Weaning from Breastmilk to Regular Milk

I wouldn't worry about mixing it... or pedialyte if the baby would happen to vomit (unlikely) from the milk- breastmilk is far superior to pedialyte for dehydration. Most likely if she has a reaction it will be a rash or diarhhea type things nad if she hasn't ever reacted to any other dairy product (or formula if she has had it) she probably will not react to milk. If you do want to mix something I would mix breastmilk and cow milk to help her transition the taste and consistency. I would not mix with water since that will reduce the amount of fat and calories she is getting from the milk. I have never heard of anyone mixing water and milk, honestly.

Like another poster suggested, just try reducing one feeding at a time. Often the morning and evening are the hardest to give up. Offer her a sippy cup of milk instead and avoid pumping/nursing at that time to signal your breasts not to make milk for that feeding anymore. Once you are both comfortable with that you can eliminate another feeding until you are done. Good luck.

Well, if your not producing a lot of milk as it is it's going to be a little more difficult for you than most moms. What i did was do half milk half water with the regular cows milk, and then instead of giving the whole 4 oz. at one time, give little bits through out the day. It will take time for him/her to get used to it, but it won't hurt them. They might get a little sick, but thats normal. Best thing to do is keep some pedialite in the house JUST INCASE they get sick and throw up. Don't panic though... it's alright. My son must have done it about a hundred times before he got used to it... also, if you having a little trouble pumping, you can sit in a warm/hot bath and the milk usually flowed pretty good for me that way. Just put it in a bottle and spread it out through out the day.

J.,

please don't mix milk with water. We are supposed to give whole milk for it's fat content per ounce, if mixing with water were ok, we could just put our babies on skim. Ask your ped., I am sure she will agree.

We started our son out on Yo Baby yogurt, which is made with whole milk. as far as I know, it's the only yogurt made with whole milk. Our son tolerates this well and we didn't see any reactions, however,... the yogurt with berries tend to give him horrible diaper rash. it's not the yogurt he has a problem with, it's berries. i've read that a lot of berries are known allergens so to hold off on strawberries, blackberries, raspberries until they're older. i will keep trying them with a few months between to see if he continues to have a reaction. Our boy did not do great with the whole milk transition - my doc said to add 4 ounces every 2 days to his bottle to make the transition gradual. after adding 8 oz (day 4) he got gassy... REALLY gassy and crabby and got loose stools (not diarrhea, just looser than normal). We started with Lactaid Whole and he has no problems with that. (he was on soy formula for issues early on so he may be one of the few who has an actual lactose intolerance).

Good luck with your transition. Every baby is different.. I hope yours goes smoothly and the poor little girl doesn't get any vomiting.

J.-
I did this last month with my son and was in a very similar situation. I just started reducing feedings (we were already down to four/day) and offered cow's milk during the early afternoon the first time. He didn't go for it at first - so I just gave him water instead. After another couple of tries he seemed to be OK with it. I wanted him to drink it early in the day so if there was a problem I would see it right away (as opposed to him vomiting in his crib which I have heard happens sometimes). I didn't mix it or anything, but I did buy the organic whole milk. I only let him drink at most a couple of ounces the first few times to see how his body handled it. Then gradually I gave him more and gave it to him more frequently. We then were down to two feedings/day. He seemed naturally disinterested in me because my milk supply had dwindled and he was at that point used to drinking cow's milk or water from a straw (and getting immediate satisfaction). Just go ahead and let your daughter try it - maybe a few times, but I wouldn't bother mixing and going through all of that hassle. Good luck!