How to wean from breast to cows milk at a year?

[monkeymonkeymoomoo]

Giving up BF when DD is a year old, she has never had a bottle and I would like to know the best way of weaning her on to cows milk without causing too many tears

[Astrophe]

has she drunk from a cup before?

If she drinks from a cup, I would just start giving a cup when you would normally BF, then top up with BF after shes had the cup. After a while she will (hopefully!) take more and more from the cup, and then may self wean from the breast. Failing that, you can just stop BFing once she has got used to the cup. She wont be thrilled, but if you know she is able to drink from a cup then she should be fine withing a few days/weeks.

If she resists the taste of cows milk, you could try mixing expressed breast milk with cows milk and gradually increasing the cows milk.

hth

[monkeymonkeymoomoo]

She drinks water from a cup, use a Doidy, but not very much. as she doesn't like the taste of it! Good idea about making it a gradual process rather than stopping straight away will try that.

She loves milky foods i.e. cereal so am hoping that she will be used to the taste of milk.

[Astrophe]

great that she uses a doidy for water. personally I would use a cup with a lid/spout for milk though. I'm sure there are those who would disagree (my hv included), but its much easier for little ones to drink from, and they still quite like the sucking motion and it gives them some comfort. My dd (2.7) still uses a cup with a spout for her milk twice a day, although she uses a normal open cup for all her other drinks during the day, and i expect my ds (11 months) will do the same.

[Astrophe]

also, if your dd is close to 1 year (say 11 months or so) you could start introducing a little bit of milk in a cup now, just for her to taste, so she is more usd to it when she turns 1.

[monkeymonkeymoomoo]

She is 11mths now.

[Astrophe]

go for it

[laundrylover]

Hi MMmoomoo,

My DD2 is 10 months and I have started giving her cow's milk in a cup to try as well as giving her a bottle of 50/50 with ebm when she is in childcare.

I do intend to keep bfing her after she is 12 months but if I wasn't I would give her milkin a spouted cup too. That way they can get a good lot down at bedtime. DD1 had a bedtime bottle 'til about 18 months, then a mothercare fast flow spout beaker and then an open mug from which she could, by then, down half a pint! She is back on the mothercare drinker now (nearly 3) because she has OCD about cups (and plates, and books and everything else)!