Made it to a year!!! Now what do I do? :) (kinda long)

rm2013 · April 2014

I'm so happy that we've made it to a year of EBF! It was a bit of a rocky start as it took a while for my milk to come in fully after an unplanned c/s, and we had to supplement for the first two weeks while using a rental hospital pump to build up my supply, but after that it was full steam ahead!

I'm not planning on weaning right away, but my supply has decreased since my period came back a few months ago and has not rebounded. So I'm having to use my stash to keep up with LO's daily milk needs, and think I may run out in another month or so. At the same time, her daycare wants to move her to the toddler room but they can't have bottles in there. I've done some feeble attempts at introducing straw cups at home, but it's been hard to do because I'm alone most of the time and can't give her a cup and then go pump. My pedi recommended switching out one bottle a week with a cup at daycare, but I'm kinda hesitant to send BM in a cup since I know she'll make a total mess of it (right now).

So, I'm wondering if it's time to introduce other milk for her to have at daycare and learn to drink out of a cup with.

Any advice? For LOs in daycare, what did you transition off the bottle with - BM or milk?

Regardless of care situation, What type of milk did you transition to after BM? WCM? Coconut milk? Something else?

I'm trying to figure out what the good options are. I want to avoid soy milk and almond milk because I'm allergic to them and want to be cautious with LO.

TIA

babymama619 · April 2014

This is probably my a discussion best for your pedi. My LC said this week at 1 year if there is no obesity problems you can do WCM or 2% if ovesity is a concern. At 2 LO can drink whatever milk the family drinks. IMO I'd send WCM or 2% to daycare for cup practice.

Congrat on hitting a year!!! <:-P <:-P

vvvvvfee · April 2014

my DS was strangely resistant to drinking BM out of anything other than a bottle. he had been drinking water out of a straw cup for months, but he basically drank BM out of a bottle (with the lowest flow nipple, no less), until we switched him to WCM at about 14 months. i didn't worry too much about it because he was drinking water out of a straw cup all the time at home. he was okay with drinking WCM out of a straw cup, and until my frozen stash ran out, i was mixing in some BM with that each day. now he gets a cup of WCM at daycare with his lunch, and still nurses at home.

i would let your LO try WCM at home and then start sending that in a straw cup. you can still give her BM at home out of a bottle if you have extra in the freezer. or you can mix the two in the cup- if you put just 2 ounces or so of BM and the rest WCM, then at least if she dumps it you're not wasting a lot.

[Deleted User] · April 2014

Congrats! I would try WCM and water in a cup (and solids of course). GL!

pb_bride · April 2014

Congratulations on making to 1 year! Great job!

I SAH so I didn't have to worry about DC. I weaned slowly - after DS turned 1 I started offering WCM in sippy cup. Since I SAH, I really didn't have a big freezer stash of BM, just a little for emergency. He was still nursing 3-4x/day at 1 year so I didn't worry much about the amount of WCM he drank. WE started with 2oz and slowly upped the amount. He's completely weaned now but still not a big WCM drinker. If offered straight-up, he probably won't drink more than 8-10oz a day. I supplement it with yogurt and smoothie (made with fruits/yogurt/WCM).

rm2013 · April 2014

Thank you so much ladies for the great advice and info! And thanks for the congrats.

Im going to try the cup consistently over the weekend and see how that goes. She started solids (BLW) at 6 months and eats like a pint sized trucker. Lol. To the surprise of her pedi, she still drinks around 32-36 oz of BM a day in addition to her meals. I still pump at work and after her bedtime to try to keep up, but I'm averaging about 8oz short per weekday. I guess I'll also add in one more meal and snack so she's eating more food and needs less milk.

rm2013 · April 2014

theresat858 said:
We did the BM to WCM transition after 12 mo in bottles, then just WCM in a sippy cup after my stash was gone at 13mo. I stopped pumping at work at 12mo. We still nurse 2-3x/day at 22mo. My supply is not high but at this point, who cares? The best part about nursing after 1 is that it becomes supplemental nutrition and you don't have to worry about exactly how much lo is getting.

Congrats on a year!

Thanks. That's awesome that you are almost to 2 years! You rock!

rm2013 · April 2014

casey78 said:
I'm not there yet, but someone just posted this on my BMB. I enjoyed: https://alphamom.com/parenting/baby/switching-from-breastmilk-to-milk/

Thanks for sharing this, it's exactly what I've been dealing with. I've been so fixated on giving LO only BM that it feels crazy to think about giving her (gasp) something else. I like how the author breaks it down.

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Made it to a year!!! Now what do I do? :) (kinda long)

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