Question About Weaning to Cow's Milk

Hi G.,

I weaned my daughers at 12 months. They were all born early, so the doc insisted I wait until 12 months. If you're concerned about lack of vitamins, and still prefer to use cow milk over buying formula for one month, try "Poly-Vi-Sol with Iron". It's daily miltivitamin supplement drops for babies and toddlers. My kids were prescribed it due to lack of iron after starting on whole milk (their skin was turning yellow). You can mix it with her foods, but I wouldn't with the milk so as not to disturb the babies taste buds in her transition from BM to cow Milk. Still, ask your doc about this to be sure.

Luck!

Mari

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I would talk to your pediatrician first, but my daughter (who is now 2) weened herself at 11 months. She just lost interest in breastfeeding. I was told that it was okay to put her directly on whole milk (up to that point I had been exclusively breastfeeding also)

The one struggle we had was that Nora took a bit of time before she really took to the cow's milk. She had a three month period when she did not gain any weight or grow (she has always been very small) .. That was a bit scary.. but then she took off after that!!

I also transitioned her to a sippy cup right away with the whole milk.

Good luck. Don't you wish these kids came with instruction manuals?

E.

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My friend gave her daughter milk. at 11 months because she could not express any more milk. She did not want to give her formula for 1 month. She loved it so much. good luck

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When both of my kids were little their pediatrician said that i could make the switch around 10 months. Most of my friend's doctors said to wait until around the first birthday, but our doctor was very laid back which is what I loved about him. When I introduced cow's milk I added a small amount to the breast milk to make sure she could tollerate it and ease her into a new flavor. I just added a little more each time and it went really well.

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I would think cow's milk would be just fine @ 11 months. There is no big reason for waiting til 12 months it's just a baseline. Plus it will take a while, by the time you wean completely she'll be 12 months. Put a call in to your pedi if your unsure with your decision.
I find it tough for children who breastfeed to go to formula (like the toddler kind) then to milk. They make vitamins and you'll only have to transition once. What's the difference the formula is full of supplements, just as you would supplement with vitamins. It's just my opinion though. Good luck!

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I had done the exact same thing
And yes, it does take a lot out of you!
Its very nice when the father can take part in the feedings to give you a break

My son is now 7 and i believe that at 11 months or so was the perfect time to ween. Do it slowly like you planned it works out perfect
after a while they will not even know the difference.
so good luck
you will actually be more anxious the she will !
my experience was a good one . hope yours is too

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Many people switch to formula because it contains a lot of nutrition that cow's milk just does not contain including iron, vitamins, other minerals, etc. If you do switch to cow's milk just make sure she is eating fortified cereals to get the extra nutrition she may need if she isn't eating all sorts of solids yet. My son is on both milk and 2nd step enfamil formula and he is 16 months. Take care,

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You should ask your doctor, but it's probably OK. They give the 12 month warning because they want the first 12 months to be MOSTLY breastmilk or formula.

Your baby is probably eating solid foods now and therefore a little milk might not hurt her.

However, the conventional wisdom is to not put the cow milk into a bottle but a sippy cup. That way, you won't have to wean her both onto milk and then off of the bottle. But if this is a before-bed comfort bottle, you might not be able to do that.

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Going back to work 6 weeks after the birth of my son, I had trouble keeping up with my son's demands when bfeeding (he is a healthy and happy 2+ year old now). Our pediatrician okayed the mixing of bmilk with soy milk instead of formula or cows milk. Worked like a charm! We are also lucky in that our son has no food allergies so the soy milk was no problem. I'd caution you to check with your pediatrician about this approach to be sure there is no chance for allergic reaction to the soy. Ours said absolutely NO COWS MILK before 1 year old but was perfectly fine with the 1/2 bmilk, 1/2 soy milk combination. Good luck and don't put so much pressure on yourself! Congrats on making it almost a year! I bfed/pumped for 13 months and it was the best investment in my son's life/health I could hope for!

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My daughter breastfed exclusively til one day she self-weaned ("cold turkey") at only 9months and I had no choice (and it was okayed by pedi) to put her on whole cows milk. Then just to make myself feel better I actually bought a can of formula and sprinkled the dry mix into her foods to make sure she was getting enough nutrients, and we never had a problem.

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If you would prefer not to supplement with formula at this point, I woudl recommend goat's milk. It's more similar in composition to breastmilk than cow's milk is and carries less risk of stomach irritation and dairy allergy.

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You should speak with your pediatrician regarding this. Instead of cows milk, you might consider a soy milk product or juice. Since you will be weaning soon it might be advisable to start giving her a little bit of cereal in th evening also. You physician is always a good source of advice since they know your daughter, and can adjust the advice to her specific circumstances.

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Hi - I BF for 12 mths, but at 11 mths I started 1 bottle a day of milk, a little at a time...but it worked out great. Actually the morning of my son's birthday was going to be my last BF session and I went to BF and he sat up and shook his head no, and said "Ba" for bottle...talk about timing!!

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I would call your ped. office and ask for their input. This is what my doctor told me when my daughter was weening at 11-12 months: She said there is more nutrients in formula/BF than in cow's milk and it is really needed for their first year of life. You can switch to cow's milk if you also make sure they are getting their iron and other minerals, whether through a vitamin or other foods. This worked for me and I had no trouble giving my daughter milk once we stopped nursing. I actually think she liked the easiness of a bottle and didn't have to work so much! Good luck!

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G.--

I also exclusive breastfed my son for 54 weeks, but started transitioning to cow's milk around 11 mos. Just add the cow's milk to the bottle of your milk to make up the difference. I think it took us 5 or 6 weeks, we increased the cow's milk an ounce a week and decreased the breastmilk one ounce a week. That way it's not such a huge transition for anyone.

The fact your supply is decreasing is normal and actually healthy for your body at this point because you want your supply to gradually trail (a lot less painful than abruptly stopping nursing all together) off while your little one drinks less of your milk and more of the milk you can buy at the store. You can definitely check with your ped, but that's exactly what mine recommended and my son transitioned beautifully.

Good luck!

R. P
Mommy to Wyatt 23 mos.

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Yup, you got it G.! Trust yourself, you'll be right everytime. I did the same for my girlie and she did great. I did half milk, half breast milk for a few days and then just milk. By her 1st bday she was all milk.