I had our 2nd child 11 days ago. She is in NICU so I am pumping breast milk and taking it to her for tube and bottle feedings. I am currently pumping 45-50 oz a day and she is eating about 12 oz of that a day. We have already frozen alot and will continue to but there's no way she will ever not have enough milk. She does nurse once a day and we hope to exclusively breast feed once she is able. She burns too many calories so they limit her bottle and breast feedings until she is stronger. My toddler was on 8-16 oz of whole milk and ate 4-8 oz of yogurt a day until the baby was born (a little on the high side for dairy for his age some days, I know). I then started giving him breast milk which he LOVES. I've read that they'll be curious about breast feeding and to let them try it and they will not like it. Not the case at all for us. We planned to mix whole and breast milk to cover up the change but that is not necessary. Anyway, here's the issue. His appetite has significantly decreased. I just read that breast milk is 30% higher in fat so that now makes sense. My assumption is we need to cut back on the quantity of milk he is getting. We have stopped his other dairy temporarily due to a cold he had last week.
Does anyone know of any issues I should be concerned about? We did mention to our pedi that we planned to give him breast milk when the baby arrived to boost his immune system and antibodies. She thought that was fine and didn't mention any concerns or quantity changes. Thanks
Why half milk/half breastmilk? The breastmilk is free and a million times better for him than cow's milk! I would let him drink as much as he wants. There is nothing better than breastmilk in my opinion! They give it cancer patients now.. that should tell you how good it is.
I'll second Christan's response. Why give cows milk at all if your toddler will take your breast milk. If you have a stock for your baby in the NICU and plenty for both, I say let him have it. Your milk is made for him, not cows milk. We are the only animals that supplement our children's diets with other animals milk after we are done nursing. What does that tell you?
C.
My only question is why aren't you saving all of your breast milk for your daughter in the NICU? Eventually she'll get more milk through her feeding tube (I'm assuming she has one) and then you'll need all of that milk. I personally don't think toddlers need breastmilk. They are ready for low fat milk and other sources of dairy. As for his appetite decreasing I think that its normal for toddlers to wax and wane with their appetites. He'll eat when he's hungry. I don't know what NICU you're at but when my son was in the NICU the nurse bundled up the baby and brought him to the window so that my daughter could see him. This really helped because she was VERY upset that her baby wasn't home yet and couldn't understand why she couldn't see him. My son was 6 weeks early and is now a very busy, normal and healthy 9month old!! Hope that makes you feel better. I know how scary it is having a little one in the NICU. PM if you want to talk about it.
I would call your Ped and ask how much breast milk should you be giving your toddler and how much milk. If your child is two years than it is time to move him to low-fat milk...it has more Calcium than whole milk and less fat.
The amt of milk and yogurt you have fed him in the past is fine! I tend to give my daughter 28 - 32 oz of milk to her a day...now that is a lot of milk! We moved her to low fat milk two months early and trying to give her more Half/half juice and water instead of milk.
If it were me...I would give him 4 oz of breast milk and the rest milk. Or half and half...
Or just give him breast milk when he starts to get sick to boost his immune system.
I think that is great that baby #1 is wanting breast milk. He is nursing then? If so, he's still so young and htat is perfect for him. Breast milk is just fine and they don't need dairy in place of human milk.
As for you not saving the milk for the baby in the NICU, we had a similar situation with our daughter when she was born. She had open heart surgery at a few days old and I pumped and pumped. I had SO much milk! Even when she started having more milk, I still had way too much for her and had to eventually toss out a ton of breastmilk. Just wanted to mention this because I think you will be just fine giving baby #1 some of your breastmilk. It's very good for him and he's still a baby too!
I would just make sure to eat a lot and drink a lot to make sure you aren't sucked dry with your milk supply;-)
I hope all goes well with your sweet little one who is in the NICU and that she gets to go home soon.
