Introducing WCM before 1 year

camedowncrushing · October 2014

Those of you in Canada and any other moms who have done this...how much did you start with? DD2 is just over 10 months, and has not been nursing well for the past two months. I pump and pump and pump to try to keep my supply up, but at this point I am getting less and less. She eats great, and drinks water just fine. I brought up my concern at my last pedi appt and she said that most importantly she just needs to be hydrated. So I have been offering water and my pumped milk. I have gone through all of my stash. I have given her a couple of ounces of WCM the past few days, and she has done fine. Can I increase this? I will continue to pump, but I am fearing that my supply will continue to decrease.

eggmankate · October 2014

I don't have a lot of advice, but I talked to me Pedi about it because I wasn't sure if my freezer stash would sustain to the 1 year and I went out of town last week. So far I have not had to give WCM. My Pedi said that giving WCM at 10 months was OK if needed, but breastmilk should be over 50% of her intake (v. WCM) until a year.

How much breastmilk are you producing through pumping? Dr. Jack Newman says in #4 (linked below) that baby doesn't really need any other forms of milk so long as they're getting a good variety of foods in and a few nursing sessions in a day. https://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-WFBW

My DD is doing great with solids and my supply has experienced a significant baby-led drop over the past few months. Pedi said this is normal and that there is no "set" amount of milk a baby needs at this age.

camedowncrushing · November 2014

That really makes me feel so much better. My pedi wasn't concerned because DD is gaining well, but I always worry a bit. When I pump I get 2-3 oz each time. She nurses well when she wakes in the middle of the night. During the day she is so distracted she really doesn't want to nurse at all, and when she does it is just for a minute or two. This is why I have been pumping. She is only getting about 9 oz of pumped milk a day, and then whatever she gets when nursing.

eggmankate · November 2014

My DD is no longer nursing at night, but I went out of town last week and discovered that I'm pumping 7oz. of milk first thing in the morning. I know the pump isn't indicative of how much your LO eats, but after doing that I'm lead to believe that my DD is nursing quite a bit with me first thing in the morning and thus why she nurses so little during the day. We're in the same boat that she has no interest in nursing long during the day. She's still getting 10-12oz/day at daycare, but I highly doubt she's drinking that much from me during the day hours on the weekend.

Like you, I'm pumping about 2.5-3.5oz 3x/day while at work and I supplement with my freezer stash because I have just always given her three 4oz bottles at daycare and I hesitate about cutting back even though I know she probably doesn't need that much. I think there is just so much "your baby should..." in regards to eating and we just need to let go and trust that our babies know how much milk they need. That is what I love so much about Dr. Newman's information sheet that I linked above.

jesselayne8 · November 2014

I started giving both my kids WCM between 10-11 months. It took them so long to like it that they were 12 months before they drank more than 2-3oz per day. I just gave them a sippy of WCM at lunch to start.

camedowncrushing · November 2014

Thanks girls!

Lena122 · November 2014

I wouldn't replace BM with WCM at 10 months. If anything I'd replace with formula while still offering a couple ounces of WCM a day until 1 year. There's a lot of nutrients that WCM lacks that babies under a year still need.

camedowncrushing · November 2014

Thanks Amy!

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