Whole Milk at One Year Old

My son will be almost one in about two weeks. I decided that we would start the switch to whole milk from formula before he turned one. He is currently getting 4 bottles a day of formula. I plan on switching one bottle with a straw nuby cup every week. So far, this switch has been great and painless. Here are some suggestions to make the transition to whole milk easier.

Suggestion #1: Introduce a sippy cup or straw cup prior to their first birthday. I tried to put formula in a straw cup, but he would not take it. I think at that point, my son had associated formula with bottle. I gave up and just started to offer him water in his sippy cup. He was drinking 5-10oz of water from a straw cup. I gave him a take-n-toss straw cup to learn from. It is not spill proof so it make sipping from the cup easier. I also offered my son water from a nuby straw cup, but it is spill proof. I took a knife and enlarged the opening making the nuby no longer spill proof and easier to drink from. My son’s pediatrician recommended that I do this.

Suggestion #2: Do not give juice until your child is successfully drinking whole milk from a sippy or straw cup. You don’t want your child to associate that juice is the only things that comes out of the sippy cup. My pediatrician and trusted friends also confirmed this for me. I was told it is okay to put water in the sippy cup, just not juice. I stopped offering my son juice and I think that has really helped us with the transition from bottle to sippy with milk in it.

Suggestion #3: Gradually introduce whole milk. Don’t just stop giving breast milk or formula one day. Your child’s digestive system needs time to get use to drinking whole milk. You can do what I am doing and replace one bottle or sippy with whole milk a week until you are totally on whole milk. Or you could give your child a mixture of whole milk and formula starting with 25% whole milk and 75% formula. Then slowly increase the amount of whole milk and decrease the amount of formula every few days.

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Weaning

I finally gave in and started to wean my son from breastfeeding. My son is 10 months old. Ever since I got my period when my son was 6 months old, breastfeeding has been a real challenge for me. Every month when I would get my period, my milk supply would significantly drop. Thus, causing a fussy and hungry baby. I was able to keep my milk supply up by using mother love more milk plus, but towards the end, nothing seemed to help. I will blame the low milk supply mostly on stress. We recently move from Maryland to Texas, which has been very stressful on me. Everything I read says that stress can cause your milk supply to decrease. Then to top things off, my son just simply would not sit still long enough to nurse. So I have thrown in the towel. At first, this was really hard for me to accept. I cried quite a bit, but after a week of crying and my hormones all over the place from weaning, I realized that my son could care less that I was no longer nursing him. Once I notice that he did not care, I was okay.

Here is how I have been weaning him:

Week 1: Morning BF, Mid-Morning Formula, Afternoon BF, Bedtime BF

Week 2: Morning BF, Mid-Morning Formula, Afternoon Formula, Bedtime BF

Week 3: Morning Formula, Mid-Morning Formula, Afternoon Formula, Bedtime BF

Week 4: Morning Formula, Mid-Morning Formula, Afternoon Formula, Bedtime Formula (I continue to pump this last feeding, but decrease the amount I pump every 3 days until I completely dry up)

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Sample Feeding Menu for Toddlers

What is a toddler? A toddler is a child usually between the ages between 1-3, but this phase could begin as early as 8 months old. This is a period when they start to become more mobile, usually crawling, walking, and cruising about. The feeding demands become quite different during this time period, requiring more nutrition from food and less from  breast milk or formula. You should also be gradually increasing the consistency of the baby food and making it more chunky so they can learn to mash with their gums. More “table food” or “finger food” should also be offered starting between the ages of 8-10 months. If you are concerned that your child is not eating enough, read my blog post entitled:Minimal Daily Diet for Toddlers or  Is My Baby & Toddler Eating Enough?

I have been struggling to figure out what is best to feed my son. I have stumbled across a good suggested feeding menu for toddlers in the book Secrets of a Baby Whisperer for Toddlers. The only thing that I am going to alter from the menu is the Juice. I want my son to learn how to drink his milk from a sippy cup before I introduce Juice again. I highly recommend that you wait until you child is drinking milk from a sippy cup until you offer juice. Instead of Juice you can offer more milk or water in a sippy cup.

Breakfast

• 1/4 – 1/2 cup cereal
• 1/4 – 1/2 fruit
• 4-6 ounces either formula or breast milk (See below about introducing whole milk)

Morning Snack

• 2-4 ounces fruit juice
• cooked vegetables or cheese

Lunch

• 1/4- 1/2 cup  cottage cheese
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup yellow or orange vegetable
• 4-6 ounces either formula or breast milk (See below about introducing whole milk)

Afternoon Snack

• 2-4 ounces juice
• 4 crackers with cheese

Dinner

• 1/4 cup poultry or meat
• 1/4- 1/2 cup green vegetables
• 1/4 cup noddles, pasta, rice, potatoes
• 1/4 cup fruit
• 4-6 ounces either formula or breast milk (See below about introducing whole milk)

Before Bed

• 4-8 ounces either formula or breast milk (See below about introducing whole milk)

Introducing Whole Milk ” Between a year and 18 months, whether your child has been on formula or breast milk, introduce whole milk. Toddlers should have at least 24 ounces a day for vitamins, iron, and calcium. Start with one bottle a day for the first three days, two bottles for the next three, and finally, three bottles a day. Cheese, yogurt, and ice cream can substitute for whole milk. Common allergic reactions include excessive mucus, diarrhea, dark circles under the eyes. If your child is allergic or if you want to give soy milk, talk to a nutritionist or to your pediatrician.” p. 118 Secrets of a Baby Whisperer for Toddlers

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Milk Supply & Breastfeeding During Menstruation

If you are one of the lucky mom’s who has still not had the return of her monthly period- then count yourself luck! My menstrual cycle returned when my son Cooper was 6 months old. Prior to that, I had one fluke period when Cooper was two months old. I have had my period three times and each time the week leading up to my period my milk supply decreased significantly. I was terrified that I was drying up. My son was fussy because he was not getting enough milk. The first time this happened I went searching the internet for help. Here is what I discovered has helped me and I hope it will help you:

1. calcium/magnesium supplement: take one a day and this is suppose to help with maintaining your milk supply levels prior to your period
2. Nurse more frequently: because your supply level is lower, it will mean your child will become hungrier faster. My son is on a 4.5 hour schedule. During the week leading up to my period  sometimes feed him every 3.5 hours or less (if needed). Yes, this messes up the schedule somewhat, but it helps him get enough to eat.
3. Supplement with frozen breast milk: This I read no where, but I started to do it on my own. I found that I was just not producing enough milk and after each feeding I would offer my son a few more ounces of warmed breast milk that I had  stored in our freezer. I stored the milk in ice cube trays. Each ice cube is equal to 1 oz of milk. It was easy for me to take 2-3 cubes out and warm them to account for the decrease in my supply. This method worked the best for my son and I.
4. Pump:  Your milk can have a slightly different flavor due to the hormonal changes in your body. My son does not nurse well because of the change in flavor. He often will pull off and refuse to relatch even when I have milk left. In order to keep my milk supply up, I often pump after he is done nursing to keep my milk supply up and running. I would then offer him some warmed frozen breast milk that I had previously pumped because it does not have the strange taste he is resisting. Seems to work.
5. Funugreek capsules/ more milk plus: I have found both supplements to help increase my milk supply at various times while I have been nursing. I have found the most success at taking more milk plus. I bought it at an organic market. It comes in a liquid form. I took it for 36 hours and saw a huge different in my milk supply. This is not something you would want to take long term, so just do it leading up to your period. http://www.motherlove.com/product_more_milk_plus.php

Other Problems with Breastfeeding while menstruating

• Baby can be more fussier than usual
• might refuse to nurse or shorten length of nursing
• sore nipples
• flavor of milk can appear more sour or bitter- causing baby to refuse nursing or nurse less

Yes, I know it is frustrating that you have to put all this extra work into breastfeeding during your menstration. I know I have had moments when I am totally ready to throw in the towel and say the hex with breast feeding, let’s just switch to formula. But then my period comes, my milk supply returns, and Cooper and I go back to nursing as usual. No one ever said that breast feeding would be easy. And if you are an unlucky one like me, your nipples are so sensitive while mentrating, making breast feeding even more difficult. But hang in there- breast feeding is the best food for your baby and it is worth it!

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