Switching from Breastmilk to Whole Milk - Abingdon,IL

Hello D.,
My daughter transitioned to milk a few months ago too and I found that going from breast milk to soy milk then to whole milk worked best. We tried going straight to whole milk, buy she refused it initially; I guess soy tastes more similar to breast milk so that transition went easily and we gradually switched to all whole milk. Good luck!

You actually can mix breastmilk and whole milk if you pump. However, we tried going at a 75-25% mix and increasing it starting at around 11.5 months with my daughter and she refused! Oddly, we tried straight up whole milk 3 days after her birthday and she was fine with it (as if she knew we were trying to do something 2 weeks early! smarty pants!).

You don't need to do a fancy transition if you don't want to, but you may want to give smaller ammounts of milk to see how he'll do.

D.,
When introducing something new, it is recommended that you mix in something familar to your daughter. If you have a breast pump, then pump out an ounce or two of breast milk and mix that in with the whole milk. I beg of you, if you decide to actually give cow's milk, please, please give on Organic milk. Organic milk will have no pesticides, herbicides, growth hormone, or carcinogens that will disrupt normal DNA, growth, & hormones of your child. Regular crappy milk can disrupt estrogen & set her up for cancer, asthma, possibly diabetes. Also, keep in mind that cow's milk is really difficult to digest, Whole Goat's milk would be better tolerated & digested. If you still decide to go the Cow's milk route, it would be better to boil it first, let cool down, then give to your daughter. THis will break down the milk proteins a little & help her digest better. As with anything new, please watch for any reactions like: runny nose shortly (or while) drinking the milk, wheezing, rash anywhere on body (could take a few days to develop), or diaper rash (again could take a few days to show up). If you have anymore questions on nutrition or Naturopathic health, just call the office at ###-###-####. I'm a Naturopathic Doctor & I specialize in women's medicine, adolescents, & pediatrics through natural medicine (Nutrition, Homeopathy, Botanicals, Hydrotherapy).
Dr. A.

I just gave my son milk in a cup. Our rule was that cow's milk goes in a cup. Breastmilk either comes straight from the source or goes in a bottle if I'm gone. In other words, we treated breastmilk and cow's milk as 2 distinct beverages. I weaned my son at 20 months and he was always happy to have cow's milk too.

Before adopting a complicated regime, try just offering him some milk to see if he'll take it. He might be fine with it. I gave my daughter her first cow's milk at around 14 months. She took a swig, pulled the bottle of out her mouth to look at it, shrugged, and went back to drinking. She's very specific about food and will only drink milk and water, no juice. But she was fine with the cow's milk. She still nurses, so it wasn't like she had to give up the breast, so maybe that helped too.

I just switched my son. (well he still has to nurse at night!!) But for one week I did 75% breast milk with 25% whole milk, then the next week 50/50 and then of course the 3rd week 75% whole milk and 25% breastmilk. Before the fourth week he was drinking the whole milk fine with no problem. I think mixing it helps them with taste if you have a picky baby. Good luck.

You already have good suggestions. Just remember that they are not the same--you get a lot more nutrition from breastmilk!

I pump at work so I am able to do this. I will be adding about an ounce or so of milk to her bottles until it is all milk. If you don't pump, then you could try giving a little milk in a cup until he ends up with a cup or bottleful.

Just start offering it. I offer it at all meals, in a sippy...I did not bottles after 12mo. My 3 were weened by 12mo. So I started introducing around 11mo. By 12 that was all they drank.

we used soy milk from Trader Joes for our daughter. It has a lot of protein and the kids (my one and 3 year old at the time) loved it. The vanilla flavor has more sugar, but it does make it taste good.

When I weaned my 2 from being breastfed I did it slowly and only gave them milk in a sippy. I would first drop the mid-morning feeding and give them milk in a cup. Then mid-afternoon, etc. The last 2 to drop were the first in the morning and then the last at night. This helps in 2 ways. 1- It helps your child slowly wean to milk and you can check for reactions, etc. 2- It helps slow your supply so you don't go through days of engourgement (sp?) and pain when they are fully weaned off.

My daughter barely would drink any milk until we stopped nursing. Then she would readily take the milk. I nursed for 25 months. But she was nursing a lot so I know that she was getting the nutrition anyways. She just nursed and would drink water all day. Don't stress about it if you are going to continue nursing.

IF you are concerned start trying the yo baby yogurt and cheeses to make sure no reaction to milk...Maybe you are already doing this..If so then introducing milk should not be as difficult...small amounts and if no reaction you should be ok...If concerned run it by your pediatrician.

My son is 38 weeks now and he is nursing several times a day and at least twice at night, but he will take a sippy cup with juice or milk. He likes it.

I've heard of some mom's adding just a tiny bit of honey after 12 months of age to sweeten a bit. Then slowly reducing that until it is straight milk.

Hi D.,

I know you already got tons of responses, but I thought I'd add my own as a different angle...

I personally don't think that cow milk is necessary for kids, and many nutritionists agree. If your little one gets a good variety of food, he/she will get enough calcium. Or I suggest using the formula made for kids 9mo-2 years to get some of the added nutrients. We only use cow milk because 1) they produce more milk than smaller mammals, and 2) are easier to domesticate than other large mammals. Nutritionally, it's not even the correct balance of fat, enzymes, etc. for human babies to act as a replacement for breastmilk, so really, it's over-used as a meal-replacement. Again, this is just my opinion (and the opinion of many professionals), but there's a lot of evidence supporting it, and at least it offers a different perspective.

If your son is under weight, then whole milk would serve a purpose, helping him to get the fat content he needs, but otherwise, it's just not necessary. I nursed my son for 6 months, then did formula for almost 6 months, with solids being incorporated. He's perfectly healthy, the right size, energetic and intelligent, and has never had milk as a drink. The only time he has it is when it's part of another food, i.e. cheese, yogurt, used as an ingredient in a casserole... He hasn't suffered in any way by omitting cow milk as a nutritional supplement. If he had it and enjoyed it, then I would give it to him as a drink occasionally, but only because it was something he liked, much like I like lemonade, even though it doesn't provide much other than vitamin C.

If you stick with cow milk, I suggest trying an organic milk, not only because of the normal reasons (no hormones, chemicals, etc.), but because it lasts longer in the fridge! I couldn't believe it; I had a container of organic milk for cooking for me and the kids, and my husband bought a gallon of regular milk because he doesn't care what he drinks, and even though they were purchased within a day or two of eachother, the expiration date on the organic milk was around 2 weeks later! In the long run, if you don't drink tons of milk, you're getting a better value by buying the milk that lasts longer, so you don't have to replace it as often.

Good luck in transitioning, no matter which route you take!

cant help you there I love nursing my 13 month and cant imagine weaning her to give her milk from a cow. What I have heard from others is just continue to give your child milk from a cup and the more fluids they get from other sources the less they will get from you and at some point your child will be drinking full on cows milk.

whole milk can be heavy after breastmilk. try rice or soy milk first. also nuby cups are great. they make the switch a bit easier since babies can control the flow. if you just decide to do whole milk maybe don't offer it at bedtime. just put a little in the cup(2-3 ounces)and see how it goes. don't give up or in if you are ready to switch.

Kudos on the nursing , I did the same and it's a great start for your babies. With my kids, I just gave them the milk in a sippy while I was weaning, not after I finished weaning. Just to introduce it to them. Thankfully they all switched well. I know some babies, will not they of course would prefer the breast. My youngest had to start with soy formula while I weaned at 1 year and then went to soy milk which is kind of sweet= he had a milk allergy. I say just slowly introduce it.

Have you thought about just giving her straight cow's milk? My son preferred straight milk to a mix of BM and cowmilk. Try a sippy cup...you may have to play with temperature a little, but you probably won't have much of a problem. Good luck!

I don't really remember how I transferred with the children I was nursing, but my last was bottle-fed. I was anxious about how he would take to the milk. I was dreading the mixing of milk and formula and worried about whether he would have some stomach problems. Well, one day, we ran out of formula. I gave my little guy a cup of milk out of necessity, and he loved it. Wouldn't go back to formula, wouldn't drink milk mixed with formula. So, it might be easier than you think!

I breastfed both of my kids and they gladly welcomed whole milk between 10-12mo. My suggestion is to give him a bottle (or sippy cup if he uses them already) and see how he likes it. If he takes it, there is no need to offer him breastmilk anymore, unless you are uncomfortable. By the end of my nursing, my breasts never filled up enough to get uncomfortable. My only caution is not to give him too much milk and wait until after he is finished a meal. I gave my son a bottle of milk because he preferred that to food in the beginning. He wound up having low iron and I was told to cut back on the milk. Hope this helps!

I breastfed all three of my children until 13 months. I gradually added whole milk while I continued to breastfeed. For example, I first dropped the mid morning feeding and replaced it with one cup of whole milk IN A SIPPY CUP. Don't use a bottle. It may take a day or two of sipping the cup all day, but your baby will get the hang of it if you're persistent. I gradually replaced feedings until my babies were on all whole milk. The process took about 3-4 weeks.