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Expert Q&A

	By Ann Calandro BSN, RNC, IBCLC Lactation Consultant

My daughter is about 8 1/2 months and I have read that children should be given a bottle around the fourth month if you want them to take it. I wish to continue to breastfeed but I also want to be able to leave her with a sitter and not worry that she will get hungry and have to starve while I am gone. The thing is, I did not do my homework early enough. I tried to introduce expressed milk in the bottle at 6 months for the first time, and well, she only took it once. And that was only one ounce. From that point on I have tried off and on and she refuses to have anything to do with it. She does not even want it near her. I have tried all different kinds of nipples and bottles. Nothing. My mom says she had to starve me for about 24 hours. But, I was only 4 months old at the time and I was being put on formula. I just don't seem to have the heart to do it. All I want is to have her take one bottle a day, I just can't seem to find a more painless way to go about it."

Now that your daughter is 8 1/2 months old, you can try feeding her with a cup. Many babies who are breastfeeding drink from a cup at this age, and enjoy that much more than a bottle. Amazingly enough, they do very well with small cups held by the caregiver or sippy cups which they can hold with assistance. She has probably started on solid foods as well now, so that there may be the opportunity to give her a little solid food if she gets hungry when you are away. Be sure to nurse her well before you leave, and she may not need to eat at all if you are away. If she is fussy when you are away, it will most likely be because she misses you, not because she is hungry. At this age she is very aware of new situations and strangers."

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