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Upstate NY Babies
BM to Cow Milk transition
I know there was just a formula one down below. But this is different.
I gave her whole milk last night when she woke up. I warmed it and it was in a bottle. She would have nursed, but I just dropped a daytime nurse session, so I didn't want to add one at night! So I offered about 3 ounces. She drank half an ounce and then realized and pushed it away and cried. So I calmed her down and offered it again. This time she took 1 taste, pushed it away and cried. Then she would cry if she even saw the bottle. She ended up going to back to sleep without nursing, thank goodness.
But now what?
I could try it cold in a sippy like her water. But she still doesn't drink all that much from a sippy. Any tips?
A co-worker said to mix it with BM. Like 1 ounce cow milk, 3 ounces bm. Then half and half. Then 3 and 1. But if she hates it like last night, then I will be wasting the bm. Or will this definitely work?
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Re: BM to Cow Milk transition
She woke in the middle of the night, you mean? What is she taking during the day in terms of milk/bottles/breastmilk?
Ya, I should have clarified. I dropped a daytime session, but she is still getting the same amount of bm since we are using up the freezer stash. So 2 nursings and 2 bottles of about 5 ounces bm each. (DH had been offering more bm in the bottle, but since she is eating more, she cut herself back to about 5 ounces each time). I only nurse the morning and bedtime session, and then pump once in the middle now.
She woke in the middle of the night last night and usually if she wakes, which is rare, I just nurse her and she goes back to sleep. But I want my body to cut back, so that is why I tried the cows milk.
I mean, she could have not been hungry. But she made a face and smacked her tongue around and just acted like she hated it. She has never rejected a single food we have offered yet, so I was surprised she might not like cow milk.
I don't think I would have made the first intro of it in the middle of the night, she was probably shocked and disoriented.
When we first introduced it I offered it at snack times (I had cut out those nursings at 11am/3pm previously). Just cold and in a sippy as he really never took bottles. He liked it after a day or so.
He now gets it 3x a day and nurses 1x. I do warm his wake up milk sippy just a little, only because it took him some time to wean from the nursing upon wake up....he wasn't thrilled with my milk offer.
The BM/milk combo is not a guarantee, I wouldn't do it and waste the BM....but some do and it does work for some. I would just start offering it between meals when she might be pretty thirsty or hungry, she might be more open to it!
BTW....remember the frozen yogurt issue with cold hands? I started breaking them and putting them in his mesh feeder instead. His hands stay warm, he doesn't eat the paper towel or need it pushed up, and the mess is so much less! he can really get it back by his molars too! It's great because he isn't eating much yogurt anymore, he doesn't care for me feeding him with a spoon.
Doing it in the middle of the night probably threw her off. When we started, I did the gradual transition, not only for the taste, but the whole milk is a shock to their tummies in the beginning, so you have to give it slowly so they adjust. They'll get slightly runny poops until their bodies are OK with it. We gave it in a sippy cup mixed with his formula when he first got up and at mealtimes - 3/4:1/4, then a few days later when his poops seemed normal again, then 1/2:1/2, 1/4:3/4 until he only had whole milk. We did it in the sippy cups at meal times so he didn't miss his bottle. I think we were lucky with that.
Good luck. It's such a big step to move away from BM or formula. I'm sure it will get easier when she's a little more awake.
I was going to say the same thing.
When we first introduced milk (around 11 months), I just gave it to him in a sippy (cold) to replace his afternoon bottle. It took him a few days to really drink it. After he got used to it, I switched his bottles of formula w/ bottles of warmed milk (he was only getting a bottle first thing in the morning, and before bed), by the time his birthday came along, he was on 100% cow milk. Soon after we switched the am bottle to a sippy. For the longest time he still took a bottle at night, but is now (finally!) done w/ bottles! Although, I do still warm up his sippy of milk at night, or else he won't drink it.
We did mix formula with milk during the transition...but what is hard in your case - in terms of flavor....is that she is still getting bm without milk mixed in while nursing. I say try it a few times and gradually transition and see how she does. It may not be a total success until you stop nursing and just mix bm with milk in bottles...but I think she'll be fine after a while.
Evan liked his bottles and milk HOT...so temperature may be something to mess around with too.
GL!
Ya, giving it at night was probably a bad move. I just hate going back to the the night nursings bc once she stops I get engorged again in the morning. I wouldn't care either way if it were consistent.
I'll have to give it a try again in a sippy this time. She likes her water really cold, so I will have to play around with the temps too. Thanks!
June- I do have the mesh feeder. Only used it a few times bc at the time she just wanted to chew on handle. But I will have to give it a try with the frozen yogurts. She is older now, so maybe she will get it!
Try introducing it during the day. I still nurse her first thing in the AM and at Bedtime. Pump once at work and then in the night if she needs it....which is rare and usually if she's not feeling well from teeth, tummy, etc. I'm still letting her nurse. We've been having a tough time weaning. I'm completely fine with the nursing sessions we are still doing I just wish I could stop pumping! I am so TIRED of it!!