Introducing Whole Milk - Gilbert,AZ

I've never heard of a 9 month old baby starting whole milk. He should be on bm or formula until 11-12 months at least.

it is completely normal for your breasts to be sore. my son is 13 months and i just got over having a massive blister which turned into a sore on my nipple! he is my second child and I nursed both my kids until at least a year. not everyone's experience is the same. try keeping him off that side as much until it heals. good luck with the milk.

I think your pediatrician is out to lunch. Cow's milk has far too much sodium, protein and potassium for their little systems to handle. And the proteins in whole milk can't really be digested at his age. This article gives you the skinny:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002448.htm

If you are becoming sore, he may not be on correctly. 9 months is the time a lot of babies seem to go thru big changes and he may not be fully on like he should be while nursing. I nursed both mine for 16 and 20 months respectively and if they were nursing correctly I never, ever felt sore.

Might be worth a visit with a lactation consultant or contact your local la leche to see if they can see first hand what he might be doing during nursing time.

It could also be some other things like getting your period, simple hormonal changes that are causing your breasts to be more tender.

And based on the "advice" your pediatrician is giving you, I'd look for another doctor who understands and supports breastfeeding because the doc you have now isn't doing either.

Alright, yes I can't relate to the bf'ing but I can give you this. I have a 1 yo foster child that we received when he was 9 mo old. He has never lived with his mother and as such has never bf'd. We swithced from formula to whole milk when he turned one and he seemed not to notice, but the point I'd like to get accross is that he is built like a tank and has no problems injesting it. I have a two yo foster child as well (his brother) and the 1 yo is a little bit heavier (though both are very cute); we have to buy 18mo to 24mo clothes in order for them to fit.

Just mix some formula and add it to your breastmilk to supplement. You should only need to do that for about 8 weeks or so. Start by adding an ounce or two of formula to a bottle of breastmilk so he can get used to the taste gradually. Great job on breastfeeding for so long! I always started introducing cow's milk just before they turn one year old. I did it the same way I introduced the formula, just adding an ounce or two and letting them get used to the taste. Never had issues with switching over! Good luck!

My daughter's ped told us to wait until she is a full year before introducing whole milk due to the possibility of milk allergies. I know he told you to introduce it, but I would wait. What's another 2.5 months to let your son's system get stronger in the event he does have an allergic reaction? Just my 2 cents...Good luck to you and congrats on sticking out the bf - I started weaning around 5 months or so and wish I could have stuck it out longer.

With all the information about how allergy provoking milk is, I'm surprised any professional would recommend it to such a young baby. If you know anything about the factory farming inustry in this country and the conditions most cows live in and what hormones are given to them, if you do choose to give cow milk, I'd search out an organic source.
But I'd see what you could do to make nursing more comfy. It should not be a pain. See a consultant if needed. Your milk is still the best choice. Good luck!

You will produce more milk and the pain in your breasts will ease up as your body adjusts to your baby's needs. You "could" supplement with cow milk but there are so many better options. As long as you continue to breast feed you could introduce soy, rice, almond or goat milk, just to name a few of the least potentially allergenic "milks". Of all of them named cows milk is the one I would suggest waiting the longest to try. My daughters never "drank" milk, though throuought their lives they have enjoyed many milk products. I was very reluctant to start them on milk products because I am completely dairy intolerant and have always been. It has been suggested that had my digestive system fully developed first I might have avoided such an overwhelming sensitiviy. Please check for your self by googling milk allergies to confirm that allergies to dairy are very significant and pervasive in this culture. Good luck with your little one and may you both have a happy, allergy free life together!

My son is 10 months old and i gave him half milk and half formula because of him being a year old soon they are going to put him on milk... So your best bet is to do half breast milk and half whole milk... Sense you brest fed him for 9 months or so it wont hurt to start putting him on milk breast feeding you have done.. now its time to get him use to a thing of jar food and a little bit of whole milk so that when he is a year old he will be okay with milk and so that he aint trying to latch on to you when he is hungry
good luck
S. and Josh

I started at around 11 months with small amounts of cows milk. If your ped says ok you could try it, just start with very small amounts mixed in with breast milk to see how his tummy handles it and to slowly get him used to the change. Using very small amounts should not affect your supply.

I think that the "one year old" mark is something to be flexible with. Your pedi probably said 'introduce small amounts' not 'switch to'

Most allergies are triggered by an overwhelming of the body of a substance they're not used to (either external or food). So all those mommas who don't give their babies any cows milk at all until their first birthday then stop the formula and only give milk after that, of course there is an adjustment for the baby's body to make!!!!

The other thing to consider is that in today's society, milk is a main component of a baby's diet - they get bottles of milk all day long. In olden days, families were larger and had a cow (or two) that gave milk after they'd calved. That milk would be used for the family, cooking, everybody to drink including baby, and so on. Toddlers didn't go around all day and to bed with sippy cups or bottles of milk.

So OF COURSE there is more milk allergies/sensitivities today. I don't think it is "cow's" milk that is the culprit entirely, nor is soy/almond/goat/etc milk the answer. For some maybe. Moderation in all things!!!!

So as for you, you can sometimes give him sips of "real" milk (whatever kind you're comfortable with, but I think whole cow's milk is fine) especially when your ladies as you so nicely put it :-) are sore. Train him to drink water too. Water is what we NEED.

Another thing about whole cows milk is that today so many people go with 2% 1% or skim/fat free milk. This is actually harder on the stomach than whole cows milk as I've learned from my husband (ironically he's a dairy veterinarian) who can't tolerate milk very well. He can tolerate whole milk in small amounts (and usually takes a lactaid tablet with it) because whole milk has fat in it which slows down its passage through the stomach and increases the digestive time, allowing the lactose enzymes to be broken down better so it doesn't cause him as much of an upset stomach. (He can eat cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc just fine. It's liquid milk he has problems with since it's not as broken down as other dairy products)

And since my husband's a dairy veterinarian, I'll throw in what I've learned from him here as well. Organic milk is just overpriced milk. (He doesn't see that the organic dairies treat their cows any "better" than regular dairies. In fact, a large dairy here in AZ has two dairies, one organic and one not. Whenever a cow gets sick and needs medication to get well - like we all do ourselves - that cow is simply shipped down the road to the non-organic dairy. AT NO TIME are medicated cows' milk ever put into the milk tank. Smaller organic dairies that do not have a 2nd regular dairy have a harder time treating their cows well. It would be like trying to treat yourself or your child who got pneumonia with herbal teas instead of medication, for the sake of staying "natural and drug-free" When a cow gets sick, gets an infection somewhere, you want it humanely treated, which means an antibiotic for the infection so it can heal up.

I suspect that your sore breasts are not from increased demand but from him changing his latch somehow. Reasons why he might be changing his latch are getting lazy or teething. Remind him to open his mouth wide when he nurses. It's hard to give more specific advice without knowing what his latch is like.