Milk alternative

[BoyMam92]

Hi Everyone,
just looking for some advice as my dietician hasn’t yet gotten back to me….
my youngest boy has a dairy and soya allergy, he’s exclusively breastfed for just now but I’m going back to work full time (I am currently pumping but the logistics of pumping and being in the emergency services isn’t really the easiest!) he’s still up twice through the night for feeds also…. He’s 47 weeks…. And I’m only going by weeks because you can wean from 24 weeks (6months) so when they say you can start to give babies milk alternatives from 12 months, would you say technically that would be 48 weeks OR their first birthday?
I know there’s not a huge deal in difference but it’s still about 6 weeks of just a little bit of help getting my sleep topped up!
my eldest boy is 2 so I’m a bit run ragged between being a full time mam and working full time and still being up religiously 2 times per night….
Thank you for reading, please no judgement!

I would think hypoallergenic formula would be best?

there’s obviously oat/almond milk etc which would do, but with him being so young I’d worry they aren’t nutritionally complete.

pop into a pharmacist and ask advice which would be best? Then at least you can bring it up with the dietician if it needs a script.

btw I was emergency services, went back to work at 7 months and managed just fine until 14 months when she weaned off bf. I had the use of a lockable office and would pump there.

does he bf at all or is it exclusively bottle fed ebf? Mine wouldn’t actually take bottles, she just fed before and after work, regardless of time. If it’s ebm in bottles I’d def look into formula as that is incredibly hard work.

6 months is 26 weeks not 24. They are 1 on the anniversary of their birth. Oat milk? There is a variety suitable from 1 year; think it's by Alpro

Not the same circumstances but we started with oatly whole (dark blue carton) once 1st Birthday had passed. Until then dietician advised to keep with prescription formula. No problems with transition to oatly; daughter has thrived.

47 weeks?

A child is one year old on their birthday

Oat milk
Coconut milk

Technically, up to 52 weeks the best option would be a prescription formula. But they universally taste disgusting, so the chance of persuading a baby of that age who has encountered all sorts of yummy foods to actually drink it is minimal. From 52 weeks, our dieticians advise oatmilk. And don't forget the multivitamin, if you haven't already started one.

If you're going to be working nights, it might be easier to do some gentle night weaning?

Hey thanks everyone!
sorry I didn’t get the “weeks” correct - but that’s why I was asking…. And that’s why I said “12 months” as opposed to 1 year old - because some people interpret that to be different, note the question….

we've tried him on neocate and the other hypoallergenic formula alternative but yep, he loves the boob too much for that!

as far as drinking from a bottle, he will take breastmilk from a bottle once I have pumped but only if it’s my partner feeding him it - he won’t accept a bottle from me!

just a very tired girl, trying to do my best with no real support!

@dementedpixie is a month not technically 4 weeks? And if so 4 x 6 = 24?

No a month isn't 4 weeks; it's just over 4 weeks. 6 months is 26 weeks and 1 year is 52 weeks

@dementedpixie - see the math isn’t mathing that’s why I asked 😂 permanent baby brain 🤷‍♀️

My DS has CMPA and soy allergy. We struggled with breastfeeding due to a number of issues and weeks of exclusively pumping but it was breaking me. We ended up on Neocate I think after trying a few different formulas, but there are so many alternatives for allergy babies now. If one didn't suit, you can try another. If it's because they won't accept the flavour you can try adding some vanilla drops to it. Just wanted to share this in case it helps. You can also do it gradually by mixing with your breast milk but if they are still BF when you are at home I'm not sure if that would work.

In terms of milk replacement after 1 we use a fortified oat milk, you just need to check it has all the added vitamins they need. We actually use an Asda one and found it best for him. He weaned quite late in comparison to his peers but once I took the pressure off and went at his pace it worked out brilliantly. There is also a CMPA support group on Facebook if you are on there which can be really helpful especially with the milk ladder when weaned. Good luck, it's not easy but I'm sure you will do brilliantly

It's breastfeeding dementia . We did oat milk because the fat content was the highest of the milk alternatives. Add it to mashes, purée when you're doing them so baby can get used to the taste. You won't be feeding as frequently anyway the more solid foods baby is eating, I think by 12 months my dc was only 2 or 3 times a day on the boob and I had stopped using the pump. I had a dwindling stash of freezer milk because I was back at work after 7 months so I used that up too. Stopped altogether at 18 months.

It depends on the general diet and would be a conversation for a dietician
I had to stop breastfeeding at 10 months and my daughter wouldn't accept a bottle and wasn't a huge fan of the formula.
We were asked to see if we could get her food intake up so she wouldn't need liquid nutrition. If this was the case we would have been able to use oat milk alongside food. As it was she barely had a few mouthfuls a day so I had to send her home to dad (I was in hospital) to get her on to formula. She was 20 months before we could reduce the formula and she was 18 months before she accepted oatmilk as a drink.