My daughter turned one in January. She would never take a bottle and is just now starting to truly drink from a sippy cup. I had her down to four breastfeedings a day, and it seemed when I made the decision to start weaning her, she decided to breastfeed every two hours again!! I have finally in the last week gotten her to fewer feedings and "snacks", but I don't know how to go about doing this without it being a crying battle for her!!! Any advice would be appreciated!! OH, she will not drink cow's milk or soy milk either. She will take a sip and then let the rest run out of her mouth!!!!! How can I get her to drink milk????? ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! Also, I am wanting to wean her because I am suffering from pretty significant depression, and am not able to take a therapeutic dose of medication while breastfeeding. The medication I need to get back on is not considered safe in breastfeeding, so this of course complicates the situation. If it weren't for this I may not have decided to wean so soon.
Is there any reason to wean her? Why not just follow her lead/need? I promise she won't nurse forever :)
Have you tried putting breast milk in a bottle?
I just went through this same thing with my 13 month old son except that he wasn't still breastfeeding four times a day. He was actually weaning himself from me but wouldn't drink out of anything else either. It was very hard and frustrating! He wouldn't take a bottle or a sippy cup with formula or milk. He also would let the milk just run out of his mouth and he would throw his cup. I was at a complete loss! I just kept trying and eventually he got it.
Just start eliminating the breastfeeding one session at a time then another and another and offer milk in replace of it. Try to be as consistent as you can handle. There will be crying battles but just keep trying and eventually she will start to drink milk out of a sippy cup.
It took about two months for me but now he drinks it really good. I hope this has helped. Good Luck!
wow sounds just like what i went through. i have a 21 month old and i breastfed him till he was 13 months old. he will not drink whole milk at all. and wont take formula. the one thing he did love doing is drinking out of straws. we bought him the sippy cups that had straws. when we first started using these shakes that i am fixing to tell you about. we would buy those straws that bend at the top and put them in the shake and he luved it. and then after he would was used to the shakes we started pouring them into sippy cups with straws infront of him so he saw us pour into the sippy cup and we had no problem. our dr recommended using pediasure shakes. mostly at first because our son is really small so she wanted the extra calories but now we have to keep them on them because he is not drinking milk at all. we buy the heb brand because it is only 5.99 and they have strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. the pediasure is 10.99 and they have about the same flavors. the heb one actually had a little more fat adn more protein so we were happy with that choice. hopefully this will help. i just had to respond because it sounded just like my situation. now on the weaning. mine was really easy. he kinda just weaned himself. but maybe you can substitute those shakes for feedings. goodluck.
hi rebecca,
not sure why you are trying to wean her - you didn't say. perhaps she's not ready.
re the milk or soy, please read the info on both at the weston a. price foundation website (sorry, google for the address, i don't have it in my head) -
i feed mine till age 2
i had to wean two earlier because i was ill and those times i used goat milk...
god bless,
CB
I nursed both my daughters for a year. Weaning was harder with the second one but had similar problems with both. Neither wanted a bottle. I started by warming soy milk (better for them than cow's milk) in the microwave and putting it in a bottle. I made it pretty warm (not too hot, obviously...about 45 sec) and gave it to them first thing in the morning. When they had been drinking warm soy from a bottle for a few days I switched the soy to a sippy cup. I found the warm soy milk was nice because it was the temperature of breast milk and starting in a bottle (without giving in and nursing) made the transition easier.
Try goat's milk if you must do milk. If you want to do juice, dilute it. Only tsps with 16oz of water.
Milk and juice should really not be given to kids.
As for depression. More exercise, more oxygen to the brain. Less sugar. No white flour. Ezekial bread is best. You can get it at HEB, Central Market or Whole Foods. What are you depressed about? Make two lists: one list that you are depressed about and one that you are greateful for. Be in a grateful mindset for your breath, your arms and legs, abilities and for life. You're a new mom, what could be more happy? Some women, would love to have what you have. A baby.
I realize your need to get back on meds that can help your depression, but think carefully before you give your sweet girl anything else but breastmilk. Please go to her doctor for allergy tests first. Maybe there is a medication that can be taken by breastfeeding mothers and that is safer and would do for now.
My son refused everything but breastmilk until 17 months old. He became seriously ill from cows milk, soy milk, baby cereals, baby fruit, and baby veges.
He weaned himself and began to accept homemade baby foods when he was ready. Then he ate only what I prepared for him. He was,amazingly, not allergic nor did he reject foods when ready. The doctor said that it was, however, a good possibility that he was allergic and it was a good thing that I checked.
I hope this has been helpful.
Just because she spits it out does not make her allegic. Babies are smart even at a year old. You said you were down to four feeding every couple of days go down one more. Take out the night feeding last. Watch to make sure she is peeing. Don't give in when she won't drink from the cup she is trying you. She needs that whole milk to develop her brain. Now, if she developes other signs of an allegic reaction that is a different story. There are other things out there. It will be difficult. Espeically if you are suffering from depression. Have your husband help or a family member.
Hi Rebecca,
As a Parent Coach and former nursing mom (my sons are all in school now), I would like to offer some ideas.
Congratulations on successfully nursing your beautiful daughter for a full year! You have given her a GREAT foundation for nutrition, immunities, bonding and other wonderful benefits. Celebrate this milestone!
I hear your need to get back on your medications in this email. Respect what you feel is best for yourself and help your daughter in the process. While the transition to another source of milk may be challenging, she will be fine.
Of my three sons, one was a bit difficult in getting him to take milk. We tried many things, but I will mention some that worked for us and some ideas I've just now thought about.
First, if your daughter was not offered a bottle for anything when younger, she may never like the synthetic nipple in her mouth. Since she is already a year old, a cup may suffice for her nutrition. Let her take the lead on that.
Buy her a new special sippy cup. See if she will help you pick out a new one and use it as soon as you get it cleaned. Let her carry it to the checkout line and carry it home, talking about it all the way, building anticipation. Some sippy cups come with valves to prevent leaking - I highly recommend looking for one of these.
Also, try colorful straws, especially the "curly" kind. My boys loved watching any liquid go through the curly straw.
Try a gradual approach to transitioning her. If you can pump breast milk, do so for some feedings and try the sippy cup or bottle. If possible, someone else may need to do the feeding for this because she associates you with the breast. Save the nursings for the times when she most seems to want them - the last feeding of the day was usually the last one we let go.
When she will take breast milk in a cup or bottle fairly consistantly, take the breast milk and gradually add the milk of your choice to it. Begin with mostly breast milk and only a bit of the new milk and add more of the new milk over time.
As far as any allergies go, consult your Pediatrician about this. I think most kids don't have trouble with them if they've been nursed exclusively for a whole year. Also, ask the doctor about what needs to be done to goat's milk and other raw milk to make it safe for kids to drink (pasteurization, etc).
Your daughter probably wants to nurse for comfort as much as nutrition. Find other ways to provide that love and attention, using your loving arms and luvees, blankets, etc. Children do (eventually) need to learn how to self-comfort using blankets and luvees. For example, if you put her in a Mother's Day Out program later, she will need to be able to self-comfort (with love from the caregiver) and take nutrition from a bottle or sippy cup.
This is a transition that you and your daughter can do!
Let me hear what you decide to do!
Good luck,
Janet Bonnin
Parent Coach
Rebecca,
Hi, I had this same type problem and I had to have a little help. I hope that you have some help...someone else not you should try the warm milk. Your breast milk is warm and so the milk in the cup/nuby should be too. Have you tried the soft clear nuby from walmart? They were the best for me as far as transition. You may also want to try to put her cup with a few toys and she will see that it is friendly and she may initiate play and may not be so upset...Most importantly congratulations to YOU mom for nursing your little one for an entire year!!!! You have done the very best for your daughter, you should be so proud!
Good Fortune!
amber
Rebecca, are you working with a Lactation Educator or IBCLC Lactation consultant? If your main reason for wanting to wean is the medication, you need to have someone research it for you in the Medications and Mother's Milk book, which is the ONLY text specific to the safety of medications while breastfeeding. Also, the safety of many medications vary depending on the age of the baby. There are a lot of things you can do depending on the specific medication.
Merry-Go-Round (my company) in Kingwood has lactation educators on staff. Why don't you give us a call (281-359-7580), we'll be happy to help.
Have you tried warming the cow's milk?
Since she is one, she should be getting most of her nutrition from solid foods. Make sure you are feeding her often enough during the day. She really should only be needing the milk in the morning and at night and maybe a little with meals, but she should not need to nurse like an infant. You may need to just spend time rocking her or holding her and read or engage in some other activity to calm/soothe her. While you are not on the meds yet, I would suggest pumping and storing as much as you can right now. Then I would suggest one of two things..either wean her onto the milk by slowly mixing a combination of more breastmilk with a little regular milk. Although she will need whole milk in general, you could also try experimenting with lower fat milks that have a different taste. Breastmilk is a lot sweeter than regular milk so another option is to wean her onto formula temporarily. I found that my picky children liked Carnation Good Start with DHA and RHA (they are wicked smart too, so it must have something good in it!). It does have a little more sweetness to it, but it is not Nestquick! Try mixing that into the breastmilk or directly into cows milk. Good luck and I hope this has given you some options.
If depression if one of your motivating factors, there are several things you can do first...B6 is a mighty depression lifter for some women, and it would be pretty unusual if you depression was not tied into fluctuating hormones.. did you ever try progesterone cream, which you can buy otc for your depression? Usually our bodies don't have shortages of pharmaceutical drugs, but instead an imbalance in something that it must have naturally. This can happen to young women who have not had children as signaled by PMS and it very often happens to women who have experience childbirth. You can obtain progesterone cream at most health food stores.. or online. Do some research as to what to look for in a cream. If your money loosens up enough you can look for a Dr. like Sakina Davis in The Woodlands, TX. She is a GP with a practice that also specializes in women's hormone treatments. You can see her as a new patient for about 55-60 dollars. Either of these options is likely to be better for you and your child.
Additionally breastfeeding for a year is great,but if you can do it, the breastfeeding weaning will often happend sort of naturally, (with a bit of encouragement of course to give up before bed nursing and maybe AM nursing), but there is absolutely no doubt that breastmilk is the best for your child, and soy is a no no.. any soy that is unfermented messes with your thyroid, and if you read about homogenized milk and processing and how it changes it, and makes it a source of problems for a bodies you'll probably not consider it either for your sweetie and maybe not yourself.
There are other things that could contribute to your depression and the advice to get off sugar and white flour, processed foods is a good one. So try B6, it is water soluable, meaning extra is flushed out.. (don't go nuts just read about it online for dose idea etc..) and progesterone has been a God send for soooo many women I know young and old...
It is worth a try,..natural, vs. chemicals is way better.
Humans are the ONLY animals that drink milk beyond weaning. We do NOT have to have it!!! So quit worrying about her getting milk. If she likes something else to drink, she will stay hydrated. The kind of calcium in cow's milk is not easily absorbable by humans anyway. If you are worried about calcium, see that she eats other calcium rich foods or give her a GOOD children's vitamin (I'm not talking Flintstones here, but one may by a good company like Rainbow Light or other "heath food store" brand).
As for your depression, try acupuncture. You have a good school of Oriental Medicine close to you (Academy of Oriental Medicine on Anderson Lane in Austin) where you can get low cost treatments in the student clinic. They can also give you some herbs that can help your depression, but still be used during breastfeeding. This could be a lifesaver for both of you. Please let me know how you are doing.
As far as getting your daughter to drink milk, what worked for me was mixing it with breast milk/formula gradually until it was all cow's milk. We started out with 3/4 breast milk and 1/4 cow's milk and did that for about 5 days, then switched to 1/2 and 1/2 and then to 1/4 breast milk and 3/4 cow's milk, and then all cow's milk. I tried doing it just 1/2 and 1/2 at first but that wasn't gradual enough for my little guy. Hope that helps.
It's a shame you have to wean, the world average for weaning is 2-3 years... and unfortunately at her age, she is venturing out to explore, sometimes getting frightened and finds comfort at the breast more than nourishment.
You should take some time to do this as a sudden cut-off would be quite traumatic at this stage.
Replace nursings with play, or snack or story time... perhaps with Daddy.
Make it gradual, give a lot of love.
Good luck... you really should call a La Leche League leader and learn more about your medicine. Many many times doctors are ignorant about alternatives to a medicine, and often just tell a mom to wean out of sheer laziness in looking up info.
I had the same problem with my little one not wanting to drink cow's milk either. I just kept offering it in a sippy cup and she drinks it just fine now. I think it's just an adjustment for them both psychologically and to the taste. Another option might be to wean to formula to get her to take a cup with milk then gradually switch over to cow's milk. I just eliminated one feeding at a time and waited 5-7 days between eliminating feedings and it went pretty well. Good luck!