Won't Take Milk

Hello,
When I weaned my son(now two)at a year he was in the same situation as your son. He would not take a bottle and he wasn't crazy about milk. The first thing I decided to do was to only breast feed at night for about a week and then I cut him off completely. To help your son get the calcium he needs until starts liking milk you could give him yogurt and cheese. I would occasionally put a little bit of strawberry milk mix in and my son seemed to like that. You can also try those pediapals drinks, although they are quite pricey. After a couple of weeks of not breastfeeding my son did start liking milk. Just keep at it even if you waste gallons:) Also from my experience I think it is good that your son will not take a bottle because you will never have to break him from that. I hope this has helped.
L.

It might help to break this problem down into two parts: first, getting him to see milk from a sippy as acceptable and second getting him to accept that he can still have a warm and snuggly relationship with mom without constant nursing.

Everything I've ever heard or experienced suggest that the best way to go is gradual. That is, to start with replacing one of his feedings. Pick a particular feeding time to replace, and stick with it. This will help your milk supply adjust as well, so you don't end up painfully engorged. (But at first you can express the milk and store it in the refrigerator.)

You might want to pick a feeding that coincides with Dad being home. He might be more willing to accept the sippy from Dad, especially if you and the breast milk are no where in sight. (It's pretty common for them to be stubborn when they see "the good stuff" is around.)

I would recommend trying one of those soft spouted sippy cups. They have an easy to grip middle and a soft nubby top. In fact they don't look like "sippy cups" at all. But they have that nursabilty factor that makes them a good stepping stone to regular sippy cups and drinking glasses.

Another trick is to put your expressed breast milk in the sippy. As time goes on, you can mix 1/4 regular cow's milk in, and then as he accepts it gradually increase the mix until it's straight cows milk.

I like the warming suggestion as well. And of course finding other ways to comfort him and let him feel secure. You might try getting a tube of baby lotion and using it to massage his little feet or back. He might also be ready for a special stuffed cuddly toy.

My son did the exact same things. He still does not drink milk, he hates it, I tried adding stuff to it with no luck, but he does like yogurt. So I started giving him Danimals Smoothies, he loves them and it give him the calcium he needs. As for weaning, my method was odd, but it worked. My son was very attached to the breast, so I gave him a pacificer and told him "no nursing" but let him rest his head on it instead. It actually worked. The first few days he would have a fit about it and I would put it away and that would make him more upset, but I told him he could rest his head there, but he could not nurse. His attachment at the time was pretty strong so he took what he could get. Now he is weaned and has a stuffed animal he favors instead of me. Of course, still no milk.

I remember this hard time so well as I have 5 kids, oldest is 20 and I have a 5 month old. It is very difficult to wean mostly emotionally. What I did with child 3 and 4 is, I announced that Mommies bobbies hurt and actually left to go to the Doctor when i returned (from the store of course) I had bandages on them, and I showed the baby and said Mommy has a booboo, for a day they would pull up my shirt and look and hug them, kiss them and then run off to play, althought my kids were about 18 months when I did this, it made it very easy to stop as it was not me who was stopping them it was the booboo's. Worked great
Good luck to you and just keep giving them milk in the cup they will eventually take it or just offer water until they decide they like it.
Huggs to you!
D.
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Hi S.,

My friend had a simmilar problem while weening her daughter. Her Pediatrician said to try mixing breast milk with the cows milk 50/50 (if you pump), or to put it in 2 sippys and both of you get to drink from one. If he sees you "having so much fun" while drinking from your "special" cup, he will likely be inclined to join in the fun.

Hope this works for you! -Janell-

I see some really great suggestions here... and one more for you. : ) Try Vanilla Soy Milk, it's sweeter than regular milk and plenty of calcium, protein, and other good stuff. You can even mix in some Carnation powder formula for extra nutritional oomph. It worked best for me to wean to a bottle FIRST while weaning from the breast (but make sure you get the ones with wide-mouth bottle and the large rounded nipple NOT the standard bottle ones, that way it is more breast-shaped, then in 6 months or so wean from the bottle to soft-sip cup). Now hold him CLOSE and CUDDLED just like breastfeeding while offering the cup/bottle but fasten a towel or blanket around yourself to make it impossible for him to get what HE wants! Oh yeah, and make sure you wear high neck shirts without buttons to prevent accidental public embarassment! (Been there done that!)

Nursing is a relationship between your son and you. If you are done then make sure when weaning to spend extra time with him and only take away one feeding at a time.

Next, if you continue nursing one year olds understand the not now OR wait. (for public situation) World Wide recommendations are to nurse your child until 2. People who get offended really dont understand the benefits.

With the milk....He really doesnt have to drink it. There are so many other ways to get calcium. Yogurt, ice cream, cottage cheese, cheese, some veggies. The list goes on. Milk doesnt have much to offer him plus he is used to you sweet tasting milk. So offer him water for hydration and other foods for calcium, vit d etc.

As far as the nursing make sure its your desicion to quit. People can look down on you but this is your baby you dont want them controling your decisions

I had the same problem with both of my boys (now almost 4 and 19 months) The only way I could get them to drink milk was to add Nesquik to it, they like the chocolate and they are still getting all the benefits of the milk. My younger one was harder and I just kept trying until he learned to like it. Also, since it took a little longer his pediatrician suggested multi vitamins if he wouldn't take the milk and let him drink water. Poly-Vi-Sol is what we used for a couple of weeks until the milk kicked in. Good luck!

OK, this will raise eyebrows, but I added chocolate syrup to milk, my kids never went back. Baby #4 goes a little wild when she sees me drink chocolate milk and insists that I share. She is still breast/bottle fed, but once we hit a year, I have a feeling the chocolate milk will prevail...

Maybe if you used a different kind of sippy cup?

I know my youngest wasn't too keen on being weened from the bottle, so I bought the Nuby sippy cups with the soft tops. I put warm milk in it and he liked it. Plus they are cheap, so if its a bust, you didn't waste much money trying it.

Also, you could try finding another activity where you two can be close and bond. Maybe reading a book on your lap before sleeping.

If yours is as stubborn about weening as mine was, all I can say is stick to your guns. Haha, I hope this helps! Good Luck!

Well, it sounds like he's not ready to wean! AND, you CAN breastfeed two babies at once. It's called tandem nursing. Anyway, a lot of kids will stop nursing once you get pregnant because your milk changes. Some kids don't care, though. I'd talk to your pediatrician or even consider tandem nursing.

I never breastfed my son for multiple reasons, however I have heard many ideas from other mothers who have. I have been told that you should just start by explaining in his terms that he needs to drink out of the cup only now. My son is 22 months old and believe me they understand what you are telling them, it may only take a few times or it could take longer. I have also heard of trying to get the child to see the cup in a different way. I got my son to drink from a cup because "mommy and daddy" took the lids off of their sippy cup and drank from one like my son's. He loved that all our cups looked the same and never could give him a bottle after that. Try to make the sippy cup look more inviting to him, at that point is won't matter what's in it. It's all about breaking the habit, he feels the breast is comforting and nice, so you need to find out what else is comforting and nice to him and concentrate on that instead. Good Luck and be patient it will all happen in time.

Before you go out in public, nurse him and when you are out running around bring his sippy or special cup.
I used a special cup when the time came for us to not nurse in public, and I went through many different cups.
When you do travel with milk remember to bring it back into the house.
I can't remember what age my ds was when we started to not nurse in public but I do recall letting him gently know that he could wait until we get home, I would say softly in his ear...only at home....and hand him his special cup, but sometimes the nursing is out of comfort and you must show your child a new form of comfort to distract him from your breast.
Pick up a special lovy to hand him when he grabs at you in public, it is all about distraction.
Remember that Animal Milk is not as sweet as breast milk.
It will take time and much love and patience.
Congratulations for Nursing this far!