Almost 10 Month Old

You should really wait until 12 months before intorducing cow's milk. My child never took a bottle either and went right from breastbeeding to a cup at 7 months. Maybe try a different brand of formula and mix it with breastmilk until he gets used to it. Keep working on the cup, he'll get the hang of it. We mixed a little cereal with the formula and put that in the cup - with the no-spill valve taken out. That worked easier for us. I never could get much from pumping either.

Not quite sure why you'd wean him from human milk to another mammal's milk... but, yes, it's far too early for straight cow milk. Their milk is extremely high in calcium and sodium, so much so that it's extremely dangerous for human baby kidneys.

You can know that he'll be okay in 3 months because by they eating milk for three days --or not-- is no big deal. He has no reason to be drinking cow's milk at all (it's ONE healthy food choice for those who like it and want to, but hardly what the Diary Bureau would like you to believe: a 'necessary' human food)... and whether or not he drinks anything out of a sippy is irrelevant. He can get all the liquids from the other foods (soups, fruits, vegetables) without drinking anything else.

If you feel the need to leave milk, try the manual expression technique: most women find it far more effective than pumping. Google 'Chele Marmet Manual Expression Technique' for instructions. If you want to bother. There's really no reason to.

There is absolutely no reason to wean him from the breast because of your long weekend. It is ideal for his health and development and your health, as well, to continue nursing. For your weekend, plan on pumping - borrow one or practice using your current one. It doesn't work well because they don't really work well compared to a baby's suck and you do have to practice. Freeze the milk you get from practicing so he has good nourishment in your absence. Read a breastfeeding book for advice on that or ask a LLL leader.

Keep nursing! He still needs your milk and the breast for much longer!

Wait until he's one yr old. If you do not, he can develop allergies to milk. Milk does not contain all the nutrients a growing baby needs, but breastmilk does. He still needs breastmilk or formula until age 1.

Don't worry, he will be able to pick up cup drinking in a month if you work at it. Good luck!

M., Almost 10 months isn't 12 months so, I encourage you to continue breastfeeding until he's 12. To prevent milk allergies and for proper nutrition, your baby needs to be either consuming breastmilk or formula for the first year. When you do actually wean him, please do it VERY slowly so as not to cause trauma to your child or breast infection from engorgement (mastitis). If you remove one breastfeeding every 3-5 days, you will find the transition much smoother and less crying and insecurity exhibited by your child. It sounds like you are anxious to wean so that you won't worry about your child not feeding well while you are away. Please don't add to the stress by weaning abruptly or too early. R., midwife Mom of3

Hi,
You've gotten some great answers. I just wanted to add another reason to not switch him to cow's milk yet. One of the other main reasons is that cows milk (even whole milk) does not contain enough fat for babies' developing brains. Breastmilk or formula is critical for brain development until at least 12mo. I agree with other posts that weaning him at 12mo would give you plenty of time, or just planning to pump while you are away for the weekend. After about a year they aren't nursing as much for nutrition (though it is still wonderful), but also for comfort and bonding. So if at 12mo you switch him to cow's milk, but still nurse a few times a day you should be able to continue after your long weekend if he's interested. He'll be fine when you are gone, but may be ready to nurse again when you return. Best wishes and congratulations on breastfeeding for 10mo so far! You've given him a great gift!

I can understand how expressing milk can be difficult. I've done hand expression. Since I never left my first for long, it didn't matter much that it was hard to get milk out. But now, I am a doula (labor support) and the potential is there to gone for a while. My 2nd is a few months old. I changed how I was expressing milk, and it's going a lot better than with my first. Instead of trying to express between feedings, I express on the other side while my daughter is nursing. I express just once a day - usually in the morning. Doing that I am filling a 4 oz bottle every 2 weeks. Since you have 3 months, you have time to express extra milk for your weekend away, especially considering that your son will not be exclusively breastfeeding when you go. You can't assume that he'll be nursing as much as he does right now - 3 months can change a lot. (But it's certainly possible that he will be nursing just as much.)

I would ask your pediatrician. I know they always say 1 yr. for milk, but I'd check it out with the ped's office.

p.s. I can think of O. reason you'd want to go "from human milk to another mammal's milk"--probably because you don't plan on breastfeeding him his entire life! LOL, Linda--that just struck me as funny tonight.

Suckling is still required by human beings at this age for optimal growth physically, mentally and spiritually. You can probably get him on a bottle. Humans take much longer to mature - 21 as we all know, therefore their need to suckle is longer (and to do most everything) 2-3 years as opposed to all other animals of earth, most of them wean within weeks or months with a few exceptions like elephants and chimps, but animals come to maturity within a few years, this is just one reason to reconsider. A major reason for this is because we use our minds, our brains for much more than animals do, they're driven by instinct mostly. -- --Personally, for myself, for the most part I don't like to mess with Mother Nature. Have you read any of Dr. Sears books or site? -- It's probably a good idea to wait till he's a year before cow's milk. Goat's milk is the closest to human milk and is much easier on the digestion, although a few babies can't tolerate it and it can be given before 1year. There are two basic schools of thought on cows milk that has been out for a long time, and of course one is against and the other is for. If you do put him on milk you may want to decide to only get the organic without hormones chemicals or plastic. Maybe you should try goats milk now and see how it goes before your trip. Good luck

I believe the rule is no milk or dairy products until they're one year old. Can you try giving him breastmilk in a sippy cup or a bottle?

Of course always refer to your Pediatrician, but I think it's too soon for cow's milk. My doc says 12 months is the soonest you should give regualr milk. Maybe try mixing a little of the breast milk with a little formula and putting that in a sippy cup? It might be worth it to rent a good pump from a hospital for the next couple of months until your little one is old enough for regular milk in a cup.

I would be very cautious weening him before twelve months since they can't digest the protein in cows milk until they are 12 months. I also wouldn't want him to have an allergic reaction. If you ween him at exactly 12 months that should give you plenty of time to ween him. Weening seems to go quickly since, they don't usually breastfeed for very long at that age. Good luck.