Breastfeeding and Cow's Milk

she can have cow's milk. You aren't being selfish. For goodness sakes you've breastfed for 17 months. I BF for 10 and half months. Just start introducing it in sippy cup or bottle. It may or may not have to be warmed up. My son liked his cold. We actually went from breast milk to formula for a time and then went to regular milk. Don't worry so much, you did a great job with breastfeeding. If you want to be done, be done. She may be a little annoyed and cry, but see if you can distract her with cuddles, bookes, etc. It is sad to be done but sooo liberating!

If she is 17mos. old you are going to have to find the proper nipple for the bottle for her to drink the cows' milk. Since she is not used to it cut it half and half (half water) then wkly. make it less water and more milk. The taste may just be to strong for her right now. Even if a baby is on formula and goes onto milk it is mixed half and half until to regular milk. Try this out and see if it works for you, I hope so. It sounds like you have had your share of nursing. I know some moms' take it to 2+ yrs. I only nursed the one but my daughter has nursed all 3 of hers. My youngest grandchild now 9mos. was b/f until 5mos. then formula and now formula and milk. Formula in am. and pm and milk in the day. She started half and half and now she is on just regular milk. The reason she has her on the formula p/t is because of all of the vitamins. She eats everything so she really need not worry but she had all of them on formula/milk until they were one year. The other 2 are very healthy. Like I said cut the cows' milk w water first and I'm sure she will adjust. Good luck and take care!

I read all the responses and am surprised no one suggested that you just pump and use that in a bottle. Continue breastfeeding (until whenever you're ready to stop) and pump some so you can use that milk in a bottle, in-between. My naturopath says there is no animal on earth that drinks another animal's milk so why are we? When you're ready to wean, look for other milks (rice, almond, etc NOT soy-too hard on their little tummies) to give her and then be sure to supplement. Good luck!

I have a 15 mo. old that nurses a lot still during the day, and even more at night. We are on night three of not nursing at night once she is asleep so wish me luck LOL. At first Sara did not want cows milk either, so I ditched it and offered her water with a splash of juice just to get other liquids in her besides my milk, and that did help. I give her a cup of that at every meal and I leave a cup of that out in the playroom so she can drink it freely. when she asks for milk I ask her if she wants momma milk or cows milk mostly she does say momma's but I still offer her a sip of cow and then nurse her. sometimes children want to nurse bc it is emotional (sara does) bored, tired, need attention so sometimes you can get them not to nurse by solving what they need, their real needs (I hope this makes sence). they dont realy need cows milk, some kids dont drink it at all, but it is good for them so I would still gently introduce it and over time she will take it, as these things worked for us so hopefully you too. you are not selfish, you are self-less nursing is very hard and you give up a lot of yourself to do it so dont feel bad for not loving it all the time! She does not sound ready to wean to me, when she is ready you will know bc she really wont ask for it anymore. At night I tell her my milk is sleeping and she can have it in the morning and I tell her that she can have water and it has been working so when you dont want to nurse her you can tell her that it is not time that she can have (water, water with a splash of juice, or milk) it might work for you. I would not force her to drink it, but offer it. Oh some people have success if they pump and mix it with cows milk gradually adding more cow and less breast over time as it taste very different and might just be hard for her to get used to the taste: or the temp have you heated it? breast milk is warm and cows is cold. hope this helps! good luck!

If you are trying to wean, there is no problem introducing cow's milk. She needs something to replace the milk that she was getting from you. If she has no interest in it, try pumping and mixing the breast milk to cow milk ratio so that she gets more and more cow's milk. That way, if you do decide to wean, she is ready for it. And if not, she is still getting some good fats in her diet.

Just my opinion here, but, their yours not hers. I call it mother cat syndrome, when all of the sudden you're just done, breast feeding... follow your instincts, give her the cow milk or soy milk.....she's 18 mos.... she'll be fine, and congrats for making it this far!!!

She is 17 months old. Only nursing 2-3 times a day.
Whole milk, is because the milk "fats" in it is crucial for brain development.
Yah and also the calcium. But mainly, for babies/toddlers, it is the milk fats... that are crucial for brain development and growth development.

My daughter, nursed until 2.5 years old, and she self-weaned.
But, from when she was 1 years old, I also gave her whole milk and she drank that too.
After 1 years old, just because you are nursing, does not mean you have to "only" give them breastmilk. Unless that is your preference.

Does she get any other kind of dairy in her daily diet? Does she take vitamins?

There is no "rule" that if still nursing after 1 years old, that you "cannot" give them whole milk or other alternatives. My daughter was drinking whole milk, AND nursing... until she self-weaned at 2.5 years old. Then she just drank milk.

My son, self-weaned at about 1 year old from breastfeeding... and from 1 year old I gave him whole milk as well. He drank it no problem.

All the best,
Susan

My 16 month old still refuses cow's milk. He gets plenty of calcium in yogurt and cheese through out the day. He drinks plenty of plain water in his sippy cup. If you are not ready to wean, don't wean. We are not cow's so there is no reason for us to drink cow's milk. As long as she is eating a relatively healthy diet and you are both enjoying breastfeeding, stick with it. She'll let you know when she's ready. My pedi suggested adding chocolate to cow's milk but it was still a no go for my little guy so we are sticking to boobie and water for now!

When we were weaning our twins, we gave them cow's milk at every meal, and they were breastfeeding three times a day at one year. Then we slowly reduced the number of breastfeeding sessions a day until they were 15 months, when they were fully weaned. I think by giving our kids cow's milk, it made the transition much easier.

I nursed mine for 2 years. I controlled when they nursed and when they weaned. I never gave mine cow's milk because they reacted to it when I drank it and nursed. Now they're 16, 14, 9, and 6 and I just had them allergy tested and they're still allergic. They are very healthy without it. Although, I had them cleared so they are eating dairy products for the first time now.. =) Good luck to you!

I am assuming she is eating solids quite well during the day. So it seems that the breastfeeding is more a comfort thing than nutritional. I would start giving her milk in a cup, unless you're confident she's getting 16-24 ounces from you. Actually, even if she is, you might want to start introducing cow's milk. It will be easier for her to wean (when you are ready) if she's not also learning a new food at the same time.

And don't feel selfish for getting ready to wean. 17 months is a long time to breastfeed - you should feed great about that!

Congratulations on breastfeeding for 17 months! I know it can be tough. Weaning also can be difficult, but if you continue do it gradually, as you are doing, eventually she will be done and won't throw fits. Remember: distraction, distraction, distraction can go a long way. :)
I agree with a lot of the responses that have said that cow's milk is not necessary for her development. Dairy products have the fat and vitamins she needs, but they are not the only source of those things, and certainly not the best source, just possibly the most widely available source. If you want to stick with dairy, you can give her other dairy products.
Otherwise, green leafy vegetables are a great source of calcium and all the vitamins that milk has (plus a lot more) and are much better for us than cow's milk. Ever since they saw a few episodes of Popeye, my kids love to eat spinach (I know that's not typical), but another great way to get green leafy veggies is with green smoothies (you can google it). My family loves them.
She can get the fat that is important for her brain development from avocados, nuts, all-natural nut butters like almond butter, cashew butter and peanut butter (make sure they don't have any added sugars or anything--if you have a good blender or food processor you can make these yourself), among other things. There really are so many better ways for her to get what she needs other than through dairy products.
My 4 year-old is allergic to dairy, which is why we discovered a lot of these things, and his development (brain and otherwise) has been quite fine without any dairy products. Really none of my kids have been too keen on dairy, so we've found a lot of better sources for their nutrition.
Good luck!

Congrats on nursing her past a year. You are doing a great job! With my daughter, her milk intake was really slow, starting at a year. She still only drinks a cup a day at 3 years, but she does eat a lot of yogurt, eats cheese, etc. What we did was pick out a big girl sippie cup that she liked. Thermos makes a great one called the Foogo that keeps beverages cold (I wouldn't keep it out until it's room temperature as someone suggested--dairy should be thrown away after it's been left out for 2 hours). It was a slow transition--we mainly drink water out of her sippie (pink Foogo for water, blue for milk) and that works. You can probably wean in public if you have something for her to drink. My daughter also loved the Stonyfield smoothies and now the kefir smoothies. Stonyfield makes a yobaby smoothies that uses whole milk and fruit. They are a big hit. Enjoy!

You could try to water down the cows milk and make sure it's room temperature because your breast milk is not cold like cows milk is. Good Luck

I have a 17 month old who is similar. We were down to just sleep times and he's not especially interested in cow milk either. He was recently sick and increased his nursing-to like every time I sit down. lol You can give cow milk if you want, but you don't HAVE to. There's nothing magic about it. Nursing 2-3 times a day your daughter is getting the healthy fats she needs (plus other good stuff like antibodies). You could just offer cheese or yogurt if you think she'll be more likely to eat that. With my daughter she drank cow milk in addition to nursing (just cause I wanted her to have something when I wasn't around that didn't involve pumping). But my son won't drink much milk. He's more into eating cheese and drinking water. He pretty much eats everything so I don't worry about him getting the calories he needs between solids and nursing.

You're not selfish for wanting to be done. Sometimes I feel that way too. It is ok to set limits. I do believe that nursing is a two way street and if something is not working, it's ok to modify it a bit so it's working for both parties. My first was so into BFing, that I couldn't nurse on demand after 16 months because I was so resentful about it. I weaned her back to 4 times a day (not including all the night nursing) and it made it easier to go on. And when that got overwhelming, we weaned to just nap and bedtime. And then just bedtime until she was totally weaned at 25 months. So I definitely support trying to find a balance that works for both of you. You didn't specifically ask for weaning tips to cut out sessions, but if you want some suggestions that worked for me, then feel free to send me a message.