Weaning and Whole Milk

If your daughter isn't taking to the whole cow's milk, it may well be that she doesn't tolerate it well. Children who are sensitive to a certain food (and cow's milk is one of the most common irritants/allergies for kids to have) tend to naturally avoid it OR then tend to be almost addicted to it (you know those kids who basically don't eat anything other than milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.? yeah - not a good sign!).

If it were me/my daughter, I would absolutely honor her natural preference and just back off of trying to give her cow's milk for another 3-6 months. Would you be willing to continue to breastfeed her for another 3-6 months? In the grand scheme of things, that's really just a speck of time (think of when she's 18 years old - 3 more months is a tiny drop in the bucket), and while I understand having a wide range of different feelings during the nursing relationship, there are lots of things I do as a parent that I'd rather not do but I continue because I know it's temporary and the healthiest thing. Additionally, there are some compelling health benefits in it for you as well (reduction in rates of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, uterine cancer, diabetes)! Biologically and medically speaking, there is really no need to wean from the breast at this age (don't know if you're getting pressure from family, friends, or doctors to wean??), since your breastmilk is the most appropriate food for her (human milk for your human baby) as opposed to cow's breastmilk (which is really intended for optimal development of a baby calf, not a baby human!). If it's the calcium you're worried about, please rest assured that there are many other ways to ensure your daughter gets enough calcium - leafy greens are very high in bioavailable calcium, as are unhulled sesame seeds, beans, etc.

Regardless of whether you continue to wean or not, I absolutely want to celebrate you breastfeeding for an entire year -- CONGRATULATIONS! I'm doing a little dance and cheering for you for doing something that *so few* moms and babies get to share. I really wish more moms would do *even HALF* of the breastfeeding you've done! So WAY TO GO! :)

Hi M.,

I had problems with my older daughter and though it is not the healthiest thing, we made it a very nice chocolate milk int he beginning and then when she accepted a few weeks later, we started to slowly reduce the amount and then remove it completely. She drinks milk now no problem. I figured, the few weeks of extra calories are not that bad and we made sure we cleaned her teeth with a finger brush nicely once a day. Since the plan was to remove the chocolate, I thought it was just fine.
T..

I have several friends that have had the same problem. Best suggestion that I can make is put a little chocolate syrup or strawberry syrup in the milk. She just amy not like the taste of plain milk. This way you are adding a little bit of flavor, but she is still getting all of the nutrients that she needs. Hope this helps.

Do you warm the milk? Have you tried offering it to her in a bottle? I know you probably want to skip the whole bottle phase if you've been exclusively nursing but it may help the trasition from breastmilk to whole milk. I went back to work at 3 months so my son was used to a bottle. We had no problem going to whole milk at 12 months but he is now 21 months old and still likes his bottle in the morning as opposed to a sippy cup. A sippy cup is fine at all other times. He will eventually drink from a sippy cup in the morning if that is all I offer but it is over a 20 minute time period as opposed to him sucking down a bottle in about a minute.

Good luck!

M.,

With my kids and the kids I baby sit we've just mixed a little bit of formula/breastmilk with the whole milk. Start with 1/2 and 1/2 and then every few days add more whole milk and less breastmilk. However, if you've never pumped then this could be impossible to try. Good luck! -J.

She doesn't really need milk, especially right now. So I wouldn't worry too much about it, and I certainly wouldn't add anything sweet to it to make it more tasty, because that's just setting up a habit of wanting things sweet and refusing to eat them if they aren't. Formula is probably better anyway, nutrition wise. If she is eating other foods she really can live without milk, many people do...but I'd bet she'll eventually learn to like it. My dd didn't like it at first, either, but now she does.
Hope that helps!
Lynn

Hi M., this sounds so familiar! Although, my daughter stopped nursing at 4 1/2 months. I was already supplementing with formula, per pediatricians recommendations. When it came to giving whole milk, she would only drink it out of a bottle. We tried every kind of cup...but she would not take it. When she was 20 months old I just went 'cold turkey!' Once she started on whole milk she did not get a bottle at bedtime so that was not a problem. She eats yogurt, pudding, cheese and other dairy products to get her calcium. She will drink milk when she eats her cheerios. It is odd she will not drink it out of any cup but she will drink it from her cereal bowl after she's done. I am like you, my son wasn't like this but this little girl is definitely different. I hope this helps.

M.,
Your situation is so similiar to my own! I have a 3 year old daughter and my 1 year old son is not going along with MY idea of weaning. He has NEVER taken a bottle and I am getting SO ready to have some time without budgeting when I'll have to nurse next. I love our time together but I'm ready for a break.
My daughter weaned right to a sippy with only a day or two of struggles with the cup. We took about a month of interchanging the sippy for nursing, alternating which we would give her. SHe did great! My son is another matter. I'm trying to be patiet but up until a few days ago he wouldn't drink more than an ounce. Today he has had an ounce just this morning. A little victory but a victory nonetheless.
Friends have suggested doing half breastmilk and half whole milk - or other variations of the two to get him used to the switch. Maybe that would work for you as well.
Good luck!
J.

Hi M.,
My son did the same thing when I put him on milk. I found that even though Drs. tell you that whole milk is best my sons Dr. said that if he wouldn't drink the whole milk to try and see if he would drink 2% milk. I put him on that and he took to it very well. So you might just try the 2% milk. Hope this helps you and GOOD luck.

I feel I should say first that I did not nurse my children, for several different reasons. We did, however have a slight issue getting the kids to adjust to milk after formula. The best thing that worked for us was mix the two together for a while. For instance, we started out using,say, 3/4 formula, and 1/4 milk, and then gradually decreased the amount of formula, while increasing the amount of milk. It may be that your daughter just doesn't like the taste of the milk, since it isn't as sweet as breast milk. getting her used to the taste slowly, while incorporating breast milk into it, while help her make the transition. So, if it will work for you to pump a little extra, it may be worth it. I hope this helps, and good luck! P.

My daughter is almost 16 months and we're still trying to get her to drink an adequate amount from her sippy cups. She still has a morning & evening *bottle* and seems to do just fine with those. For some reason she just doesn't like the milk from a cup.

As another mom suggested, you could try to warm it. Maybe she doesn't like the temperature. Some kids are very sensitive about that.

If you're concerned about her intake of calcium, etc. I would just supplement with other kinds of food to make up for it. She will eventually adjust and drink the milk like most other children.

The other thing I've noticed with my daughter is that when it's really hot outside she prefers water. The milk is just too thick to drink in hot weather. I know it's not the first thing I reach for in the middle of summer.

I wouldn't worry. She'll drink it eventually, but I definately wouldn't add any syrup/sugary stuff to it to make it more appealing (not saying you would do this anyway.)

Congrats on making it a full year with breastfeeding!