BF 1 Yr Old Won't Drink Regular Milk

Dear Stephanie,
I work in the field of nutrition and have a mentor who is a PhD Nutritionist and Naturopath. She adamantly believes that cow's milk is NOT for human consumption at any age. She further states that calcium is more readily derived from plant sources such as broccoli, kale and cabbage. She goes on to say that plant based calcium is absorbed at a rate of 80-90% whereas dairy based calcium is only absorbed at a rate of 30-35%.
So, take heart my dear!
Blessings!
J. F.

Honestly, cow's milk isn't good for us, so if he's getting human milk several times a day plus juice and water he's probably doing just fine. Don't take my word for it, check out this website: www.notmilk.com

I really don't know what I'm going to do when my 6 month old EBF baby weans. I drink 2% and always have (which is not nearly as bad as whole milk), but I don't know that I want to pass that habit on to my kid.

Your son is getting plenty of fluids as long as he is wetting his diapers. The nursing sounds sufficient to me. I still nurse my daughter, she will be 2 in November. She still wakes up in the middle of the night 1 or 2 times, nurses and goes right back to sleep. My daughter won't drink milk unless it has a little bit of nesquik in it to take away the taste of the milk. I think because breastmilk is sweeter, it is a tough thing to get them to switch.

You need to ask your Pediatrician to be sure, but I am pretty sure that as long as you are nursing regularly and not weaning, he shouldn't need whole milk. Its ok to let him have some to get used to the taste, but he shouldn't need to have a lot in one setting if he is nursing that much. When you start weaning, it may start to be an issue, then, too, but if he goes w/out a few times, he will realize eventually that if he doesn't take the milk, he will be hungry! Its tough, but they can't nurse forever! haha! My second son just stopped drinking altogether for a couple weeks almost. I could only get a little diluted juice in him. But I was weaning and he wanted mommy's milk! I nursed both of my boys for 13 and 14 months. They are the same age distance apart as yours and they were going to share a room too. I kept the youngest in a pack-n-play in my room or in our bed (when he woke up in the night) until he slept through the night, which was sometime after age one...I think after he switched to milk, actually. No booby to wake up for! haha! He did sleep in a crib in THEIR room for almost a year and then we moved him into a bottom bunk twin bed! Also, the reason they want babies age 1-2 to drink whole milk is not only for the calcium (as some have mentioned), but for the fat content which is extremely important for brain development in that year of life! Vanilla Soy milk is also good, and they can get some of the fat from yogurt and cheeses, your Pediatrician might have other suggestions too. Good luck!

sounds like he's just plain getting enough to drink already. if you don't want night issues i wouldn't push it at night, but if he's nursing that often during the day, just substitute a couple of those with milk or water. i'd say the water's more important.
khairete
S.

He is most likely getting plenty of fluids from the breastmilk. It is the best . keep up what you are doing and don't worry. I'm sure he is a very healthy boy. Af

Hi Stephanie -

It sounds like your child is getting plenty of fluids if he is nursing that frequently. But, I understand trying to get him to drink cow's milk. My children had a very hard time transitioning to cow's milk. I ended up putting a little chocolate syrup in it which worked. They got 3 milks a day and 3 juices (diluted half and half with water). After a while (once they started drinking the cow's milk well) I limited the chocolate milk to one of their milks only. Incidentally, I breastfed my two older children (6 and 4, boys) for 18 months and am still nursing my 18 month old daughter (sometimes during the night, too). Hope this helps. I'm not an expert, but my children are healthy and I know it sometimes helps to hear what others have done. Good luck.

A. T.

Your son doesn't need cow's milk, particularly if he is still nursing plenty. If he were thirsty, he would want to nurse more.

My daughter didn't start drinking cow's milk until 16 months and she is 19 months now and still awakes at night to nurse. Don't worry about his not sleeping through the night. There is no "should".

If he's still nursing regularly, he is getting enough fluids. I would still introduce him to other healthy drink choices, since at some time he will wean, but I wouldn't worry about how much of it he is drinking at this point.

As for the calcium issue, I know I don't eat enough broccoli, kale, and greens on a daily basis to get enough calcium from them, and I'm not a picky 3 year old, so I'll stick to milk, cheese, and yogurt.

He's fine. Don't push the milk. He is still nursing. Maybe try some water if you feel the need. That is actually a lot for him to drink as he is still nursing. As far as the milk, the majority of the world does not drink cow's milk--and are just fine. Our American Dairy Association in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture has our entire country thinking that we have to be drinking milk. Calcium is not well absorbed by the body from dairy products. Other sources are better, such as dark greens.

Hope this helps.
G. T.

If you are nursing exclusively, then that is enough. If it is only part time he may need more. When I changed my daughter over and she resisted the whole milk. The doctor told me to add a little karo syrup to the milk to make it sweeter. It worked and I gradually took it away and now she is fine. By the age of one, I am pretty sure kids are to be sleeping through the night without a feeding time. I would get him a teddy or something to calm him down and settle him to get him back to sleep. My daughter has a special blanket.

I know that it is more expensive , but try Horizon organic whole wilk with DHA nad Omega-3...then add a couple drops of honey. Now that he is over a year the botulism issue is void and the added nutrients make the cow milk more like your breat milk for his still rapidly growing brain. Also, Breat milk is naturally sweeter than cows milk. Each of my children had a hard time switching to cow's milk after being exclusively BF up to a year. With my oldest I continued until she was 18.5 months. She wouldn't even eat solids until she was 13 months.

Trust me on the Horizon. It tastes better than store brand milk and the dabd of honey adds a healthy sweetener that will encourage him to drink the milk. Once he routinely drinks it cut back on the honey or begin to mix the Horizon with a less expensive milk. Giant's milk is hormone free. That is the biggest issue here at my house. I have daughters and I try to keep as many hormones out of their systems as possible. Far to many girls are entering puberty earlier than their mothers. Also the testosterone levels in American males have decreased by 17% in the last thirty years so I give my son hormone free milk as well. We also avoid giving my son soy because it is a natural source of estrogen.

I had the same issue with my daughter -- breastfed and didn't want much from a cup. If your son is still nursing 5-6 times per day and making the normal amount of wet diapers and eating well I wouldn't think there is a problem. I just kept offerring my daughter a sippy cup (and I tried a variety of kinds because she'd drink more from different ones)and she would drink when she was thirsty. On the issue of getting her to drink more cow's milk I figured out that since breastmilk tasted very sweet, she didn't accept the taste of regular cow's milk. I discovered the Horizon Organic milk boxes (like juice boxes but with milk) which are flavored. She really likes the vanilla and strawberry ones. She also liked drinking from the box rather than a cup but that is a different issue. I'm pretty sure the flavored Horizon milks also come in regular milk cartons. They are not whole milk though so since your son is on;y one you could try mixing the flavored milk with regular whole cow's milk. Some of my friend either just bought the Quik strawberry syrup or purreed fruit to add to their child's milk to make it sweeter. Also, if you are making enough breastmilk that you can pump and mix breastmilk with cow's milk and then slowly change the proportions so that eventually he is only getting the cow's milk that might help as well. I know I was only making enough for the nursings and not enough to pump as well. My daughter is now 22 months old, still nursing 3 times/day and also drinking milk from a cup. It was just a long process. Good luck!

Hi - Your son is still breastfeeding, between 7-8 times in a 24 hour period. This is great! As he is getting all the nutrition he needs from your milk, adding additional juices, milk, water at this point, is really just an exposure to other foods...meaning, he probably is not hungry, thus such a large portion is not what he will want. 8 oz. is a lot for a little stomach. He is also eating 3 meals a day plus snacks. I think he is getting enough of what he needs. Only, if and when, you are ready to wean, should you be worried about your son's fluid/milk intake. Until that time, just enjoy him and keep nursing!

Have you tried pumping and putting your milk into a sippy cup?