melissa, 34, bronchiectasis (no cf)
So, I transitioned over the course of a few weeks by offering the bottle of formula when I would have normally have breastfed. They refused the bottle or would drink maybe an ounce, then they'd breastfeed...lots of thrown out formula.
For #1 it just clicked around the two week mark--he relaxed and drank a whole bottle as if it were breastfeeding. I refused to lift my shirt after that--I hope that doesn't sound mean but I was five months pregnant with #2, weighed 120 at 5'5" AND I really didn't want to nurse two at a time even though I had heard it was a wonderful experience for some women.
For #3, I had tried introducing the bottle more and more because I was sick--to no avail. Then I had to take bad antibiotics and have a barium CT scan. That was the coldest turkey. Poor kid was not happy for a couple days but got over it and learned to cuddle with me and the bottle instead of the breast.
I know you are allowed to switch to cow's milk at 12 mos but I gave my kids formula until about 15 months (not #2 cause she breastfed longer). I would rather my kid have formula, which is close to breastmilk, for longer. It is easier on most childrens' digestive systems. The pediatricians do not want to replace too many solid-food calories with formula so I wouldn't give the >1 crowd gobs of it.
Oh, and by kid #3, I used Gerber glass bottles. I wish I had done it for all of them. They are inexpensive and free of all that scary stuff that is in plastic. You can microwave them without worrying about chemicals leeching out of the plastic and they clean soooooooo nicely.
BTW, all said and done, the kids gave up their bottles fine at around three. Their teeth are great--they did not sleep with bottles. They could drink out of cups, straws...etc. by one.
I would use the best organic brand of formula I could find. If formula is your kid's main source of food, go for the best. It is better to spend on the stuff that counts than have regrets. I gave my kids many plastic toys and secretly thought the wooden crowd was snobby, but my daughter's favorite toy castle--which she and her little friends sucked on the parts of--was part of that Chinese lead-paint-recall scandal. She's a smart cookie, but boy do I wish I had spent more and got her the nice wood castle.
I digress
Best wishes with the transition. Be firm and patient, and give your guy lots of hugs. I really think that for some children you can eliminate one feeding at a time, but for other children the consistency of "cold turkey" is actually easier.
___________
Melissa, 34, bronchiectasis (no cf)