Switching from Breastfeeding to Milk

M.,
I would say no to any dangers to cows milk so early, but it will taste much differant to your child. So if it were me I would continue to pump a while and add regular milk to it slowly decreasing your breast milk for the child.Until there is no breast milk.Breast milk is always the best but some moms just can't keep up with the demand. If your milk has depleted you may want to try a old wives trick and drink a beer every now and again, it seems to increase your milk production. My friend nursed her son until he was almost 3 and he is one of the healthiest children I have ever seen.They have a very close relationship and he is now almost 13 when kids start to get secretive about things.My mom tried nursing me as a child but she was so huge with milk it hurt her terribly, I was switched to goats milk and was a very plump baby as goats milk is very rich like breast milk.
I wish you luck , watch for any stomach upsets in your little one.
Debbie

M.,
You are awesome for caring so much about breastfeeding to pump in a stall at work! How awful that there isn't a better place you could do it in! Anyways, just wanted to let you know I too am starting to wean my almost 11 month old, but I haven't given him milk yet. All the other advice you received seems good-I think its safe to introduce him to milk at this point. I have been trying to do some formula bottles with my son, but sometimes he smells it, and doesn't want anything to do with it. Other times, he'll take it. I too have a small supply of frozen breastmilk, but it will quickly be gone. Regarding milk: some people aren't big cow's milk advocates, and the biggest nutrition they need from milk is calcium and protein, which they can also get from yogurt, tofu, rice milk, etc. so if your babe's digestion doesn't do well with milk, you might keep these other things in mind. My son loves plain whole milk yogurt!

There is no harm trying to introduce cow's milk a little early. I would start out with Yo Baby yogurt b/c the milk protein in yogurt is broken down more and is easier on baby's tummy. As far as weaning goes, take out one feeding at a time. Start out with the non-essentials one for you and your baby. Maybe mid-day. For most mommies the hardest ones are the morning and/or evening ones. By now your baby should be sleeping through the night, if not, work on those nursings next. Anyway, once you have taken out a feeding, stay with the new schedule (milk instead of breastmilk) for about a week or so. Then take out the next feeding. I would also add a little bit of cow's milk to your breast milk - a little at a time - so that baby will get used to the taste... You'll love the next stage of not nursing anymore, but you will also miss that time of bonding tremendously...

As long as you watch his diapers and his behavior I would think a few weeks early should be alright. If you are really nervous just buy a tin of formula. The thing with "no milk until 12 months" is basically maturity of baby's digestive system. Not being mature enough to process the milk properly. There is a chance that it could just sit in his system instead of moving on and becoming rotten and making him very ill. Try one of two sips a day and watch him, this will also work for weaning him on to it instead of just giving him a whole bottle at 12 months and expecting him to take to it (some do, some don't).

I hope this helps. Good luck.

you don't have to wean your baby just start using formula(or milk if there are no dairy allergies) for the feedings while you are at work and nurse when at home--your breasts will adjust to how much and how often you nurse. Then you can still give your baby the huge advantage of breast milk but not stress yourself over pumping(though the law does require workplaces to have a place as someone else said--something to keep in mind if you have another child). But the pumping is only necessary for the first 6 months or so for babies--once nursing is well established most babies and moms don't have a problem doing both.

You are supposed to wait until 1 year, but some people do start early. I'd look in to your state laws. In Indiana companies of a certain number of employees have to provide someplace other than a bathroom to pump and ample time to do so, so there's no sneaking and hiding. We waited until my son's first birthday and he LOVED milk, but many kids don't. It may work best if you only start with milk in a sippy cup from the sitter while you are gone. At least that way you don't have to keep pumping and you can just nurse him the rest of the time.

I would wait until he is at least one. Allergies could occur from introducing milk to early. Your already so close.

There's truly *no* rush to switch to the breastmilk of a cow before the minimum recommended 12 months (especially considering that constipation or diarrhea or dry/red skin or ear infections can crop up once baby switches over to cow's milk). Plus, AAP only recommends starting to wean AFTER the full 12 months of breastmilk is over if mom and/or baby desire. There's nothing wrong, and in fact a lot of health benefits for both baby AND mom, to continue breastfeeding past the 12 month mark (as long as mom isn't resenting every feeding - moms need to honor their own feelings/needs too!).

In your case, it sounds like are interested in stopping breastfeeding over the next few weeks --> so the way to go about that most safely for mom is to very gradually eliminate one feeding at a time. If you quit cold turkey, you run the risk of developing a plugged duct or getting an unexpected bout of mastitis... NOT fun... so that's totally avoidable by doing a very gradual weaning over several weeks. It's also a bit more gentle for baby to have a gradual weaning during which time you can replace your nursing time together with some other loving activity like cuddle time or book time. Check out the "How to Wean" section at the following link which I think gives some excellent tips for how to wean gently:
http://askdrsears.com/html/2/t026400.asp

Last but not least, CONGRATULATIONS on breastfeeding for 11 months - that is HUGE! I wish all women and babies could have that experience. In Ohio, by 6 months of age, only 11% of babies are breastfed, so hopefully that gives you some idea of just how much of an accomplishment your 11 months of breastfeeding really all. You have obviously worked diligentely and lovingly to provide breastmilk for your baby (even pumping in the bathroom stall - been there, done that, not the most pleasant place to pump, IMO)... how wonderful!!! Best of luck w/ the weaning - I hope it is a tender, beautiful ending to a wonderful breastfeeding relationship. :)

I would talk to your pediatrician. A friend of mine started her baby on cow's milk at 9 months on the advice of her doctor, who felt the baby wasn't getting enough breastmilk.
That being said, I feel bad for you feeling you have to "sneak off" to pump in the bathroom! Your employer should be able to provide you a comfortable place to pump. I believe in letting a baby self-ween, and we only drink organic milk at my house. With the controversy over whether milk is healthy for us, I wouldn't be in a hurry to switch over to that, and babies need nursing for comfort as well as nutrition. However, I understand that each situation is different. Talk to a lactation consultant or go to a La Leche League meeting about weening. There are a variety of good methods. Good luck!

My son is 14 months and we just stopped breastfeeding about 3 weeks ago. He wasn't ready to let go of the AM feed after he turned a year. I INTRODUCED whole milk. It is okay to introduce it before a year ( my dr said 10 mo is okay) but not to replace it with feedings until a year. You could introduce it with solid food meals for him to get used to it. We did this and it really helped him get used to the new taste and enjoy it as we slowly switched him from breastfeeding to a sippy cup. I strongely recommend putting the whole milk in a sippy cup and use the same type for milk so he alwasy knows that is his milk cup. Worked for us :) PM me if you want to talk more!