Dear Kelbel,  I had the same problem with my youngest child. I nursed him for 13 months with nothing else ( I mean no water or food - just breatfeeding) I had a real hard time trying to get him off the breast. I finally just simply stopped. Sooner or later he got hungry and did drink milk from the bottle. After the age of 1 year you go to regular milk.  I don't know what you would give a 7 month old. I think probably some kind of formula. You will have to ask your pediatrition what kind you should use.  If he is not underweight, I would try doing the same.  Don't worry, sooner or later he will drink it.  He might be stubborn and not take it for a day or two and you will have to listen to the crying, but when he finally gets hungry, he will take the bottle or sippy cup, whatever you prefer to use. I wouldn't give him the juice while you are doing this as that will fill his stomach when he is hungry. Just go with the formula and when he gets hungry enough, he WILL drink it.  You can hold himl and cuddle him to show him your love for him, but don't give in to the breastfeeding.  This is just what I did.  I don't want to tell you what to do; but you did ask for help; and this is just my suggestion.  Let me know how you do.  Your friend, Susanne

7 months is so young to wean!!!  The AAP recommends breastfeeding at least 2 years.  If you do return to work I highly recommend you pump instead of fomula feed and continue to nurse at night.  This will give your son the immunity and life-long benefits of having received breastmilk.  It will also give him the nighttime comfort of nursing with mommy.  Giving a bottle to an exclusively breastfed baby is very difficult, my son never took one.  The bottle uses a different sucking action altogether so it can be confusing for a little one.  At this point you might be more successful if you introduce a cup of expressed milk.  You can start by letting him take sips from a cup.  Usually at this age they really enjoy using the cup.  Of course this means you have to help him b/c he can't hold the cup.  Another option is syringe feeding.  This works great for younger breastfed babies who reject the bottle.  What is the time frame in which you would like to return to work?  Who will be watching your child while you are at work? 

I am a mom of an almost 20 mo. old boy who is still breastfeeding.  I also am studying to be a lactation educator. 

Mama don't starve your baby and do NOT give him manufactured milk. You can do this!!! Give him breastmilk substitute will NOT resolve the problem, can actually make it worse - his health will be compromised.  Can you try straw?  I went back to work when my daughter was a little over a year and I used to breastfeed her in the mornings when waking up and at night after coming back from work and before bedtime.  Pump as much as you can to build up your supply, and try by leaving the house then letting your hubby give him either a bottle with BM or a cup with a straw. You can probably open up the hole on the nipples he will get more milk this way and faster.

Keep what you are doing, breastmilk is by far the best and the only way to properly feed an infant. Breastmilk subs will compromise his health and has many health risks for the short and long term. While I believe that formula has its place when the baby cannot receive for any other reason milk from mama, it should used as LAST resort and this is not the case. Keep up the great work mama!

Here are some good links for you to read:

Offering Your Breastfed Baby a Bottle

http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/offerbottle.html

Hazards of Infant Formula:

http://pregnancychildbirth.suite101.com/article.cfm/hazards_of_infant_formula