WCM

Amberrrr

I have been thinking about WCM, ever since my little guy dropped a couple nursing sessions. I have thought about it multiple times a day. Most of the time, he nurses once before his nap, maybe once more through out the day randomly, before bed time, and once or twice during the night, with sporadic nursing in the early morning that I'm sleeping through, so I can't really be precise about I'd say 5x within a full 24 hours. I'm assuming if he wanted to nurse, he'd nurse.
I've been considering giving him WCM through out the day, maybe once or twice, to give him a few more calories to make up for the skipped nursing sessions also in hopes that he would stop nursing at night. It is literally impossible to get him to nurse through out the day he lacks the patience and desire to really do it. I have to hold him up in a sitting position on my leg while I stand one legged. And the only time he will nurse is when he's sleepy. It's nuts.
I'm debating calling my pediatrician. If I do, I'm not sure if she'll give me the okay, or say no. But I see so many people on here already doing it. I would basically just be introducing it. I've been thinking about calling her for the last half hour but I want to see what everyone else says here first. I'm not sure if the WCM is a good or bad idea yet, just a thought.
I would introduce it. And then wean him from the night, and then wean him from the afternoon session. Assuming this would take a month or so... Maybe more, so he would be approximately 12 months old when completely weaned.
When did you do the transition? How did it go? Why did you do it? How much did you give?
I was going to make a CP, who has started and who has not but the Polls aren't working for me yet.
TIA!
I posted about how he dropped nursing sessions a couple of weeks ago, and the feedback I got was awesome and helpful! Wondering if it's time to take the next step up.
ETA if I were to give him a sippy cup of BM, he would take it. He loves it. But I only have 3oz stashed left, and I'm really bad at pumping these days, so it's kind of out of the question.

MollySm

We haven't weaned Lucia off formula/bottle yet, but she's cut out feedings and cut down amounts herself. We give her WCM in a sippy now and again. We aren't wanting to replace her bottles yet because she's small and she never drank that much. Right now she gets 3 bottles per day, 4 oz per bottle.

The way I see it, like the food she eats the WCM is just extra nutrtion. As long as she digests it well, ehich she seems to, it couldn't hurt.

Sept07b2b

I don't think there is any harm to introducing WCM now.  I think generally, pediatricians say 12 months because that's when WCM is supposed to be used instead of formula or BM, and some pediatricians don't want people switching too early, since BM and formula have so many nutrients.    

If you are still giving your LO adequate BM, then I don't think there is any harm in WCM.  It's just like introducing a new food like cheese or yogurt.  Some babies may not be able to handle it before 12 months, but if you slowly introduce it, I think you'll be able to tell pretty quickly if your LO has any issues digesting it or not. 

 

 

ALane1128

Our ped recommended that when we introduce it (which we already have), that it should not be mixed with anything. We should try it with meals that he's already eaten. That way, if he has a reaction, we can almost guarantee that it's a reaction to the WCM and not anything else. Does that make sense? We introduced it right before Jackson was 10 months. He only got it at occasional meals. And if I wasn't able to pump enough for a babysitter, he'd get some WCM after he finished a bottle of BM. Now that he's almost a year, he gets a little more WCM than a month ago. We still BF and he still eats all of his meals. His ped also suggested to not let the WCM fill him up so that he doesn't want to eat his meals. 

kayladay

I just started giving it to him this week. I give him 1-2 ounces a day mixed with his formula. He drinks the organic kind with added dha and omega 3. He seems to not notice! I won't be giving him just WCM until he is at least 1 though. He still drinks at least 30 + ounces a day of formula, but he has days where he drinks in the 20s. 

allisons1014

We started introducing WCM a few weeks ago when I was only able to pump 2 oz. and needed to send a 4 oz. bottle to daycare.  it caused no issues and then a week later I gave her a whole 4 oz. bottle and she did fine with it.  I didn't plan to introduce it yet but I just can't pump anymore.  It was taking me 1 hour or more to get 4 oz. when I used to pump that in 20 min or less.  I am still producing plenty of milk though and she is still getting enough when she does nurse.

DD only nurses 3-4 times a day and now when I can't get over at daycare to let her nurse, I have them give her WCM.  She also has started doing a little WCM at snack time in a sippy cup, served cold.  She loves it and I haven't noticed that it has caused any issues.

We will continue nursing 3 xs a day until she is a year old and then I think I will gradually drop the night nursing session and then the morning one.  If you notice it causes an issue you can always stop and go back to nursing.  At this point I think it would be silly to suppliment with formula because he is so close to that 1 year mark.  Plus I think in Canada they say start WCM at 10 months.

I would give it a shot - particularly before bedtime so maybe you can cut out the night nursing.   

Favority

kayladay:

I just started giving it to him this week. I give him 1-2 ounces a day mixed with his formula. He drinks the organic kind with added dha and omega 3. He seems to not notice! I won't be giving him just WCM until he is at least 1 though. He still drinks at least 30 + ounces a day of formula, but he has days where he drinks in the 20s. 

This exactly. On Monday I gave her 2 ounces of the WCM with added DHA in a sippy. She immediately spit it out and looked at me like I was nuts. So now we mix with formula. A typical feeding schedule for us is

6am bottle of 6oz straight formula

10am bottle of 4oz WCM and 2 oz formula mixed

2pm bottle of 4oz WCM and 2oz formula mixed

7pm bottle of 8oz straight formula.

She has meals/snacks in between each feeding. We are still getting her used to table foods, which is why she gets all formula at breakfast and before bed. I worry she may not get all the vitamins she needs without it. 

suitern

I have been having some supply issues and gave Landon his first 2 oz. of WCM yesterday instead of nursing since he was frustrated. I talked to a lactation consultant today and she suggested using whatever I had in the freezer to supplement first, then to WCM.  She said around 11 months is a perfectly acceptable age to start introducing and switching.  She said if my supply never returns to just wean him to WCM instead of formula.   Good luck!  

 FWIW, Landon nurses 5 times per day in a 24 hour period-I think that is 100% acceptable at this age as long as he seems satisfied. 

sunnyday016

We're going grocery shopping tomorrow and we'll be picking up our first carton of WCM. I plan to just give him some in a sippy cup with meals and see how much he actually gets for a few days. I'm not too concern with him getting the milk, but I want him to drink enough to stay hydrated. I'm just playing it by ear.

Honestly, I don't think you need to call your pedi. 10.5-12m is a perfectly normal & acceptable time to introduce it.