Transistioning from BF to Whole Milk

I started both my kids on whole milk a little before their first bdays and they did really well with it! With my youngest, I bf him until his bday and then just supplemented milk with bf and he transitioned just fine! I would do it gradually though so you don't get engorged! I just took away about a feeding a week until he was completely weaned! HTH!

Sure you can...there isn't something magical that happens RIGHT at a year old that makes it easier for them to tolerate cow's milk. Assuming, at this point, she is also taking well to solids and no allergies in your family...you can start INTRODUCING milk several months before the first birthday (per my pediatrician). The point is to ensure that it doesn't interfere with her intake of other foods and liquids.

Does she drink out of a sippy cup? Start there. I agree warming it a little MAY make her more accepting at first...but mine always liked it ice cold. I also believe goat's milk will make an easier transition.

Is she nursing 3-4 times in 24 hours...or 3-4 times during the day? I'd aim to drop one session per week. You'll need to provide lots of extra comfort, use a pacifier if you do that, make sure she is eating a little more often during the day and getting something to drink. It won't help when she needs comfort, but it will help her needing to nurse when she is hungry or thirsty.

Do you pump? If you do, the easiest way to transition is to mix breast and whole milk together in one bottle for awhile. When we started, the bottle would be about 75% BM and only 25% WM. Then, we gradually shifted to 50/50, then 25/75, until it was 100% WM. Or sippy cup instead of a bottle, of course - whatever you choose.

Don't rush the process too much. Cut out about one nursing session per week and replace it with a bottle, starting with whichever session is least important to her routine. For example, I cut out post-nap nursing, then pre-nap nursing, then bedtime, then first thing in the a.m. I did once ever two weeks or so, but you can do once a week and still be done in about a month. You need it to be somewhat gradual for the process to go more smoothly and for her to put up less of a fight.

At this age, she really doesn't need to be nursing at night anymore either (unless you mean bedtime, not middle of the night). Or unless she is really tiny.

Good luck!

K.
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I started weaning my son around 11mo (with the docs ok). I started by dropping one nursing session a week. I did they middle of the day ones first, then the AM, then the night feed last. I had lots of frozen milk so we did the mixing of whole milk with breastmilk to get him used to it like the first poster had suggested. And we did a sippy cup as well. He did great with it - until a few months later he was having lactose intolerance and had to switch to soy milk for a year, but that was the only issue! Good luck! On a side note, you may continue to leak for awile. I would find a tiny amt of dry milk on my breast daily even like a year later, but it was never enough to even get my bra wet (sorry if TMI - just wanted to warn you) - LOL.

Depends on what she eats and what nurtrient she is getting besides the bottle. I have a home day care and the doctor has insisted on a 15 mo old to stay on formula until 18 mos. Weight and good eater I guess are a factor and since she is turning 1 probably needs a doctor approval. I have heard of mixing whole milk in the formual little adding more and more to transcend. But back in the day they did not have formulas and whole milk was it and no on died from it. More allergies to the formulas then milk. So ask your doctor for sure. G. W

I started weaning my older son at 11.5 months. I didn't think the 2 weeks would do any damge. I had heard about mixing breastmilk and whole milk, but I just tried giving him whole milk to get a feel for how he would do. He did fine! I never had to mix it. I just replaced one nursing session with a bottle of whole milk each week, until he was completely weaned (took about a month).

Don't feel guilty for weaning now!! You need to do what's best for you and your baby! I stopped BFing my oldest at a year b/c I knew we wanted to TTC when he was about 18 months. So I honestly just wanted my body back for a little while before getting pregnant and nursing another baby. Some people may see that as selfish, but it was the best decision for me and my baby! I do not regret it at all. I do plan on nursing my now 10 month old til about 15-18 months or so, since we won't TTC for #3 until he's about 2.

I had all mine drinking from a cup by the time they were a year old. When it was time for the BF to Whole milk transition I just put whole milk in a cup and they took right to it.

I did have to wean my oldest at 7 months due to being prescribed muscle relaxers and being told I had to pump and dump for 24 hours after every one I took. I was having some severe muscle spasms pretty constant and decided that it was useless to continue nursing since the problem was not going to be resolved for several weeks. I pumped and bottle fed him already for church services so that I would not have to go in and out during service. I had a good supply in the freezer and he did not like the formula. I started mixing one ounce of formula to 7 ounces of breast milk and slowly increased the amount of formula to breast milk until I was out of breast milk and he was drinking mostly formula. You can do this with breast milk and whole milk as well if you have any stored or can pump and mix now.

If I remember right, there is a test they do around 9 months that determines if they are ready for whole milk. I don't remember what it tests for, but whatever that level is determines if they are ready for whole milk, so you might call your pedi to check, but 1 week before her birthday shouldn't make a difference either way. As for transitioning, I just dropped 1 feeding per week with my kids in order to wean. My daughter weaned like a champ, all done by birthday. My son self weaned by 10 months, and my last one held on to his nighttime feeding and every once in a while a day time feeding until he was 14 months. But, usually the dropping 1 feeding per week works, start with the one they are least interested in (like lunctime since they are now eating food and BF, it should be easy to stop that one), then whatever other ones you are doing, but I always leave nighttime for last. You can start with a cup of milk to see if they'll drink it, but don't stress, it will be new to them. I usually start with a tupperware cup that doesn't have the suction thing in it so they can actually get something when they just tilt the cup, they don't have to actually suck, it just dribbles out. My youngest was a great straw drinker, so I used the straw top sippy cups for him and that worked. Good luck!

I did the same thing with my daughter (now 4) when she was 11 months old. Skip the bottle altogether and use a sippy for milk. They don't have to be a year exactly to start whole milk. A week or two early is fine. If you use a sippy she won't get attached to the bottle, and you won't have to worry about weaning her from that later. Try just breastfeeding once a day for a few days. Then stop completely. Still cuddle a lot, though. It takes a long time for your breasts to completely dry up - about 2-3 weeks. Hope this helps! I'm glad I weaned her at 11 months because she never really knew what she was missing and the transition was pretty smooth.

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Starting whole milk a few weeks early is fine, especially if you start with just one feeding a day. Pick one feeding to replace with whole milk. Use a sippy cup, not a bottle, because that's what she should be using now. I would probably offer the cup of milk a little earlier that you would usually BF so that she's not very thirsty (and easily frustrated). Hopefully, she'll take to it without any problems (mine certainly did). If you do have problems, maybe you'll need someone else to offer it to her first. I would make the transition gradually for both your sakes (replace one feeding every 3-5 days). My boys were very happy to wean, because they liked being able to sit up and look around with their milk. My second son actually insisting on completely weaning in just 3 days because once I gave him a sippy cup, that was all he wanted. As a result, I had some serious breast discomfort for about 2 weeks. If that happens to you, I strongly recommend putting a cabbage leaf in your bra ... I resisted trying this trick for a while, but it really works. Hope it goes well for you!

I used a bottle not a cup to transition to milk.
I, also, warmed it up a little in the microwave in a glass measuring cup (not the bottle.....always tested it too..........made it luke warm NOT too warm/hot).
Try it with just one bottle a day. I'll be honest.....it took awhile for my baby to transition but I just kept trying to re-introduce it. It took a few weeks but it eventually worked out!