Expert: Sageda El-Abbasy - 10/14/2008

Question
My 9.5 month old son is breastfed, and since he was three months old he's had no problems taking expressed milk via bottle when I'm at work. He's with his father one day a week and in daycare the other three days. For the past month or so he's been refusing the bottle.  He takes his solids, he drinks from my breast when I come home and 2-3 times throughout the night (we co-sleep). But when he's given the bottle he takes a tiny bit, then pushes away or moves his head and doesn't take it at all. The pediatrician looked at his ears and saw no infection. He had a small cold, but that's over with, and it looks like his four top teeth are coming in which is causing him some pain. We've been gradually introducing sippy cups with water in it, but he hasn't been enthusiastic about those either. Should we be concerned? Is there anything we can do to get him to take his expressed milk while I'm not with him?  Is there anything we can do to encourage him to use the sippy cup rather than the bottle?  Thanks for your advice.

Answer
I believe that your son has grown to understand that the bottle is different than the breast.  He's learnt the difference and chose to prefer the breast.  Try to give him the cup more regularly, the cup should be introduced at the age of 6 months, so try to have him get used to it soon.  It's going to take time and effort for him to get used to it, but don't worry they all learn how to use it.  Also you need to make sure that the cup doesn't not have a valve.
My daughter suddenly refused the bottle as well and decided to use the teat as a teether, but now she loves her cup and drinks anything in it.  It's just a matter of time.  Once he get used to the cup things will get easier.
Good luck and keep me updated.