introducing milk - if, when, how

[lmh2402]

DD will be one in two weeks (yikes!!)

we're still nursing, but i'm considering whether to start introducing milk in the next few weeks.

DS doesn't drink cows milk. we give him a concoction of almond milk, coconut milk and protein powder - seems easier for him to digest. should i just try to give her that? it's pretty thick so maybe not

i'm a bit worried about cows milk b/c of our early MSPI issues

but while i'm not in a rush to wean, and i plan to continue nursing, i would like to maybe broaden our horizons - i'm struggling to get her to nurse 4/5 times a day and she never nurses for long except at night, and that is mostly comfort. so i'm concerned she's not getting much/enough.

plus, she's biting a lot and honestly i'm kind of tired of caring for open wounds on my nipples

sooo...what to do - if you offered cow's milk, when did you do it? how much did you offer? how much do babies need, ultimately?

thanks!

[edurnemk]

I'll be following this thread since I'm facing the same decision. DD will be 1 on Sunday! I have mixed feeling about cow's milk.

[jam224]

What about goat's milk? That's what I give DD. I also wasn't keen on giving cow's milk.

[rin]

What about goat's milk? That's what I give DD. I also wasn't keen on giving cow's milk.

Just curious, but why did you (or anyone else) want to avoid cow's milk, aside from concerns about allergies/intolerances? DD2 is just 1, and today I gave her a small glass of cow's milk (which she hated). She's still nursing and I have no plans to wean right now, but I've been planning to start offering her cow's milk occasionally.

[jam224]

Just curious, but why did you (or anyone else) want to avoid cow's milk, aside from concerns about allergies/intolerances? DD2 is just 1, and today I gave her a small glass of cow's milk (which she hated). She's still nursing and I have no plans to wean right now, but I've been planning to start offering her cow's milk occasionally.

I wasn't confident in the nutritional value of cow's milk, so I sought an alternative option. I learned that goat's milk is closer to breast milk than cow's milk, so that's why I chose it. I Googled it and found this article, if it helps: http://www.mtcapra.com/benefits-of-g...k-vs-cow-milk/.

Good luck with the transition, mama! The road is bittersweet!

[rin]

Thanks for the article!

[edurnemk]

Just curious, but why did you (or anyone else) want to avoid cow's milk, aside from concerns about allergies/intolerances? DD2 is just 1, and today I gave her a small glass of cow's milk (which she hated). She's still nursing and I have no plans to wean right now, but I've been planning to start offering her cow's milk occasionally.

Because there's more and more concerns about the long term effects of drinking cow's milk. They don't really need it, and the human body is not made for drinking milk after about 4 yo (much less another animal's milk), so I wonder why introduce it in the first place if there are alternatives. I'll come back later with some links. I haven't decided yet, but I'll be discussing it with her Ped next week. I can't get goat's milk where we live.

[jennilynn]

We didn't really introduce milk because DH and I don't drink it so its rarely in the house. We do buy coconut milk for cereal and cooking but I focused more on getting them to eat yogurt at 1 y/o because it has calcium, protein and good bacteria. Our ped had no issues with that

[psimpson3-5]

I've posted this previously in another thread. Maybe it will help you:

My situation is a bit different, but I'll share in case it helps.

DS goes to DC as I WOTH FT. He would get 3 5oz bottles at daycare in addition to nursing in the morning and at bedtime. On weekends, he would nurse at least 4 times and sometimes 1 5oz bottle.

In order to make the transition to WM, I instituted a gradual process I learned from close friends' of ours. Their daughter had dairy issues and her mother decided to nurse. She could not eat ANY dairy products for first 8 mths. After 8 mths, she gradually added dairy back into her diet and daughter was okay. Daughter saw a gastro-specialist. Our thoughts were if a gastro specialist suggested this plan, it must be good to follow.

The specialist told the mother to do the following:
week 1 - for each 5oz bottle, give 1oz WM and 4ozs pumped BM.
week 2- for each 5oz bottle, give 2ozs WM and 3ozs pumped BM.
week 3- for each 5oz bottle, give 3ozs WM and 2ozs pumped BM.
week 4- for each 5oz bottle, give 4ozs WM and 1ozs pumped BM.
week 5- all WM

During week 3, I dropped the morning feeding. We also started giving him a cup of BM mixed w/WM per the instructions above rather than a bottle. DS LOVES this cup: http://amzn.com/B0031E1GEG bc the flow is slower and he can tilt the cup and still get liquid out.

During week 4, I dropped nursing at bedtime. That was the end of nursing!

I also over time gradually warmed the milk less and less. DS always liked his milk very hot.

As a side note - we're still struggling with bedtime a bit. DS still wants to drink from a bottle and wants the milk warm. He can easily drink 8ozs of warm WM at bedtime. We are going to start insisting on the cup at bedtime next week. I've read that putting water in the bottle and milk in the cup will make him prefer the cup. Maybe we'll try that.

Good luck!

ETA: The transition was much easier than I anticipated. DS has no problem drinking WM now. He drinks it cold. We've finally moved away from the Zolibot cup, he prefers a faster flow straw cup now.

[marymoo86]

Just curious, but why did you (or anyone else) want to avoid cow's milk, aside from concerns about allergies/intolerances? DD2 is just 1, and today I gave her a small glass of cow's milk (which she hated). She's still nursing and I have no plans to wean right now, but I've been planning to start offering her cow's milk occasionally.

Generally unless you can get straight from the farm milk with no hormones, etc almost all of the actual nutrients are processed out of the milk. I don't trust it and you don't need it as you can get calcium from food or other sources. Dairy is also one of the biggest causes of inflammation in the body aside from gluten. That's why no cow's milk here. We do greek yogurt as the protein and bacteria are beneficial and sometimes do goat milk yogurt.