Breastmilk to Cows Milk

Hi C.,

My daughter just turned one. My situation is a little different than yours because I never breastfed but, at her one-year physical, the doctor tested her iron levels, which were good, and said I could take her off formula and give her regular milk (2% lowfat). Because I'm trying to get her "off the bottle", I try to give her other calcium-rich foods like yogurt so she doesn't rely on her ba-ba all the time. Her doctor said that she didn't need a specific amount of milk everyday...just as needed. Hope that helps and good luck :)

Hi C., when my son turned one I tried to stop breastfeeding as well just because everyone told me that's the time that I should stop. My son didn't want to stop and he didn't like cow's milk either. What I learned is first, you don't have to stop at one, unless you or your son wants to, and second you don't need cow's milk. what you do need is the vitamins in cow's milk, calcium...you can get calcium from other sources. Calcium is found in broccoli, spinach, any green leafy vegatable will have lots of calcium, and other dairy products as well as dried beans, not necessarily milk.
My son never took a bottle, but I continued to breastmilk and fed him from other sources of calcium and now he'll be two and he's as healthy as any other kid.

V..

hi C....

my daughter who is now 4 1/2 yrs) would not take a bottle either when she was a baby. i ended up nursing her for about 14 months. when she was a year onld i was able to get her to take cows milk from a cup with a litte bit of strawberry or chocolate syrup mixed in to sweeten it. and i would give her juice and water in the cup along with the milk during the day. at night was when she wanted to nurse and then finally one night she fussed and i got up and stood outside her bedroom door and she quieted down. and that was it, no more nursing from then on. but the syrup was the thing that did it for her, i think cause breast milk has a sweeter flavor to it. Hope this helps.

good luck
~~V.

Hi! I have a 29 month old daughter who never took a bottle and I breastfed her until 13 1/2 months. She would never take breast milk in a cup and in the beginning never drank cows milk from a sippy cup either. I thought I was in some serious trouble, but I just kept at it and she eventually took the sippy cup and weaned and that was that!

I also have a son who as born 8/7/06, so he's the same age as your daughter. HE'S never taken a bottle either, but drinks everything from a sippy cup. I haven't given him cow's milk yet, but am hoping that it won't be a problem either. We had sleep issues with him also which I thought would require like a week of no sleep to fix, but it only took a few nights. I have generally found that with many things, like the milk, sleep, etc., that I thought were going to be so hard, it's actually been easier than anticipated. I don't know if it has to do with personality, but I only hope the pacifiers follow suit ...

I wouldn't worry too much about it and just try to be persistent when the time comes. Good luck!

Hi C.

I started weaning my son at 12 1/2 months. He was very attached to breastfeeding for comfort and before naps and bedtime. I was determined to wean him of the breastmilk so I started reducing the time I would breastfeed very slowly (less 1 minute every 3 days). During that time I would continue to offer the milk in a cup but he would not drink it. After about 3 weeks I was only breastfeeding about 3 minutes, 3 times a day, and suddenly my son started drinking milk from a cup. I continued to reduce the times I offered breastmilk and offered milk instead. The whole process took about 3 1/2 weeks.

I found that exposing my baby to different tastes and different foods during the process of weaning, made him more willing to drink regular milk. I think that it was because he was excited about trying new flavors that it made him more opened to milk. Also, he likes to drink soy milk instead of cow's milk.

I am sure that you will find the method of weaning that works for you and your baby. I would recommed weaning her to the cup instead of the bottle. I just think that if you get her used to the bottle, then in the near future you will have to wean again. If your baby continues to refuse cow's milk, you can look for alternatives such as soy milk or rice milk that can also provide calcium. It may take some time but with patience, you and your baby will get through it.

C.

hi C., i nursed my daughter to 15 mos, and she absolutely refused cows milk too. the doc said just keep trying and dont worry as long as she drinks water. she wouldnt eat cheese, yogurt, even ice cream, refused all dairy. i was able to sneak a lot of cheese into her eggs, and remember that some greens have calcium too, spinach and collard greens. just keep offering it. my daughter threw every bottle and sippy cup on the floor for months. finally, i just let her see me drinking my own milk and she was begging me for my cup, so at first i said no to make her want it even more, which it did, then i "let" her try it, and since then she has been drinking milk, tons of it, she loves it. good luck, D.

C.,

I did what Diana suggested and it worked GREAT for my daughter. I also used the Platex bottle and she liked those. My son didn't like "white" milk at first so I would mix a little bit of strawberry quikk and whole mild yogurt into milk. He loved it. Then at the sitter she gave him some regular milk and he LOVED it. Until I took his bottle away he would drink like 8 bottles of milk. Now (he is gonna be 5 Sunday) he won't drink milk. But likes peas and eats meats so I don't worry about it. Good luck! Tell us what happened!

I have to be honest with you. Weaning is hard. If you are really determined to stop nursing you have to stick to your guns. After putting my mind to it I decided to let my children decide when to wean and they did at 17mos and 21mos. Neither of them ever took a bottle. I did introduce organic cows milk at 13mos or so and our nursing sessions went down to twice a day. Do you have a particular reason for wanting to wean at 1yr. Many experts believe that nursing until the childs 2nd year has many health benefits for mother and child. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

Well what I would do first is pump and put the milk in a sippy, just to get her use to it. Then what you do is this...start with a bottle of just breast milk. A couple days later make it a 3/4 breast milk 1/4 cow's milk bottle. Give her 3-4 days of this. Then a 50-50 bottle for a few days. Then a 1/4 breast milk 3/4 cow's milk bottle a couple days. Then switch to just milk. Take a week or so to do it all. This way you can make sure she's not allergic and stop the breastfeeding thing all at the same time.

hi C., my daughter is almost 17 months, i'm still breastfeeding her, even though i thought i'll stop at 12m. she didn't think so, so we still nrsing:) which was ok with me and i'm able to do it. if you still able or willing to do it, why not continue it - its still very good for your daughter, she's only going to be healthier and stronger. but its up to you both. Anyway, my daughter never took bottle either and did not like cow's milk at 12m, but i offered to her all the time in a sippy cup and also small shot glass (plastic) and she started to like it eventually, now she's been drinking it everyday, and she loves it. keep giving it to her, and show her how much u like it too. I think she's already old enough to drink from bottle, try reg. cup maybe. good luck on what ever you decide:)

I stopped breastfeeding when I went back to work and could not keep up the amount of calorie intake to produce enough and keep up with pumping. So I started offering my son the bottle with formula mixed with my milk and started off with mostly my milk in the bottle. Gradually I would increase the amount of formula until finally it was all formula. Don't give up. Just keep pushing the bottle/sippy cup. Try mixing your milk with regular cow's milk and eventually she will give it a try. I am not sure if she is drinking breastmilk out of a cup or bottle. but if she isn't start getting her used to doing that first before you try the cow's milk. Good luck!

my daughter HATED milk so at 13 months when i stopped nursing i didn't push the issue, i just gave her a lot of cheese and yogurt and broccoli and she had her multivitamin

My doctor told me that my son (who's now 19 months) needs 3 servings of milk per day but it doesn't have to be only straight milk. A serving could be 5 oz. milk or a serving of cheese, yogurt, or pudding. As long as your daughter gets enough fluid from the sippy cup (I mix half juice/half water a lot of the time) then you can get the dairy in through food sources. I don't think you really need a bottle at all if you can get the sippy cup going. Also, there are so many types of sippy cups - maybe try a variety and see which is easiest for her. My niece and nephew loved the ones with the flip up straws but my son needed to start with the ones with the snap on lid and that little spout that sticks up where the fluid pours out.

Oh, and definitely ease her off the breast milk. Breast milk is like a natural laxative and you may see some constipation issues if you take her off all at once.