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How long to BF/give formula to baby?

natalina

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***This thread is NOT to debate BF'ing vs.formula feeding. PLEASE do not take it there. Thanks.***

As Ellie approaches her first birthday (October), I am starting to wonder about phasing out BF'ing. We exclusively BF right now, and it's going well, but I don't see myself still BF'ing much past a year. That said, we can take our time to ease the transition if she has a hard time giving it up. I don't pump at all and am not looking to start, even though we have a pump. I just find it to be really inconvenient (pumping, not BF'ing). Anyhoo, so I am looking for advice on:
1. How to cut back? I might like to keep up a once a day nursing (maybe first thing in the morning). Is that possible, or will I dry up?
2. When we do cut back/stop, do we go straight to whole milk? Or should she get some formula?
3. Slight tangent- Since we are thinking about working on baby #2 very soon, what happens to milk production if I get pregnant?

I will obviously ask her pedi about this, but you guys are a wealth of info. And as crazy as it may sound, I feel like I "know" several of you and respect your parenting knowledge/styles and know that PS'ers do their research!!!
 

Dreamer_D

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Hunter was night weaned by 9 months and between then an 12 months he nursed about 4 times per day. When he started daycare at 10 months I went to the daycare at lunch and nursed him. At 12 months we decided that it was time to introduce whole cows milk, so we substituted that for the mid-day feeding when he was at daycare (after introducing it at home, of course). Once we did that he just lost interest in nursing all together! So we gave him whole milk for all his "feedings", which means bottles 4 times per day. Then we used sippy cups.

By 12 months they are fine on just cow's milk. I would start by cutting on BF session and subbing cows milk and go from there!

eta I never pumped either, EBF only, and though weaning was a sad time for me because I wanted to nurse much longer, the freedom sure was nice! ;))
 

Dreamer_D

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natalina said:
1. How to cut back? I might like to keep up a once a day nursing (maybe first thing in the morning). Is that possible, or will I dry up?
2. When we do cut back/stop, do we go straight to whole milk? Or should she get some formula?
3. Slight tangent- Since we are thinking about working on baby #2 very soon, what happens to milk production if I get pregnant?

1. Some women I know kept BFing once a day for a loooooong time and their kids still liked it. My milk supply got low enough that Hunter lost interest in nursing all together, though he would still do it in the am for a while.
2. Whole milk is fine at that age.
3. I think your supply dips when you get pg, but many women do continue nursing. You would need to eat about 500 - 600 extra cals per day to do both and stay healthy, I would think. I would probably wean, personally, because being pg is hard enough, but you can always play it by ear.
 

natalina

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Thanks DD! I was hoping you'd answer. So Hunter was totally off BF'ing shortly after 12 months, is that right? And is it necessary to give the bottles (or sippies) of whole milk as separate meals to ensure that they are getting a specific amount? Or is it enough to just have it with their solid meals?
ETA: I should say, right now Ellie nurses first thing in the morning (7am), then solid breakfast at about 8am, nurse about 930am before nap, solid lunch at about 1230pm, nurse at 2pm before nap, solid dinner at 5pm, nurse before bed at 7pm.
 

Dreamer_D

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natalina said:
Thanks DD! I was hoping you'd answer. So Hunter was totally off BF'ing shortly after 12 months, is that right? And is it necessary to give the bottles (or sippies) of whole milk as separate meals to ensure that they are getting a specific amount? Or is it enough to just have it with their solid meals?
ETA: I should say, right now Ellie nurses first thing in the morning (7am), then solid breakfast at about 8am, nurse about 930am before nap, solid lunch at about 1230pm, nurse at 2pm before nap, solid dinner at 5pm, nurse before bed at 7pm.

Yup, Hunter was totally weaned within about 2-3 weeks of introducing that mid-day bottle at 12 months. I never in a million years thought that he would wean himself, but he did! We gave the bottles at the exact same times that I had nursed him, and I think the schedule you are on is about identical to what we did. I think he would have continued the am nursing if I had wanted to, but honestly I wanted to sleep in and let DH handle the am routine, so we cut it out 8) He did not seem bothered.

I liked to space it out to make sure he was drinking his fill, for calories and also for hydration, and I think that is recommended. We offered water too with his meals, but mostly he drinks milk at non-meal times. I think the suggestion is 18-24oz per day. At 12 months he drank maybe 20oz in 4 bottles, so 4-5oz per bottle. Now he takes milk about 3x per day and drinks about 7-8oz each time. I did not worry about his drinking all of it, I just follwed his cues and offered it each time. Sometimes he wants more than other times, just like with food.
 

Jennifer W

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I just cut down gradually until we were at two feeds a day - first and last thing each day. After about 13 months, she seemed less and less interested, and was completely done with BFing by just shy of 15 months. I just went by her cues and she pretty much weaned herself.

I didn't give her cows milk, as she has excema which seems to be aggravated by milk. She's fine with yoghurt and cheese, so I just give her water to drink and make sure she has plenty of other foods with calcium in them.

Good luck!

Jen
 

Dreamer_D

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Jennifer W said:
I just cut down gradually until we were at two feeds a day - first and last thing each day. After about 13 months, she seemed less and less interested, and was completely done with BFing by just shy of 15 months. I just went by her cues and she pretty much weaned herself.

I didn't give her cows milk, as she has excema which seems to be aggravated by milk. She's fine with yoghurt and cheese, so I just give her water to drink and make sure she has plenty of other foods with calcium in them.

Good luck!

Jen

My friend did this too, her daughter will not take cow's milk. Have you tried soymilk for another option Jen?
 

swingirl

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I BF my son till he was 2 but towards the end it was mostly at night. He rarely got to nurse during the day because I worked and my body was able to accommodate the on-off schedule. I produced enough milk to BF for mornings and evenings and did not need to pump during the day. I could ramp it up on weekends, too. It's amazing what your body will do for you.

When I'd come home from work I'd drink a lot of fluids to help with the production. My son was puny and I wanted to keep giving him the most nutritious food I could plus he really like BF. He absolutely would not take a bottle or drink formula of any kind so he drank cow's milk from a cup at daycare once he was 12 months.

My daughter, on the other hand, was done with BF around 9 months and after a few months with formula in a bottle she wanted to hold a cup an guzzle cow's milk.

I let my kids wean themselves. I figured when they were ready, I was ready.
 

AmberWaves

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Piper is also EBF (never touched a bottle), and uses sippies for water. I wonder, when I wean (I'm planning on 1 year, also) her, do I need to use bottles? Or just transition to sippies with whole milk?
 

qtiekiki

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1. How to cut back? I might like to keep up a once a day nursing (maybe first thing in the morning). Is that possible, or will I dry up?
I suggest gradually weaning by replacing one nursing session at a time with bottle/sippy. Your body will likely adjust for you to be able to nurse once a day. I have no personal experience with gradual weaning or nursing once a day.

2. When we do cut back/stop, do we go straight to whole milk? Or should she get some formula?
Go straight to whole milk. One less transition. I tried a gradual transition to whole milk by mixing BM and whole milk. First day was 1oz whole milk and 5oz BM, second day was 2oz and 4oz, then third day was half and half. Meena refused to drink the half and half, and the few sips she took caused a rash. So we stopped whole milk and went to soymilk. She was barely drinking the soymilk, maybe only a 6oz a day. The transition was tough for us. So I think less transition = better. We have to make up for the calcium with cheese and yogurt.

3. Slight tangent- Since we are thinking about working on baby #2 very soon, what happens to milk production if I get pregnant?
It's different for every women. For me, pregnancy dries up my supply. I got pregnant when Meena was 9 months. I was able to breastfeed until around 10.5 months. It might be different if I was home with her, but I wasn't pumping enough to meet her demand. So I stopped pumping at 10.5 months, nursed morning and night and used freezer stash during the day. I made it to about 11 months, and I just stopped cold turkey. No engorgements or anything. I've read and some of the PSers told me that their friends were able to continue BFing throughout their own pregnancy. It wasn't the case for me.

ETA: Amber - I would just do sippy with the milk. Meena gave up her bottle when I stopped BFing; she hasn't touch a bottle since 11 months.
 

puffy

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natalina said:
***This thread is NOT to debate BF'ing vs.formula feeding. PLEASE do not take it there. Thanks.***

As Ellie approaches her first birthday (October), I am starting to wonder about phasing out BF'ing. We exclusively BF right now, and it's going well, but I don't see myself still BF'ing much past a year. That said, we can take our time to ease the transition if she has a hard time giving it up. I don't pump at all and am not looking to start, even though we have a pump. I just find it to be really inconvenient (pumping, not BF'ing). Anyhoo, so I am looking for advice on:
1. How to cut back? I might like to keep up a once a day nursing (maybe first thing in the morning). Is that possible, or will I dry up?
2. When we do cut back/stop, do we go straight to whole milk? Or should she get some formula?
3. Slight tangent- Since we are thinking about working on baby #2 very soon, what happens to milk production if I get pregnant?

I will obviously ask her pedi about this, but you guys are a wealth of info. And as crazy as it may sound, I feel like I "know" several of you and respect your parenting knowledge/styles and know that PS'ers do their research!!!

with B, i cut out 1 feeding at a time. but he was only nursing 3 times a day when i started to wean, i cut out his afternoon one for a few days then morning for the next few days, then the night time one. your body should adjust so that you can still nurse her once a day.

we went straight to whole milk, but he was also EBF'ed for a year, so no need for formula. and at around 11 months, i would give him a little whole milk with his lunch to make sure he took it and that he didn't have any reactions to it. he loved it.

i am actually just preggo with my third and still nursing my second, who is 8 months. my supply seems to be fine for now, but we'll see as the pregnancy progresses. he nurse 3 times a day right now as well, and sometimes i jut give him a bottle/sippy and just pump.

ETA: amber, as qt said, just go straight to sippy. or by then, she's do fine with straws as well.
 

Dreamer_D

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AmberWaves said:
Piper is also EBF (never touched a bottle), and uses sippies for water. I wonder, when I wean (I'm planning on 1 year, also) her, do I need to use bottles? Or just transition to sippies with whole milk?

Hunter did not like sippies so we used bottles. Now at 18mo we use mostly sippies and som bottles ocassionally still. Do what works.
 

phoenixgirl

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I'm wondering the same thing. We can be weaning buddies! My pedi said I could introduce a little cow's milk now (at almost 10 months) to get her used to it, but right now I'm just working on the sippy cup skillz. I've had to try a whole bunch of different cups (finally settled on the Nuby two handle with soft spout), and though I see her drinking from it, she's hardly taking an ounce of diluted juice a day.

Have you introduced foods yet?
 

qtiekiki

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Amber
Do what DD says. I just meant I would offer sippies first, but if they don't work, then obviously you use what work.

Supply while pregnant
I think my culprit was that I was a BF/pumper. I think it would be different if you are EBF.
 

natalina

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Thanks everyone for all the responses!
Jen- I think it sounds perfect to cut out feeds gradually. I will probably drop the two daytime first, then nighttime, and lastly morning. Maybe she won't even miss it and it will go quickly!

Swingirl- I hope I have the same experience with how my body reacts to weaning. I think it would be nice to keep our morning session for a few months or so- just a little bit of special time for the two of us while she gets some good nutrients as a bonus!

Amber- I am really trying to avoid using bottles. Ellie is a CHAMP with her sippy cup now. She chugs water with her meals! She just loves it. Hopefully she will love it just as much when it has milk inside!

QT- I'm hoping Ellie is okay with whole milk. She is fine with everything we've tried so far, including yogurt, cheese, and eggs. It's good to know you were able to keep BF'ing even for 1.5 months past getting pregnant. Since she's already 10 months, it may not even be an issue for me (she'll probably be 1 year before I get KU).

Puffy- I think that's a great idea to introduce a bit of whole milk soon. Thanks for the idea! More importantly- CONGRATULATIONS!!! Wow, mama! That is fantastic!

PG- Yay for weaning buddies! It took us a bit to find good sippies too. We like the NUK one with removable handles and the Munchkin one that's like the Nuby you mentioned. How long have you had her working on sippy skills? Ellie just loves hers. As for food, my goodness our girl will eat ANYTHING. And she doesn't even have any teeth yet! Well, there is one just barely poking through as of 3 days ago, but she will nosh anything with her little gums. She had tiny slices of steak last night! How about Claire?
 

sbde

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natalina,

i bf'd my son until he was 14 mos old (and i found out that i was pregnant again). like some of the other moms have mentioned, i started off by cutting out the nighttime feeding and introducing whole milk during the day. i went straight from BM to whole milk. i didn't mix half and half or anything, he would either have BM or whole milk depending on the time of day. we also completely skipped bottles (i had stocked up before the baby was born, what a waste of $$ for me!) and started the whole milk in sippy cups instead (Nuk, like the one you already have).

good luck with your journey - it took my son about 3-4 weeks to completely give up the BM, he still asked for it at times months later haha poor little guy.
 

Pandora II

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I'm still BF at 15 months and D shows no signs of stopping. I probably feed her every 3-4 hours day and night, and if she falls over or something she always wants 30 seconds on the breast to recover... :rolleyes:

She is in the 'eat loads one day, refuse everything the next day' phase as far as solids go and so I'm glad she's still feeding as much as she is as it stops me worrying about her calorie intake.

I'm pretty much going to leave it up to her to wean herself. I was talking to DH's 'step-sister' (his mother and her father married when the kids were all adults so it's a bit weird to say step-siblings really) on Saturday and she's just weaned her daughter at 3.5. They co-sleep as do we and I believe that means it takes them longer to wean themselves.

I don't give Daisy cups as she finds it amusing to pour them over herself, the floor, anything to hand, but I've found some great new Tommie Tippee sippy cup things that are truly spill proof and I give her water or very diluted apple juice in those. I don't give her milk as half my family have milk allergies, and I use milk as a food not a drink. She gets plenty of calcium from me, cheese, yogurt etc. If you are transitioning, I would probably say to go straight to cow's milk rather than formula.

I've heard of people that can keep bfing through a pregnancy but don't know anyone who did - always wondered what happens when new baby arrives, do you feed both or suddenly wean the older (which seems a bit mean).
 

AmberWaves

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Thanks for the advice! Piper loves her sippy (the same ones I think Pandora uses, we have the Tommee Tippee as well, the second stage since I didn't want her using the "bottle nipple" kind), and chugs all the time.We have only given her water, though.

Natalina, I'm going to be closely watching how this turns out for you (and PG!). I'm hoping to feed once at night leading up to the weaning, she's definitely better during the day sans BM than nighttime. That and my total paranoia about her sleep getting all whacked out. :) I'm all over paranoid about her sleep.
 

Jennifer W

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Dreamer_D said:
Jennifer W said:
I just cut down gradually until we were at two feeds a day - first and last thing each day. After about 13 months, she seemed less and less interested, and was completely done with BFing by just shy of 15 months. I just went by her cues and she pretty much weaned herself.

I didn't give her cows milk, as she has excema which seems to be aggravated by milk. She's fine with yoghurt and cheese, so I just give her water to drink and make sure she has plenty of other foods with calcium in them.

Good luck!

Jen
6
My friend did this too, her daughter will not take cow's milk. Have you tried soymilk for another option Jen?

I haven't tried soy milk, I didn't really see any need to be honest. Calcium intake is fine, and really, water will keep her hydrated. DH has been giving her a little skimmed cow's milk with her breakfast cereal recently, and it seems to be ok so far. Her skin did flare up a little at first but it isn't too bad and it's calmed down again, so I guess we could probably give her more milk. Well, DH can. I have a bit of a thing about milk, it skeeves me out. I can't bear it and until I lived with DH, wouldn't even have it in the house. The smell, texture, notion of it just makes me gag. I worked on a friend's dairy farm for a few weeks once when he was sick - I never liked it before, but that killed any lingering doubts that it was a substance I'd like to be close to. :))

We went straight to sippy cups, since A never took to bottles. It was fine - took her a few days to figure it out, then she was happy with them. I used the ones Pandora mentioned.

Jen
 

waxing lyrical

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We're at 8 months right now and my goal is 24 months. With my girls, they just nursed less after a year. Buy the time they stopped they were only down to 2-3 sessions a day. I introduced goat's milk when they were 12 months old.
 

Dreamer_D

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Jennifer W said:
Dreamer_D said:
Jennifer W said:
I just cut down gradually until we were at two feeds a day - first and last thing each day. After about 13 months, she seemed less and less interested, and was completely done with BFing by just shy of 15 months. I just went by her cues and she pretty much weaned herself.

I didn't give her cows milk, as she has excema which seems to be aggravated by milk. She's fine with yoghurt and cheese, so I just give her water to drink and make sure she has plenty of other foods with calcium in them.

Good luck!

Jen
6
My friend did this too, her daughter will not take cow's milk. Have you tried soymilk for another option Jen?

I haven't tried soy milk, I didn't really see any need to be honest. Calcium intake is fine, and really, water will keep her hydrated. DH has been giving her a little skimmed cow's milk with her breakfast cereal recently, and it seems to be ok so far. Her skin did flare up a little at first but it isn't too bad and it's calmed down again, so I guess we could probably give her more milk. Well, DH can. I have a bit of a thing about milk, it skeeves me out. I can't bear it and until I lived with DH, wouldn't even have it in the house. The smell, texture, notion of it just makes me gag. I worked on a friend's dairy farm for a few weeks once when he was sick - I never liked it before, but that killed any lingering doubts that it was a substance I'd like to be close to. :))

haha! I was just thinking for variety in drinks, that's all, or for cereal etc if cow's milk is a no go.
 

Sha

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I'm thinking about this too. I plan to wean completely when Dalila is 1 year old (just about 3 months to go), so the above answers are really helpful.
 

vespergirl

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Hey guys, I can't help with the weaning part of the question, since I was only able to BF both my boys for the first 3 months (my milk production was so low) but I did switch Andrew from formula to whole milk at 12 months. First I gave him whole milk in bottles to not change everything at once, but over the course of a month, transitioned from bottles to sippies. First I just gave him sippies during the day, and then finally I changed him night bottle to a sippie. Hope that helps!
 

Pandora II

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LOL on the milk thing Jen!

I can't bear the stuff and neither can DH - I have many memories of being made to sit for hours in front of a glass of milk that I had refused to drink (and never did give in and drink it either!).

Weirdly we both like cream, butter, ice-cream, proper milkshakes etc but rarely have milk in the house. I have to nick those little UHT milk things they have in cafes so that I have some of the stuff for friends that like milk in tea or coffee.
 

Jennifer W

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Do you remember school milk, Pandora? Revolting in winter when it froze, unspeakably nasty in summer when it was warm.

I love butter, cheese, whipped cream, ice cream and coffee with milk, but I can't cope with pouring cream or yoghurt - too close to milk!
 

MeowMeow

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Why do you want to refuse formula feeding? I fed my little girl for the first two years to saturate her with all the necessary vitamins.

Hey so you don't wonder why OP doesn't answer you. This is a 10 year old thread. It's from 2010 :)
 
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