How Much Milk Does My 10 Month Old Need???

I have a nine month old and was just at the pediatrician on Friday. She said that around this age as I move towards him being one, he needs about 24 oz of milk a day, no more.

Hope that helps!
-M

Don't worry- my dr told me I could start weaning my 10 month old. I have been giving him organic milk for a couple weeks now and he said that is fine. My baby has never had formula either.
Good luck

I can't tell you if it's "right" but this is what we did:

I lost my milk at 9 months, so we first supplemented with formula, and then whole milk. With both, and up to today (my son just turned 7)...he's allowed to have however much he'd like to drink. We just sort of continued the "feeding on demand" thing, with milk, formula, and tablefood.

And he drank a LOT. Typically 32-64 oz of Enfamil Lipil formula a day (ouch, that killed our budget)...or once we switched to milk...at LEAST a half gallon of milk per day. (Obviously the no rbst/etc kinds of milk). This was in addition to his table foods. We've never tried to limit or monitor his food intake, except to make sure that he's getting enough protiens/lipids/carbs/vit/min in a fairly balance way. We kept bottle premade on a lower shelf in the fridge, he could actually get them himself and put them back (once he got a little older, one-ish). He's tall, and ripped, but he only "chubs up" right before a growth spurt...and then all of his ribs and spine are showing again...with the most muscley braided rope shoulders and little six pack. He was mostly a "grazer" as a toddler...but he's fallen into a 3 hour routine as an older child (7,10,1,4,7) are his mealtimes. The 10 o'clock and 4 o'clock "meals" tend to be leftovers from breakfast or lunch. Regardless he eats about the same for each meal. I I hink it's fairly ironic, that nutritionists reccomend that we eat 5 small meals per day...and that's what my son (and many others) I know who were fed on demand long past nursing work out for themselves.

Anyhow, like I said, I don't know if it's "right", but this has been our expereince.

Good Luck :)

Why not formula as needed? You already did everything you could to provide her with nature's most perfect baby food but she's moved on and needs a replacement and why would you not give her the absolute best fluid for her at her age rather than trying to push her up to the next stage before she's ready? Just "food for thought". :)

Hello J. H,

I don't know how much milk she should have, but if you start her on whole milk give her a chewable vitamin daily for she wouldn't get all the nutrients she needed for growth on the whole milk alone. Babies are usually off formula at 1 yr old, then on to whole milk. Letting her go to bed with milk in a bottle is bad for teeth development.
Another suggestion...since she is eating table food, etc.,
if she has no teeth, wipe off her tongue with a towel, if she has teeth, it is highly recommended that you start helping her brush her teeth.

I applaud you on your breastfeeding! So many mother's like myself, weren't able to. Please be very thankful that your daughter is weening herself from your breasts, and you won't have to when the new baby is born.

Take care, God bless.

E.

My doctor made me quit nursing completely when I became pregnant. You are not allowed to nurse at all. It is taking away from the new baby. Organic milk works. She is old enough for this. Good luck !!!

J.,

I just wanted to wish you well in whatever you end up doing. The reason I'm responding is because of some of the other responses you received saying that you can't, or shouldn't, breastfeed while pregnant. This is absolutely not true. It's perfectly safe to continue breastfeeding while pregnant. The La Leche League says so, as do many doctors and lactation counselors. As long as you are eating healthily and consuming enough calories you're fine. However, your problem is one I, too, am concerned about as my milk supply has been dwindling and we are planning to get pregnant any day now. My daughter is almost 9 months old. I have some milk frozen, but not enough for three months. And I really didn't want to use formula. By the way, I've also read that sometimes baby just doesn't want mommy's milk any more because the taste and consistency change during pregnancy. Anyway, good luck with your decision.

I really can't see how giving whole milk 1.5 months early should be a big deal, however what you might want to start doing is mixing whole milk w/ breast milk -- schedule it out so that at first it is 3/4 breast, 1/4 whole, then 1/2 and 1/2, etc. until at 12 mos. its 100% whole milk. Babies sometimes reject certain milks based on taste. Summer milk can taste different than winter milk.

As far as the quantity of milk for her age, you might want to check to see if pediatrician has a chart. I don't recall the amounts at which age, but it is less milk now than before she ate table food, I think like 24 oz? (3 glasses) don't stress. Some kids don't like milk, but make up for it w/ yogurt and cheeses. She still need the fat content until age 2 or so.

At her age she can start on the next step sorts of formula. Target has a great one that works out to be about the same price as giving milk. I moved my son to the next step at one when he decided to wean because I was pregnant again. My daughter weaned at 11 months and we moved her to it too. At 11 months Ava was taking 3-4 5 oz bottles of either milk or next step. Congrats on both of your babies!

Hello J.. I don't have any advice on what you could give your daughter to supplement the breastmilk, but I am concerned that you are pregnant and breastfeeding. I have been told not to breastfeed while pregnant, as it causes the uterus to contract. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but it is something you might want to look into, if you haven't already. I'm no doctor, so hopefully you've already discussed this with your ob/gyn. I'm not trying to say you are in the dark about this, I just wanted to bring it to your attention in case you didn't know, and in case it is true. Good luck with your daughter, and congratulations on your pregnancy :)

I am sorry that I don't have an answer to your question, but I have used this milk calculator website that someone else on mamasource posted about. I think it might make a good reference point at least. Good luck, and congratulations on #2.
http://www.fourfriends.com/cgi-bin/milk.pl?lbs=10&oz=...=

I know of a great alternative to milk. If you are interested, please let me know. I can send you a dvd.

God Bless!

J.

ps. please no soy. research it. it mimics estrogen and is very bad for children and adults.

My Pediatrician, says that for the 1st year of life, breastmilk/Formula is a baby's PRIMARY source of nutrition... NOT solids and NOT any other liquids, and baby still needs to be fed on demand.
For the 1st year of life, this is a 'building block' period, for physical/brain development.

Not all Formulas are "bad." Some Moms have to supplement with Formula... for some it is a choice and for others it is not.
Ask your Pediatrician which Formula he/she would recommend.
There are also "Toddler" Formulas... for older baby's/toddlers... and it is per their age nutritional requirements.

Also at the age of your baby & once they wean off of breast, you want to make sure that she is getting enough iron... if not, a baby can get anemic.

There are varying opinions about giving whole milk at this age... as usually, it is only recommended after 1 years old. It has to do with the baby's biological/digestive development... not just taste and feelings about it.

I would really ask your Pediatrician... not just guess at what to give your baby.

Also, your baby may be seeming to "wean" herself... but it can be because you are pregnant. For some/many babies, a pregnant Mom produces milk that is different in taste/consistency than what it was, before being pregnant. I suspect, that THIS is the "problem" that your baby has... she may just 'appear' to be on a nursing strike and refusing breast because of the changes in your body per pregnancy.

To me... having only 8-10 ounces of breastmilk a day- (whether pumped or direct nursing) is not enough. But I am not a Doctor. At this age, and being on solids, both my kids were still nursing about every 4 hours... or less, throughout the day and night, and I nursed on demand. My kids were also in the 95-97th percentiles across the board, and they were big babies... as such, they had hearty appetites and still nursed on demand drinking at least 8 ounes each time. They also drank/nursed more when going through growth-spurts.

I REALLY think your daughter is 'changing' her nursing habits because you are pregnant, and your body is now changing to provide nutrients for your developing baby in your tummy. AND, your milk production could be affected by pregnancy....producing less milk, and your daughter senses that. ALSO, the more you pump instead of direct nursing, the less milk you will produce. Usually, pumping after nursing is recommended... and nursing BEFORE solids is also highly recommended... so that your body still produces enough milk. If you nurse "after" solids, your body will decrease in milk production. AND, this will cause a 'weaning' in your milk production. And if you pump to 'replace' direct nursing, your milk production can lessen as well.

You might want to check with your OB/GYN about nursing while pregnant... some Doctors don't recommend it, because as the first responder said, it causes contractions....

All the best,
Susan

J.,

As you can see everyone has different opinions on this - so you'll have to go with your gut - but here's what we did as another frame of reference. My little guy stopped breastfeeding at around 11 months (I was 6 months pregnant) I tried pumping and giving a bottle, but he wouldn't have it - even though he was fine with bottles. Some speculate that at some point the taste of your milk changes when you're pregnant and I think that is what happened as he literally self-weaned over 48 hours!

I didn't want to start formula at 11 months (I know it is safe, but, rational or not, after a breastmilk and organic diet for 11 months, I wasn't ready to give him something with an ingredient list a mile long!)and my husband and I both have some issues with milk (not cheese or yogurt - just milk) so I didn't want him to start milk just yet. I called my doula and asked for advice and she recommended hemp milk. They don't have this in the regular stores, but most health food stores have it - it is with the soy and almond milk. The reason she recommended it is that he was (and still is) a great eater - he eats veggies and fruits at every meal and with no problem - and not just bananas, apples and carrots (not that there is anything wrong with that) but a full variety of things - kale, spinach, peppers, avocado, broccoli, etc...) so the main concern was DHA. We switched to dark yolk eggs (Trader Joes has them - which have way more Omegas) hemp milk has a ton of omegas and protein, and we started adding the TJs blueberry flaxseed powder to his oatmeal in the morning. He did great - his pediatrician wasn't thrilled when I first told her what I had done, but she said he checks out great physically and cognitively so she actually recommends it when she has moms in similar situations.

Good luck and let us know how you make out :)

breastmilk changes significantly when you become pregnant. My cousin said that both her kids just gave up breastmilk completely once she got pregnant ( they were over a year old tough). If she is taking the bottle at night, you may need to introduce formula as I was told not to introduce cows milk until at least 11months (to introduce it, 12 months to completely replace other milk (breast/formula). ). This was the recommendation of our pediatrician. My issue was more with my son losing interest and my milk supply dropping, but we were able to get it back, I didn't have pregnancy to contend with :( I would talk it over with the pediatrician.

i have had the same problem! my baby is 10 1/2 months old and it is near impossible to keep her interest for a full nursing session. (and i'm not pregnant) even after she has slept a full 11 1/2 hour night - she's too interested in standing up, pointing at everything and laughing than nursing.

so i've been supplementing with formula since about 7 months old. this was a very tough decision for me, but i just realized that life with a baby doesn't always go as planned, and you have to just roll with it. i always said i would nurse until 2, never use formula, never cry it out etc. but that was before i experienced the reality of actually having a baby. never say never has become my motto!

and since she does sleep through the night, i've been waking up and pumping once during the night - to keep my supply up. but just this past week i've decided that i'm done with that. i need a full night's sleep more.

so - you are not alone! i actually thought i was the one with the freak baby ;)

and on a side note - i have read that cow's milk is actually not good for children either (or any dairy) and that they can get just as much calcium from almond milk. if you're interested, look up dr. fuhrman's book "disease-proof your child, feeding kids right". it's interesting. he recommends breastfeeding or formula feeding until i think 18 months because of the dha that is essential for brain development.

anyway, that's my 2 cents. if anything, just know that you are not alone and whatever you decide to do is the right thing for you!

Often people attempt to calculate the breastmilk needs of a baby using the weight/age charts that are used for formula feeding. This is not correct, and it is so sad because so many women who exclusively pump for their babies mistakenly think that they aren't producing enough milk and think that they have to give formula when in reality, they're doing just fine.

Breastmilk grows and changes with the baby, so the volume of milk needed never changes. A baby will typically take in 25 oz of milk/25 hour period. Here is a link to an article and a calculator to help you determine how much milk to put in her bottle.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

Remember, smaller and more frequent bottles help set up your baby for healthier eating habits down the road because they don't stretch out the stomach.

EDIT: There is absolutely nothing wrong with breastfeeding while pregnant. You're doing a great job. Unfortunately, some doctors are not supportive of breastfeeding and are not up-to-date on accurate and current research and so provide their patients with misinformation. Too bad so many responders here had to deal with that. Here's some good information on breastfeeding while pregnant (tandem nursing):
http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/resources/myth-fact.html

Breastfeeding and Safety during pregnancy: http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/articles/bfpregnancy_s...

This whole website is full of great information. Best of luck to you!